Three Portland Trail Blazers players cracked the list of the Ringer’s Top 100 NBA players: Deni Avdija, Anfernee Simons and Toumani Camara.
Updated on June 4, the list served as proof that Avdija’s ascension this past season didn’t fall on deaf ears outside of Portland. The fast and physical forward ranked No. 61, far and away the highest Trail Blazer on the list. Maybe most impressive, Avdija didn’t even appear on the list back in January.
Handling the analysis, The Ringer’s Justin Verrier highlighted the force that the 24-year-old forward attacks with.
Avdija has indeed enhanced the overall feel of Portland’s work-in-progress offense, but it’s the force he plays with that lands him on this list. Avdija doesn’t drive the ball so much as he battering-rams it, like Brandon Jacobs at the goal line, and those aggressive paint touches have helped create the space and defensive rotations that the Blazers’ inconsistent shooting often can’t. Avdija’s own shooting has also taken a dip, but when he’s playing with flow, he can do almost anything—whether it’s guarding centers on one end or orchestrating a run all by himself.
To reach the next Blazer on the list, you have to scroll all the way down to the 80s; that’s where you’ll find Simons at No. 87. The scoring guard with a sweet stroke is coming off a down year that saw dips in scoring, field goal percentage and 3-point percentage. That decrease in production resulted in a 12-spot drop from his No. 75 ranking on the list around this time last year.
Still, the Ringer’s Rob Mahoney explained Simons can still shoot the rock better than most, making him a valuable player in this league (although he thinks Simons might blossom better in a different city).
Simons needs to work alongside another playmaker, and he very much needs a counterpart to defend the point of attack. Portland has struggled to hit both of those objectives in a single backcourt partner. Perfect fits are hard to come by, even for a natural scorer with one of the smoothest strokes in the game. Ultimately, it could make more sense for the Blazers to move Simons to a tailor-made situation rather than attempting to fashion one themselves. The particulars with Simons can be a bit limiting for a Portland team in the midst of an extended rebuild. But plug him into an already competitive roster—with enough defensive support—and his shooting could transform the whole operation. Put Simons in support of a proper creator, and suddenly his game makes complete sense.
Rounding out the Portland representation, Camara ranked No. 95 on the list. The newly minted NBA All-Defensive Second Team forward first appeared on this list back in March, and now he’s climbed a little higher. Verrier (who has profiled Camara before) hyped up Camara’s renowned defensive abilities, while giving shine to the less renowned parts of his game.
In just his second season, Camara has catapulted onto the short list of the best defenders in the NBA, an “if you know, you know” all-star who draws praise from all corners of the league—executives, coaches, and even the star players he’s just tormented for 30-odd minutes. Physically, his profile is a virtual checklist of the tools you’d want in a modern wing defender: He’s long, athletic, and mobile, and he’s sturdy as all hell. So while the 24-year-old Belgian primarily covers the league’s top perimeter scorers, he can wrestle with Nikola Jokic and Giannis Antetokounmpo, too. He’s also a sharp processor of the game and has become increasingly snarly as his reputation has built among officials—which, combined, has led to by far the most charges taken in the league this season.
That preternatural feel has begun to translate on offense, too. Camara’s outside shooting has taken a major leap, but his 3-ball is looking more like an entry pass to playing time rather than the totality of his offensive offerings. He’s so helpful in so many ways when playing within the flow: moving the ball, setting structurally sound screens, making timely cuts, finishing over the top, even putting it on the deck a little to attack a closeout. So while Camara has the look of a prototypical 3-and-D role player, he’s just a damn good basketball player that any team would want on their side.
Outside of those three, no other Blazers made the cut. No Deandre Ayton. No Jerami Grant. No Shaedon Sharpe. Grant may be the most notable omission of the bunch, given the fact he ranked No. 71 on the Ringer’s list last June. He ranked the highest among Blazers players at the time (Simons ranked No. 75; Malcolm Brogdon ranked No. 90).
But what do you think? Did the Ringer get it right regarding the Blazers and the rest of the NBA? Let us know in the comments below!