ESPN Lists Shai Gilgeous-Alexander Above LeBron James in Annual Ranking

Oklahoma City Thunder guard Shai Gilgeous-Alexander had a breakout season in 2022-23, averaging 31.4 points and 5.5 assists per game en route to his first All-Star appearance and first All-NBA selection.

On Thursday, ESPN released its final edition of the annual NBArank list, which ranks the top 100 players in the league. The top three of Giannis Antetokounmpo, Nikola Jokic and Joel Embiid were no surprise, although Antetokounmpo over Jokic is interesting given what happened in the playoffs. But Gilgeous-Alexander had a meteoric rise from No. 48 in 2022 to No. 8 in 2023.

More surprising than Gilgeous-Alexander’s rise? The player immediately following him on the list: Lakers star LeBron James, at No. 9.

ESPN explained James’ fall from No. 6 to 9 by citing his injury history. James missed 27 games in 2022-23 with a foot injury, and, as ESPN noted, he has played only 278 out of 389 games since joining the Lakers in 2018.

Still, seeing James—who plays leapfrog with Michael Jordan at No. 1 and 2 when most analysts rank the greatest players of all time—trailing a 25-year-old whose team lost in the play-in tournament last year is undeniably jarring. James and the Lakers were a nightmare 7-seed opponent who got healthy at the right time last year, knocking off both the Grizzlies and the defending champion Warriors en route to the Western Conference finals, where the Nuggets swept them unceremoniously.

After that series, James hinted he might retire before announcing he would return at the ESPYs in July. Few believed he would actually follow through with retirement. But James’ musings were a reminder that his remarkable era of dominance—which has included 19 All-Star teams, 19 All-NBA selections, four titles, four MVP awards and four NBA Finals MVPs—will come to an end sooner rather than later.

On a smaller scale, Thursday’s rankings were a reminder of that as well. Gilgeous-Alexander is an impressive talent—a fluid and shifty 6-foot-7 lead guard with an explosive first step, elite body control and the ability to get to the rim whenever he wants. He looks to be one of the NBA’s best guards for a long time.

“If he’s able to continue being as efficient as he has been, increase his scoring and maintain his efficiency on 3s but with a higher volume, it’s going to be hard to keep him out of All-NBA first team discussion for years to come,” ESPN’s Andrew Lopez wrote.

Still, there’s a world of difference between Gilgeous-Alexander’s ceiling and the ceiling we watched James reach and—perhaps more impressive—maintain for two decades. For all of his future stardom, Gilgeous-Alexander is unlikely to ever be a consensus top three player of all time. But given the trajectory both Gilgeous-Alexander and James are on in 2023, ESPN’s ranking isn’t entirely unreasonable, even if social media disagrees.

Gilgeous-Alexander and the Thunder are on the rise. James and the Lakers are still contenders, but how close can James, who at 38 is already the oldest player in the NBA, realistically get to 40 before he starts showing real signs of decline?

James’ career lends itself to mythos. In 2002, Sports Illustrated put him on its cover with the caption “Chosen One,” and James somehow managed to meet those lofty expectations. He brought a title to his hometown Cavaliers in 2016, defeating the greatest regular-season NBA team of all time, with the greatest Finals comeback of all time. He has scored more points than any player in NBA history.

But James is not a myth. He’s still a top 10 player, but the game is slowly starting to catch up on him. He’s human like everyone else, and there is a Shai Gilgeous-Alexander coming for all of us.