By Kirk Goldsberry / The Ringer, 2026-10-19 23:55:56
Getty Images/Ringer 插图
The Ringer 的 NBA Top 100 榜单于 2022 年 12 月首次亮相。自那时起，它已先后 34 次精准定格了世界篮球顶尖天赋的演进轨迹。每一次单独的更新都极具看点——包括上周发布的最新一期榜单，不仅采用了全新改版的设计，还引入了全新的投票互动功能——但如果将它们串联成一个整体，这套榜单便成了一个极佳的趋势洞察工具，如同一面透镜，忠实记录着 NBA 最重磅人物的起伏更迭。因此，在 2026-27 赛季揭幕之际，让我们依托 Top 100 榜单的完整历史，来盘点过去几个赛季联盟中最耐人寻味的一些球员趋势，首先从最顶峰聊起。
巅峰加冕
NBA Top 100 迎来了一位新任王者，他也是该项目历史上迄今为止最年轻的登顶者。圣安东尼奥马刺的维克托·文班亚马 (Victor Wembanyama) 虽然在六月的总决赛中遗憾折戟，但仅仅四个月后，这位 22 岁的法国人便在我们的榜单榜首位置上，挤掉了来自加拿大的谢伊·吉尔杰斯-亚历山大 (Shai Gilgeous-Alexander)。
文班成为了我们榜单历史上第四位独享榜首的球员，比肩扬尼斯·阿德托昆博 (Giannis Antetokounmpo)、尼古拉·约基奇 (Nikola Jokic) 以及亚历山大。
他是如何做到的？答案只有两个字：统治季后赛。在季后赛期间，当文班亚马在场时，圣安东尼奥的净效率高达令人咋舌的 +12.9；而当他下场休息时，这一数据骤降至 -2.0。这就是 MVP 级别的统治力，体现了文班只要踏上球场就能带来的全面掌控力。
最不可思议的是，我们榜单的新王甚至还远未达到完全体。不可否认，文班亚马的防守已经臻于化境——他在生涯第三个赛季就成为了 NBA 历史上首位全票当选的年度最佳防守球员——但他的进攻技巧仍有待打磨。步入生涯第四年，这将是最大的看点：文班亚马能否在三分线内开发出一套招牌杀招，帮助他将那不可思议的身材与技巧完美结合，从而在篮筐附近创造出稳定、高效的终结机会？
这看起来只是时间问题。文班从 NBA 首秀到登顶我们的榜单仅仅用了三年时间，考虑到 NBA 球员通常要到 28 或 29 岁才步入巅峰期，这一事实更显震撼。文班要到 2032 年 1 月 4 日才满 28 岁！这可能是我近来做过的最令人不寒而栗的一张图表。
阵容深度透视
在如今的 NBA，阵容深度对于赢球的重要性达到了前所未有的高度。过去几支总冠军球队都拥有极具 Top 100 级别战力的轮换阵容——乔什·哈特 (Josh Hart)、以赛亚·哈尔滕施泰因 (Isaiah Hartenstein) 和德里克·怀特 (Derrick White) 等人在互补角色中大放异彩。然而，顶尖天赋在全联盟的分布却极其不均衡。
有五支球队的阵容中仅有唯一一名 Top 100 球员。除了金州勇士之外，其他四支都处于重建期，而斯蒂芬·库里 (Stephen Curry) 则在勇士迎来了孤独奋战的第 18 个赛季。
在天平的另一端，俄克拉荷马城雷霆高居榜首，共有七名球员入选 Top 100——他们还拥有阿达伊·马拉 (Aday Mara)，这位身材魁梧的新秀中锋在季前赛的表现堪称惊艳。紧随雷霆之后的是圣安东尼奥马刺和令人意外的波特兰开拓者，两队各有六人入选，但这多少带有一点欺骗性。开拓者排名最高的球员是位列第 27 位的德尼·阿夫迪亚 (Deni Avdija)，且上榜的六名开拓者球员中有四人排在第 76 至 100 位之间。
全联盟只有两支球队坐拥三名排名前 25 的球员。想必大家都有所耳闻：来自纽约的新科卫冕冠军，以及他们在费城换上新面貌的宿敌。尼克斯拥有杰伦·布伦森 (Jalen Brunson)（第 6 位）、卡尔-安东尼·唐斯 (Karl-Anthony Towns)（第 13 位）以及状态正盛的 OG·阿奴诺比 (OG Anunoby)（第 20 位）；而费城这支 NBA 最新的超级球队则集齐了泰雷斯·马克西 (Tyrese Maxey)（第 14 位）、杰伦·布朗 (Jaylen Brown)（第 16 位）和勒布朗·詹姆斯 (LeBron James)（第 21 位）。说到勒布朗……
诸神黄昏
在季前赛前十的名单中，库里、詹姆斯和凯文·杜兰特 (Kevin Durant) 无一人在列。这三位超级巨星重新定义了 21 世纪职业篮球的伟大标准，但他们对联盟顶峰的集体掌控已成为过去。这张图表足以证明这一点：库里排在第 11 位，杜兰特排在第 15 位，詹姆斯跌至第 21 位。而且这种趋势不仅局限于这三位标志性人物；在我们榜单的前十名中，只有一位年过 31 岁的球员：35 岁、位列第 8 的科怀·伦纳德 (Kawhi Leonard)。必须澄清的是：没有人是在落井下石唱衰库里、杜兰特或詹姆斯，他们在生涯的这一后期阶段依然奉献着不可思议的篮球表现，理应赢得赞誉。然而岁月从不败给任何人，虽然这三位传奇球星的比赛依然是不容错过的焦点对局，但他们彼此争夺 MVP 和奥布莱恩杯的日子确实已经一去不复返了。
杰伦·杜伦的过山车轨迹
六个月前，这位 22 岁的中锋已然成长为 NBA 最优秀的内线之一，他入选 2026 年最佳阵容三阵就是最好证明。在我们的榜单视角下，他在三月份一度冲到了第 24 位的高峰。
然而，汽车城随后轰然脱轨。杰伦·杜伦 (Jalen Duren) 在季后赛上演了最为彻底的人间蒸发，而他的低迷表现正是这支斩获 60 胜的一号种子在面对奥兰多魔术和克利夫兰骑士时瞬间沦为平庸的最主要原因。
