4 Mavericks in ESPN's NBA Top 100

Four Dallas Mavericks players are represented in the NBA Rank 2024 Top 100. ESPN's annual list, which ranks the top 100 players across the league, was released this week ahead of the start of the regular season on October 22nd. Luka Doncic, who looks like the obvious headliner of the group ranked second, is a serious candidate for the MVP title this season. After winning the Western Conference last season, the Mavericks appear to have the most talented and perhaps deepest team of Doncic's career thanks to the work of general manager Nico Harrison.

The team had three players named to last season's roster – the aforementioned Doncic, his vice president Kyrie Irving and, yes, you guessed it, Grant Williams (he was ranked 97th). Now four projected starters appear in the rankings, in what should be the first season with serious expectations for this Mavericks era. This is where the players land:

71. Klay Thompson

It's a testament to the Mavericks' recent career performance that a 2023-24 season in which he averaged 17.9 points, hit 38.7 percent on three of nine attempts per game and appeared in 77 games , would be a bad year and lead to a relapse 30 places on this list. Thompson is definitely at the end of his career, but he has made it clear that he is confident that he has productive seasons ahead of him. He may not want to reinvent himself with this new chapter in Dallas. But the hope is that some of the pressure of being the No. 2 pick, like he was with the Golden State Warriors, is lifted and he has the opportunity to play extremely productively against Doncic and Kyrie Irving.

56. Dereck Lively II

The second-year prospect exploded onto the scene in his rookie year. It's been said over and over again, but when the Mavericks drafted Lively, there was a feeling that he could be a good player long-term who would need time to grow into his role. Instead, Lively made an immediate impact and was a key reason the Mavericks were in the NBA Finals. The fact that Lively was unranked last season and ranked 56th this season reflects the impression Lively has already made as a defensive anchor and extremely efficient scorer, as well as the expectations for his development this one Season.

25. Kyrie Irving

Kyrie rose nine spots in these rankings after ranking 34th last season. Concerns about his physical and mental availability were justified last year. He largely dispelled those doubts in his first full season with the Mavs. Although he still only appeared in 58 regular season games, Irving was dynamic when he was available, posted efficient averages and was a vocal leader in the locker room. There's always a chance that something will work out with Irving at some point, but it's hard to deny that Kyrie is locked in. As the Mavericks become a team to be reckoned with, it will be interesting to see how Irving responds to new expectations.

2. Luka Doncic

There weren't many spots for Doncic to move up, but after a hugely successful 2023-24 season, he still made it (up two spots). Now, with this momentum, he enters arguably his best chance yet to receive serious MVP consideration. Luka was able to rest a bit this off-season after a short international stint with the Slovenian national team. However, we haven't seen him in pre-season as he is struggling with a bruised leg. Luka always needed a little bit of a start to get up to top speed during the season. To win the MVP title and maintain contender status, the Mavericks, despite their strength and talent, will need every bit of Luka from Game 1.