Where the ESPN top-100 got it wrong for the New Orleans Pelicans

The New Orleans Pelicans have one of the strongest starting lineups in the NBA, with two young All-Stars flanked by quality impact veterans and a defensive anchor.

This was evident in the recent top-100 player rankings by ESPN, in which the Pelicans had four players featured so far, the top 25 will be released later today.

Brandon Ingram, Zion Williamson, CJ McCollum and Jonas Valanciunas were all named in the top-100, but all of them probably should have been a little higher on the list.

Here is where ESPN got it wrong.

New Orleans Pelicans: Where ESPN got it wrong

Herb Jones: Rank N/A

Herbert Jones has not been featured thus far, so unless he is in the top-25, he’s not on the list at all, which seems like a gross oversight. Jones was one of the top wing defenders in the NBA last season, made the All-Rookie team, and quickly gained a reputation around the league as a defender.

There are some good players on this list, but I would have definitely put Herb ahead of guys like Mitchell Robinson (98), Keegan Murray (95 and he’s never played), Brandon Clarke (94) and Caris LeVert (80) among others.

All of these players are better (or close) to Herb on offense, so it’s clear the voters were mostly looking at box scores and not film.

Herb isn’t going to get his due respect until he starts making more impact on offense or until the Pelicans start winning more on the national stage so people can see his value firsthand.