如果用一项数据来概括杜伦在 2026 年的高台跳水，或许是这一项：在常规赛中，杜伦在禁区内场均能砍下 14.6 分，高居 NBA 第三位；到了季后赛，这一数据断崖式下跌至 7.7 分，只能排在队内第三。
对杜伦而言，这个时机的糟糕程度非同小可。他在今年夏天成为受限制自由球员，并与活塞陷入了漫长且往往火药味十足的合同拉锯战。尽管他和球队最终达成了一份为期五年、总价值 2 亿美元的续约协议，但关于他在底特律的前景以及个人最终上限的质疑声依然不绝于耳。在上一季飙升至第 24 位之后，他在我们最新的排名中已一路滑落至第 46 位。
不过，不妨在此保留一份乐观。尽管过去六个月对杜伦来说令人沮丧，但他自去年初以来依然是我们榜单上飙升幅度最大的球员——相比去年十月攀升了足足 37 个名次。
看好他的理由相当充分。杜伦毕竟只有 22 岁。他是凯德·坎宁安 (Cade Cunningham) 最完美的挡拆搭档，而且在整个常规赛期间，他展现出了一定的创造力与细腻技术，底特律完全有可能继续挖掘其潜能。随着活塞重新回归常规赛节奏，很容易预见这样一个剧本：这家伙将重新证明自己堪称全联盟最好的顺下终结者。我预计他很快就会重返这份榜单的前 30 之列。
小后卫的式微
自上赛季伊始以来，下滑幅度最大的球员莫过于贾·莫兰特 (Ja Morant)，步入 2026-27 赛季的他正试图在波特兰寻求全新起点。莫兰特的断崖式下滑并非始于去年十月——他的排名曾在 2023 年 1 月高居第 9 位，但由于种种综合因素，自那之后他的走势便一路向下。
从好的方面看，救赎剧本的舞台或许已经搭好。莫兰特目前仍只有 27 岁。他依然是联盟中最具爆发力的运动健将之一，换个环境可能正是他重振旗鼓的一剂良药。
但在另一方面，莫兰特的下滑也有可能是身材受限的主控后卫所面临的更广泛、更严峻趋势的缩影。自去年揭幕战以来跌幅最大的六名球员名单中，还赫然在列着达里厄斯·加兰 (Darius Garland)、达龙·福克斯 (De’Aaron Fox) 和特雷·杨 (Trae Young)。
这四名明星控卫都曾跻身前 30 名。他们如今的年龄全都在 28 岁或以下，但在榜单上的排名却都在飞速坠落。意味深长的是，这四人自 2025 年初以来全部被球队交易，且往往只换回了平平无奇的筹码。这是否意味着，联盟正在逐步抛弃那些防守端贡献寥寥的高球权小个后卫？
事实论据相当有力，但这里却存在一个令人难以忽视的反例，他就是纽约之王。布伦森的身材相对偏小，防守进阶数据也难言出色。然而诸位猜怎么着——他过得简直不能更滋润了。他在我们榜单中从 2022 年的第 51 位一路扶摇直上，直至今日高居第六——更兼斩获一座总决赛 MVP——这堪称现代 NBA 历史上最不可思议的超级巨星崛起史之一。
话虽如此，在这个几乎人均能控球、传球、投射并能兼顾防守的现代联盟中，身材偏小的球员唯有真正做到出类拔萃，才有可能杀入我们榜单的顶尖梯队。布伦森确实是一个罕见的例外。
由生成式 AI 翻译，译文内容可能不准确或不完整，以原文为准。
查看原文：The Five Biggest Takeaways From Our Updated NBA Player Rankings
The Five Biggest Takeaways From Our Updated NBA Player Rankings
Getty Images/Ringer illustration
The Ringer’s NBA Top 100 debuted in December 2022. Since then, it has provided 34 distinct snapshots of the top talent in the basketball world. Each individual update is interesting on its own—including the most recent one from last week, featuring a revamped design and a new voting feature—but taken as a series, these rankings become a great trendspotting tool, a lens that captures the rises and falls of the most important characters in the NBA. So, at the dawn of the 2026-27 season, let’s use the entire history of the Top 100 to flag some of the most interesting player-related trends in the league from the past few seasons, starting at the very top.
The Grand Prix
The NBA Top 100 has a new no. 1, and he’s also the youngest player to take the top spot—by far—in this project’s history. San Antonio’s Victor Wembanyama may have lost the NBA Finals in June, but four months later the 22-year-old Frenchman has evicted Canada’s Shai Gilgeous-Alexander at the top of our rankings.
