25 Best NBA Players Under 25 Years Old
By Jason McIntyre
We ranked the 25 best NBA players under the age of 25 last year. Anthony Davis was #1, but last month he turned 25. So we crown a new #1.
25. Clint Capela, 23, Houston Rockets
In his 4th year, he’s on the cusp of being an All-Star, going from being a rim-runner to a factor inside. He led the NBA in field goal shooting (65%), and in just 27 minutes a game, put up 13.9 ppg, 10.8 rpg and 1.9 bpg. Next year he’s playing for a big contract, so expect those numbers to soar.
24. Julius Randle, 23, LA Lakers
Maybe it was because he’s looking for a big contract, but Randle was a force for the Lakers in his 4th season: 16.3 ppg, 8.0 rpg and shooting 55 percent. He overwhelmed so many defenders, it almost makes you wonder if the Lakers have a difficult decision to make. Ultimately, you have to take LeBron and Paul George, but Randle has proven somebody’s gonna pay him.
23. Aaron Gordon, 22, Orlando
He’s had four different coaches in four years with the Magic, and they’re not even sure what they want to do with him. His 3-point shooting made a leap (112 made; 119 made the previous two years combined) and averaged a robust 17.7 ppg and 8.0 rpg on a dumpster fire of a team.
22. Andre Drummond, 24, Detroit Pistons
He’s only played six years in the NBA, but has now led the league in rebounding twice. He finally got his FT shooting above 50 percent (60.5%), so there’s that. His numbers after the Blake Griffin trade didn’t go down significantly, except his assists were chopped in half. There could be a new regime in Detroit.
21. Zach LaVine, 23, Chicago Bulls
If only he could stay healthy. He’s played in just 71 games out of 1164 the last two years. Aggressive scorer (16.7 ppg); 3-point shooting (34 percent) took a step back this year playing for the tanking Bulls. Still haven’t seen nearly his best.
20. Otto Porter, 24, Washington Wizards
Career highs in points (14.8), assists (2.0) and 3-point shooting (43%) after getting a $106 million contract. Fourth in PER (18.32) among SFs, significantly ahead of Tatum (16), Ingram (24), Wiggins (30).
19. Gary Harris, 23, Denver Nuggets
Broke out in his 4th year, scoring 17.7 ppg while shooting 39% on 3-pointers. His PER (16.61) topped shooting guards like Klay Thompson (16.29), Eric Gordon (15.36), and Jaylen Brown (13.55).
18. Lonzo Ball, 20, LA Lakers
He only played 52 games, and he didn’t shoot well – 36% FG, 30% 3FG, 45% FTs – but those are all things that can be improved. He wasn’t signed to be a scorer; his feel for the game (7.2 apg) and intangibles (5.6 rpg, 1.7 spg) can’t be coached.
17. Jamal Murray, 21, Denver Nuggets
Because the West is so loaded, this 2nd year player is averaging 16.7 ppg, 3.7 rpg and 3.4 apg and nobody’s noticed. He shot 38 percent from deep. It took Victor Oladipo five years to pop; CJ McCollum put up over 20 points in his 3rd year; Murray could be there next year.
16. Jaylen Brown, 21, Boston Celtics
Hit 38 percent of his 3-pointers this year while scoring 14.3 ppg, and that’s as maybe a 4th option on what amounts to a brand new Celtics team. Without Kyrie Irving in the playoffs, expect big things from the 2nd year small forward from Cal.
15. Kyle Kuzma, 22, LA Lakers
Least-likely player to appear on this list before the season. He’ll be 1st team All-Rookie after a marvelous season in which he averaged 16.1 ppg and 6.3 rpg while shooting 36 percent on 3-pointers. If you re-drafted the 2017 draft, Kuzma would Top 7, for sure.
14. Steven Adams, 24, Oklahoma City Thunder
He’s tied with Andre Drummond for most offensive rebounds per game, and his 13.8 ppg could easily become 18 next year when Paul George leaves.
13. Brandon Ingram, 20, LA Lakers
If injuries didn’t limit him to 59 games, he could win runner-up for Most Improved player. Unshackled from shoot-first De’Angelo Russell Ingram averaged 16.1 ppg shooting 47 percent from the field and 39 percent on 3-pointers. He’s starting to look like the star he was at Duke. Will this be curtailed when LeBron and Paul George show up?
12. Andrew Wiggins, 23, Minnesota Timberwolves
His game suffered the most with the addition of Jimmy Butler, as his field goal shooting, 3-point shooting, scoring and assists all declined. He had the ball less, and needs it to fully reach his potential. When he averaged 23.6 ppg last year on 45/35/76 shooting, he appeared to be on the cusp of stardom; at 17.7 ppg on 43/32/64, it’s clear he struggled adjusting to the new role.
11. Lauri Markkanen, 20, Chicago Bulls
The 7th overall pick will make 1st team All-Rookie after a tremendous 15.2 ppg season while shooting 43 percent from the field and 36 percent from deep. All of those stats were better than Kristaps Porzingis posted as a rookie at 20.
