This week, Frank Urbina ranked the top 100 players in the NBA during the 2023-24 season for HoopsHype. The list wasn’t meant to produce the 100 most talented players in the league in the campaign that just wrapped up, it instead was designed to reward player performance and availability between both the regular season and playoffs.
Nikola Jokic, for example, played in 79 games and won the league’s MVP award. That put him on the top of the list, and Luka Doncic was right behind him after leading the Dallas Mavericks to the NBA Finals. Anthony Edwards and Jalen Brunson both finished in the top-six despite not being among the best half-dozen players in the league because they were healthy and led their teams to postseason success.
Three Indiana Pacers players made the ranking, and all three ended the season in the top 50. It’s the expected trio for the blue and gold.
Pascal Siakam was the top-rated Pacer. He finished 13th overall after playing in 80 regular season games and 17 postseason outings. Of the players who reached 80 games played this past season, Siakam was one of two (Paolo Banchero was the other) to score over 20 points per game. The 30-year old forward finished the season averaging 21.7 points and 7.1 rebounds per game.
Tyrese Haliburton finished second among Pacers players at 17th. He made an All-NBA team but missed 13 outings and was limited in plenty more. At his apex, Haliburton was a top-10 impact player, but availability held him back. He sat out the final two postseason outings as well. Haliburton led the NBA with 10.9 assists per game and added 20.1 points on average.
Myles Turner was the final member for the blue and gold to be ranked on the list, and he came in at 49th. The veteran big man proved that he is still getting better with a wonderful offensive season, and he did it without injuries — Turner played over 70 games for the first time since 2018-19 last year.
He took advantage, impacting games well deep into the postseason while averaging 17.1 points and 6.9 rebounds per game. He proved that he fits well with Haliburton and Siakam during his ninth campaign in Indiana.
“I think us three are all a part of the long-term future here in Indy, and I think we’re all excited about that,” Haliburton said of himself, Turner, and Siakam after winning Game 7 of the Eastern Conference Semifinals. Those three are the Pacers core as they head into a new era that will be graded by winning, and they all proved to be top-50 players last season according to HoopsHype.
