Jalen Duren's controversial offseason has been highly questionable not only for the harm he's caused the Pistons, but also his awful playoff showings the last time we saw him on an NBA court. However, that didn't stop ESPN from ranking him one spot above Finals hero OG Anunoby in their Top 100 list for next season. Despite Duren failing spectacularly in the most important games while Anunoby rose above and beyond, Duren was ranked #33 while Anunoby came in at #34.
Duren doesn't deserve to be rated over Anunoby
The only possible explanation I could see for ranking Duren over Anunoby is giving Duren tons of grace as his team's second option while Anunoby was a distant third option for the Knicks. Anunoby had the benefit of playing with two other All-Stars that defenses targeted first, in Finals MVP Jalen Brunson and Karl Anthony-Towns.
But that comparison falls flat on its face when Duren produced just 10 points per game in the playoffs while Anunoby poured in 20 points per game during a dominant championship run. It's fair to say opponents planned for Duren more, but the difference in scoring production and efficiency is too much to ignore regardless of the context.
Beyond the scoring difference, Anunoby also has a great track record of being the perfect complementary player that can support a team's stars. He's been an elite 3-point shooter for years now, including a preposterous 49% from deep during the Knicks championship run.
Of course, his defense is also world-class and his versatility on that end might be the best in the league. Impressively, Anunoby was able to maintain his strong defense while scaling up his scoring during the playoffs.
Anunoby isn't the only one getting snubbed by Duren
Duren is still holding out for a contract that will pay him the way ESPN sees him, but most fans and front offices don't agree. Two other names jumped out at me among the players listed below Duren: Magic stars Paolo Banchero and Franz Wagner.
During the Pistons/Magic first round series, it was clear that Banchero and Wagner were the second- and third-best players in the series, only behind Cade Cunningham. Both Banchero and Wagner looked like genuine stars whose games translated perfectly into the postseason, while Duren was a deer lost in the headlights. After the direct head-to-head comparison, it's very hard to justify ranking Duren above either of those players, let alone both.
The regular season was a great success story for Duren, and one he must continue to build off of. But he really needs to go back to the drawing board following his playoff disaster. Because of that, Duren hasn't quite earned his spot yet amongst the league's best players and that's being reflected during this offseason.
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