Kyrie Irving cracks ESPN's top 25 players for 2024-25

ESPN will release its annual ranking of the top 100 NBA players later this week. Tuesday was 100-51, with Klay Thompson and Dereck Lively II appearing, and Wednesday was 50-11. ESPN is trying to predict who the best players will be this season, and they have another Dallas Maverick in line for a possible All-Star Game.

Kyrie Irving cracked Wednesday's releases, landing at No. 25 in the rankings. He ranked 34th last season, ahead of All-Stars like Jimmy Butler, Domontas Sabonis, Lauri Markkanen and Scottie Barnes.

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Of the ranking, ESPN's Tim McMahon said: “There was never any doubt about Irving's exceptional ability, but last year he slipped to No. 34 on this list because of questions about his availability and his ability to impact winning. He responded by becoming the driver.” Along with Luka Doncic, the Mavs played a prominent role as the pair fit together phenomenally. They formed the league's top scoring duo, with Irving contributing 25.7 points per game on 60.8% shooting and emerging as the Mavs “Emotional Leader.”

Irving lost a lot of media sympathy for how he handled his departures from the Boston Celtics and Brooklyn Nets, but has regained it through his captivating play last season and the great enthusiasm of the Dallas. His leadership was a big reason the Mavericks reached the NBA Finals and will also help Luka Doncic continue to develop as a leader.

Doncic will be included in Thursday's ESPN Top 10 Players release and should be in the top three.

READ MORE: Two Mavericks land in ESPN's top 100 NBA players

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