10. Kristaps Porzingis, 22, New York Knicks
Immensely talented, but has played fewer games in each season due to injury(72, 66, 48). With Melo gone, Porzingis looked like a franchise player – 22.7 ppg on 39 percent shooting on 3-pointers, and a career-high 2.4 blocks per game. If healthy, he’ll be Top 5 on this list.
9. Devin Booker, 21, Phoenix Suns
The Suns were an abomination – again – but Booker keeps improving: career-highs in ppg (24.9), apg (4.7), rpg (4.5), field goal shooting (43.2%) and 3-point shooting (38 percent).
8. Bradley Beal, 24, Washington Wizards
Turns 25 in June, so this will be his last year on the list. Was statistically better in 2016-2017, likely because John Wall was healthy. Beal averaged a career-high 4.6 assists per game to go with his 22.8 ppg on 46/37/79 shooting.
7. Jayson Tatum, 20, Boston Celtics
A year after the 2017 draft, would he go 1st in the re-draft? His 3-point shot was knocked leading up to the draft; he leads rookies at 43 percent from deep. Playing more minutes than expected due to the Gordon Hayward injury, Tatum averaged 13.9 ppg and collected 5.1 rpg while contributing many, many rookie highlights.
6. Nikola Jokic, 23, Denver Nuggets
Quietly became one of the best young players in the NBA this year, averaging 18.2 ppg, 10.7 rpg, and 6.1 apg. Averages more assists per game than Jrue Holiday, Kemba Walker, and Ricky Rubio. Jokic has 10 triple doubles, 4th most in the NBA.
5. Joel Embiid, 24, Philadelphia 76ers
Incredible that he’s only played 94 career games (out of a possible 328) in the last two years after injuries derailed his first two seasons. It’s the only reason he’s not Top 3 on this list. When healthy, Embiid put up 22.9 ppg and 11.0 rpg.
4. Donovan Mitchell, 21, Utah Jazz
It doesn’t happen often for rookies, but Mitchell is averaging more points than he did at Louisville, and he’s been the most dominant rookie in the 2017 class. At 20.5 ppg, he’s carried the Jazz to the playoffs. As I’ve been saying for awhile, he looks like a young Dwyane Wade.
3. Karl Anthony Towns, 22, Minnesota Timberwolves
His scoring was scaled back a bit with the addition of Jimmy Butler (25.1 ppg last year; 21.2 ppg this year) but his 3-point shooting went up (42 percent). May average a double-double for a decade. Hasn’t missed a game in his three NBA seasons.
2. Giannis Antetokounmpo, 23, Milwaukee Bucks
From a statistical point of view, he’s accomplished enough in five seasons to be 1st on this list. He’s 5th in PER (27.61) and 4th in scoring (27.1 ppg) and can play all five positions. Giannis hot a career-high 30 percent from deep, but if he could bump that to 35-40, the talent is there to be a Top 10 all-time player.
1. Ben Simmons, 21, Philadelphia 76ers
The best NBA rookie since Magic Johnson takes the top spot because he’s the primary reason the 76ers went from 28 wins to 51, and the 3rd seed in the East. Michael Jordan (age 21) and LeBron (age 19) didn’t make the playoffs as a rookie. Simmons put up a staggering stats: 15.9 ppg, 8.2 rpg, 8.2 apg, while shooting 54 percent. He did so without making a 3-pointer. Also, he can defend all five positions.
Just missed
Jabari Parker, 23 Milwaukee
He’s torn the same ACL twice in three years, which has really slowed his progress. He averaged a career-high 20.1 ppg last year before tearing his ACL; he returned this year to average 12.2 ppg in 30 games. Has been anointed as a superstar since the the D1 offers started rolling in when he was a 5th grader, so I expect his continued improvement will have him surge up this list next year.
D’Angelo Russell, 22, Brooklyn Nets
It’s still early, but the attitude isn’t there, the 3-point shooting remains a problem (33 percent), and the turnovers keep creeping up (3.0). But, he’s played with Kobe in his swan song, and two bad teams (Lakers last year, Nets this year).
Jusuf Nurkic, 23, Portland
Picked up where he left off in the 2nd half last year by putting up 14.3 ppg and 9.0 rpg this season.
Myles Turner, 22, Indiana
Missed 17 games due to injury, and his stats took a tiny step back playing with Victor Oladipo instead of Paul George, but he’s still one of the best young bigs in the NBA. Averaged 12.7 ppg, 6.4 rpg and 1.8 bpg. Made more 3-pointers (56) than he did the first two years combined (43).
Dennis Schroder, 24, Atlanta
He’s been the Hawks best player the last two years, but the team continues a downward trajectory, and his 3-point accuracy is sliding (29 percent). He’s a good scoring point guard (19.4 ppg), and I’m curious to see how he plays alongside the Hawks #1 pick in the draft.