Wemby becomes the fourth unique no. 1 in the history of our list, joining Giannis Antetokounmpo, Nikola Jokic, and SGA.
How did he do it? By dominating the playoffs—that’s how. When Wembanyama was on the floor during the postseason, San Antonio had an astounding net rating of plus-12.9. When he came out, that number dropped to minus-2.0. That’s MVP stuff, reflecting Wemby’s totalizing impact whenever he’s on the floor.
The absurd part is that the new king of our rankings is still a work in progress. Sure, Wembanyama’s defense is already fully formed—he just became the NBA’s first unanimous Defensive Player of the Year, and he did it in his third season—but his offensive game remains unpolished. Heading into year four, that’s the thing to watch. Will Wembanyama develop a signature move inside the arc that helps him leverage his ridiculous blend of size and skill to create reliable, efficient looks near the rim?
It seems like only a matter of time. It’s taken Wemby just three years to go from his NBA debut to our top-ranked player, a stunning fact when you consider that NBA players don’t typically reach their primes until age 28 or 29. Wemby turns 28 on January 4, 2032! This might be the scariest graph I’ve made in a while.
Depth Charts
Roster depth has never been more important to winning in the NBA. The last few champions have featured rotations deep with Top 100 talent—with guys like Josh Hart, Isaiah Hartenstein, and Derrick White thriving in complementary roles. But the distribution of top talent is very uneven around the NBA.
Five different rosters include exactly one Top 100 player. All are in rebuilding phases except for one, Golden State, where Stephen Curry enters year 18 in a lonely predicament.
On the other end of the spectrum, OKC leads the way with seven players who cracked the Top 100—and it also has Aday Mara, the gigantic rookie center who has looked positively awesome in the preseason. The Thunder are followed closely by San Antonio and a surprising Portland team, which boast six players apiece, but that’s a bit deceptive. The Trail Blazers’ top-ranked player is Deni Avdija at no. 27, and four of the six Blazers on the list rank in the 76-100 range.
