A recent NBA player rankings shockingly left off one New York Knicks All-Star from the top of its list.
Knicks’ Karl-Anthony Towns omitted from top-25 ranking
As New York Basketball shared on X, The Ringer released an updated list of its top 100 players in the league. Knicks center Karl-Anthony Towns was nowhere to be found in the top 25.
Further, The Ringer’s Justin Verrier said this in part to justify Towns’ placement at No. 28 overall:
“Towns has never been much of a rim protector, and after that glaring hole was buried under a pile of Rudy Gobert’s Defensive Player of the Year trophies for a few seasons, the Knicks’ horrid defensive start has once again unearthed the inconvenient truth. But his play on the other end has been nothing short of electric,” Verrier wrote.
The 29-year-old big man is playing incredible basketball in 2024-25. He ranks 10th in the league in scoring with 26.8 points per game. The Kentucky product is No.4 in rebounding with 12.2 boards a night. Only seven players making at least one three-pointer a game are shooting 50 percent or better from deep. Towns is one of them at exactly 50 percent shooting, good for No. 5 overall.
Towns has a claim over several players chosen ahead of him
Whether it’s big games like his 44-point masterclass against top-shelf defender Bam Adebayo and the Miami Heat on Oct. 30, or the new element he’s brought to the Knicks’ offense, finding 25 players better than the New Jersey native would be a tall task. That task was met in The Ringer’s rankings, which included San Antonio Spurs phenom Victor Wembanyama (No. 16), Indiana Pacers All-Star Tyrese Haliburton (No. 18), and Philadelphia 76ers All-Star Tyrese Maxey (No. 24).
Wembanyama, from a talent perspective, is more than generational. Yet, his numbers outside of his 3.7 blocks per game don’t jump off the page by it, his Spurs (7-8) own a losing record, and it remains to be seen if he can take a team to the postseason.
Haliburton is an immense talent with a real claim to be considered top-25. However, his 38.3 percent field goal clip and 28.8 percent clip from deep are worrisome. As for Maxey, his gaudy 27.6 PPG elevates his stock. However, despite Joel Embiid and Paul George’s injuries, he’s had enough help around him to win more than just two games in the campaign.
Towns deserves to be considered top-25 based on his play alone. He may also have some qualms with who was placed ahead of him. Nevertheless, he’ll look to keep up his strong play and kick the Knicks into overdrive as the season progresses.