{"id":184478,"date":"2025-09-27T03:53:09","date_gmt":"2025-09-27T03:53:09","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/184478\/"},"modified":"2025-09-27T03:53:09","modified_gmt":"2025-09-27T03:53:09","slug":"did-espn-lower-lebron-james-ranking-on-its-list-of-best-nba-players-for-2025-nba-news","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/184478\/","title":{"rendered":"Did ESPN lower LeBron James\u2019 ranking on its list of best NBA players for 2025? | NBA News"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"DidLeBron James. Image via: Getty Images For the 15th straight year, ESPN\u2019s annual NBA Rank raises eyebrows, as LeBron James<\/a> found himself slipping slightly. The Los Angeles Lakers star, turning 40 this season, dropped from No. 7 to No. 8 on the list of top 10 players entering 2025\u201326. While a single spot might not seem significant, it raises broader questions about how long James can stay among the elite as the league evolves around younger superstars.<\/p>\n

ESPN lowers LeBron James\u2019 ranking in 2025<\/p>\n

\"LeBron-James-NBA-2025\"<\/p>\n

LeBron James. Image via Getty Images<\/p>\n

ESPN lowered LeBron James\u2019 ranking from 7 to 8. Despite the minor fall in ESPN\u2019s rankings, James remains an outlier in terms of longevity and production. Last season, he averaged 24.4 points, 7.8 rebounds, and 8.2 assists per game while shooting an efficient 51.3% from the field and 37.6% from deep. That effort earned him All-NBA Second Team honors and a sixth-place finish in MVP voting.As ESPN noted: \u201cJames dropped one spot from No. 7 to No. 8 after a very strong 22nd season during which he averaged 24.4 points, 8.2 assists and 7.8 rebounds, was named to the All-NBA second team and finished sixth in MVP voting. He has already shown unprecedented late-career production and will become the first player ever to play 23 seasons when he steps on the floor this fall. His NBA Rank prominence is unprecedented, too: fellow all-time great Kobe Bryant fell to No. 93 at the start of his 20th and final season in 2015-16.\u201dThat comparison to Kobe Bryant shows how unusual James\u2019 continued dominance is. He is still performing at an All-NBA level, on top of that, he is also chasing history: once he plays 50 more regular-season games, he will pass Robert Parish for the most games played in league history.<\/p>\n

ESPN\u2019s rankings spotlight a generational shift in the NBA<\/p>\n

While James clings to a top-10 spot, the rest of ESPN\u2019s rankings reveal a league in transition. Check out the ESPN top 10 ranking of NBA stars\u2014Nikola Jokic, C, Denver Nuggets \u2013 Retains No. 1 spot from 2024
Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, G, Oklahoma City Thunder \u2013 Up from No. 4
Luka Doncic, G, Los Angeles Lakers \u2013 Down from No. 2
Giannis Antetokounmpo, F, Milwaukee Bucks \u2013 Down from No. 3
Victor Wembanyama, C, San Antonio Spurs \u2013 Up from No. 11
Anthony Edwards, G, Minnesota Timberwolves \u2013 Up from No. 10
Stephen Curry, G, Golden State Warriors \u2013 Down from No. 6
LeBron James, F, Los Angeles Lakers \u2013 Down from No. 7
Kevin Durant, F, Houston Rockets \u2013 Same at No. 9
Jalen Brunson, G, New York Knicks \u2013 Up from No. 12League insiders told ESPN they believe James, Curry, and Durant still deserve to be in the top 10 but acknowledged their inevitable decline. \u201cThey should be there,\u201d one Western Conference assistant coach said. \u201cThey\u2019re just not top-five guys anymore.\u201dAlso Read: Adam Silver\u2019s \u201cvery doable\u201d claim on NBA\u2013Europe crossover leaves door open for radical postseason shake-up<\/a>Entering his 23rd NBA season, James has already achieved the rare feat of extending peak-level play deep into his late 30s. And fans believe he will add more stunning records to his name in the upcoming season.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"LeBron James. Image via: Getty Images For the 15th straight year, ESPN\u2019s annual NBA Rank raises eyebrows, as…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":184479,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[64],"tags":[108663,108657,108660,108661,3013,108658,1055,355,108659,99,108662],"class_list":["post-184478","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-nba","tag-all-nba-level","tag-espn-nba-rank","tag-generational-shift-nba","tag-kobe-bryant-comparison","tag-lebron-james","tag-lebron-james-ranking","tag-los-angeles-lakers","tag-nba","tag-nba-players-2025","tag-sports","tag-top-10-players"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/184478","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=184478"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/184478\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/184479"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=184478"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=184478"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=184478"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}