Only two teams feature three top-25 players. You may have heard of them: the defending champs in NYC and their new-look rivals in Philadelphia. The Knicks have Jalen Brunson (6), Karl-Anthony Towns (13), and an ascendant OG Anunoby (20), while the NBA’s newest superteam in Philly has Tyrese Maxey (14), Jaylen Brown (16), and LeBron James (21). Speaking of LeBron …
The Old Guard
The preseason top 10 does not include Curry, James, or Kevin Durant. These three megastars have redefined pro basketball greatness in the 21st century, but their collective grasp on the top of the league is gone. This chart proves it. Curry is 11th. Durant is 15th. James is now 21st. And the pattern isn’t limited to these three icons; the top 10 of our list includes only one player over 31: Kawhi Leonard, who’s 35 years old and clocks in at no. 8. Make no mistake: Nobody is shoveling dirt on Curry, Durant, or James, who each deserve credit for playing incredible basketball at these advanced stages of their careers. But Father Time remains undefeated, and while all three of these icons are still must-watch television, the days of them fighting over MVPs and Larry O’Briens are gone.
The Jalen Duren Roller Coaster
Six months ago, the 22-year-old center had turned himself into one of the best bigs in the NBA, and we have his 2026 third-team All-NBA nod to prove it. Through the lens of our rankings, he peaked at no. 24 in March.
Then, the wheels came off in Motor City. Duren pulled the biggest disappearing act of the postseason, and his lackluster play was the biggest reason why this 60-win 1-seed looked suddenly mediocre against both Orlando and Cleveland.
If there’s one stat that captures the Great Duren Falloff of 2026, it might be this: In the regular season, Duren averaged 14.6 points per game in the paint; that ranked third in the NBA. In the postseason, that figure fell to 7.7, which ranked third on his own team.
It was particularly poor timing for Duren, who entered the summer as a restricted free agent and faced a protracted—and often acrimonious—contract negotiation with the Pistons. He and the team ultimately agreed to a five-year, $200 million deal, but questions about his future in Detroit and his ultimate ceiling remain. After rising to 24 last season, he’s dropped all the way down to 46 in our most recent rankings.
Still, call me an optimist here. As disappointing as the past six months have been for Duren, he is still the single biggest riser in our rankings since the beginning of last year—jumping 37 spots since last October.
The glass-half-full case is pretty strong. Duren is still just 22. He’s the perfect counterpart to Cade Cunningham, and throughout the regular season he showcased a level of creativity and finesse that Detroit may still be able to tap into. As the Pistons get back to playing regular-season basketball, it’s pretty easy to see a scenario where this dude reasserts himself as arguably the best roll man in the whole league. I expect him to be back in the top 30 on this list soon.
The Demise of Small Guards
Since the beginning of last season, no player has fallen further than Ja Morant, who enters 2026-27 looking for a fresh start in Portland. Morant’s tumble didn’t start last October—his ranking peaked at no. 9 in January 2023, but, thanks to a variety of factors, it’s been downhill ever since.
On the one hand, the stage might be set for a redemption arc. Morant is still only 27. He remains one of the league’s most electrifying athletes, and a change of scenery may be just what the doctor ordered.
On the other hand, there’s a chance that Morant’s fall is part of a larger, more troubling trend for undersized lead guards. The list of the six biggest fallers since last opening night also includes Darius Garland, De’Aaron Fox, and Trae Young.
All four of these star point guards used to rank in the top 30. All of them are still 28 or younger, but they are all careening down this list. It’s telling that all four have been traded since the beginning of 2025, often for underwhelming returns. Is the league turning its back on small, high-usage guards that don’t exactly thrive on defense?
The evidence is compelling, but there is an inconvenient counterpoint here, and he’s the king of New York City. Jalen Brunson is relatively undersized. He has poor defensive metrics. But guess what—he’s doing just fine, folks. His ascent from 51st in our rankings in 2022 to sixth today—with a Finals MVP to boot—is one of the most improbable superstar stories in modern NBA history.
Still, in a league where it seems every player can now dribble, pass, shoot, and defend, undersized talent has to be truly elite to pierce the upper crust of our rankings. Brunson is exceptional.
By Kirk Goldsberry / The Ringer