Swarm and Sting
Fansided

ESPN Underrates Hornets Star Kemba Walker as the 27th Best Player in the NBA

By Bryce Fields

CHICAGO, IL - APRIL 3: Kemba Walker #15 of the Charlotte Hornets handles the ball against the Chicago Bulls on April 3, 2018 at the United Center in Chicago, Illinois. NOTE TO USER: User expressly acknowledges and agrees that, by downloading and or using this Photograph, user is consenting to the terms and conditions of the Getty Images License Agreement. Mandatory Copyright Notice: Copyright 2018 NBAE (Photo by Jeff Haynes/NBAE via Getty Images)
CHICAGO, IL - APRIL 3: Kemba Walker #15 of the Charlotte Hornets handles the ball against the Chicago Bulls on April 3, 2018 at the United Center in Chicago, Illinois. NOTE TO USER: User expressly acknowledges and agrees that, by downloading and or using this Photograph, user is consenting to the terms and conditions of the Getty Images License Agreement. Mandatory Copyright Notice: Copyright 2018 NBAE (Photo by Jeff Haynes/NBAE via Getty Images) /
facebooktwitterreddit

Every year, ESPN releases a list of their analyst’s consensus of the 100 best players in the NBA. Now that they have released their top 30 through 21, we see Kemba Walker has been ranked the 27th overall player in the league. Is this fair, or should Walker be ahead of a few players ranked above him?

As we all know, Kemba Walker is an incredible player and one of the best NBA players Charlotte has ever had. He has been the best player for the Hornets for some time now, and recently he finally got recognized for it. Over his past two All-Star seasons, Walker has averaged 22.5 points with 48/38/86 shooting split. He has also averaged 5.5 assists, 3.5 rebounds, and over 1 steal per game. There is no doubt in anyone’s mind that Walker is an NBA star.

At first glance, I had no problem with Walker’s ranking. He does many, many good things, but he has yet to become great in several key categories. So, ranking him almost top-fourth of the entire NBA? Sounds about right, if you ask me.

But as I read the rest of just this list of nine players 30-21, I quickly realized Kemba Walker was being severely underrated by ESPN.

ESPN’s recency bias shows as they rank Jrue Holiday above Walker after one above-average season since 2013.

There are three players ranked ahead of Walker I take problem with in the 30-21 range, starting with New Orleans Pelicans guard Jrue Holiday, ranked immediately after him at #26. I will admit that Holiday had a bounce-back year by scoring career high 19 points per game and having an even better playoffs, putting up 23 points per game. Holiday also averaged 6 assists and 4.5 rebounds in the regular season – so he definitely was no slouch last year.

However, let’s take a look at some context between Walker and Holiday. Besides the obvious scoring difference, Walker also did so 1) more efficiently, and 2) as the first scoring option. Holiday shot better from the field (49% vs Walker’s 43%) but Walker beats him out besides that, and honestly, Holiday’s percentages aren’t so hot. Holiday’s 33% from behind the 3-point line is not even in the top 40 of shooting guards, and his 78% from the free throw line is not anything to write home about either.

Maybe the biggest factor is that not only was Walker better offensively, but Holiday’s scoring and assists get a lot of help by Pelicans’ superstar Anthony Davis. Davis is a top-6 NBA player at worst, and is one of those players that the opposition must keep an eye on at all times. This allows Holiday to work incognito at times, making his points a little easier to get (and his assists as well, compared to who Walker is giving up the ball to). Walker does it as the primary option on all fronts, and in my mind, has proven more over the past half decade then Holiday has last year

Must Read. Who are the Top 5 Players in Hornets History?. light

Rookies Donavon Mitchell and Jayson Tatum also got ranked higher, despite playing one season on more successful teams.

Disclaimer: I know Jazz guard Donavon Mitchell and Celtics forward Jayson Tatum are really good, and that they did incredible things this year. Mitchell led the Jazz to past the Thunder and into the second round of the playoffs as the primary scoring option, while Tatum assisted in getting Boston almost to the NBA Finals last season. I am not going to discredit the talent and potential both of these first team NBA All-Rookie guys have.

What I am going to do though is show how they do not deserve to be ranked above Kemba Walker. For starters, let’s take a look at Mitchell. Last year he was the shoot-first, primary scoring option for Utah, a team with solid role players the latest Defensive Player of the Year in Rudy Gobert. Walker was better in the following categories: points per game, assists per game, 3-point percentage, free-throw percentage, Player Efficiency Rating, win-shares added, and turnovers. Mitchell had a better team and had worse stats than Kemba Walker despite a similar role; there is no reason he deserves to be ranked higher.

The same can be said about Tatum, but his situation is a little different. Tatum averaged almost 10 less points, but he was also the third or fourth scoring option depending on the night and who was healthy. He also shot nearly as efficient as Walker, but that could be taken as a bad thing too, since he did have less pressure on him. The fact of the matter is that Tatum has not proven enough (or displayed) talent or potential to be placed over a 2x All-Star centerpiece like Walker.

Home/Hornets News