22/23 ESPN Sleepers
ESPN’s rankings are weirder than ever. They are always a mess, but this year they feel especially nonsensical because it seems like they put some effort into their rankings before giving up halfway. If you take a look at their rankings, you’ll see that they did their homework with some players. Ja Morant is in a reasonable spot, which is not something you’d expect from ESPN. After last year’s breakout, I was expecting ESPN to have him at something goofy like sixth overall. Trendy breakout picks like Jalen Smith and Brandon Clarke who they would usually have buried have been placed in a decent spot. You’re not getting either for cheap. But then you take a closer look and you see that Devin Vassell is outside of the top 150, a bunch of rookies are ranked beside Zoran Dragic who hasn’t played in the NBA since 2015, and Jamal Murray — who is completely healthy at this point — is ranked outside of the top 130. I don’t get it…but I also don’t hate it either because ESPN’s wackiness makes it much easier to find value throughout the draft and build a monster team. Below are 40, yes 40, players who are ranked well below where they should be on ESPN. I will be updating this list if ESPN makes another major update and as preseason goes along and rotations start to become clearer.
For access to all of this year’s punting guides, projections and rankings, pairing guides, sleepers and busts, and much, much more, subscribe here: