OKC Thunder players miss initial cut of SI Top 100 list

OKC Thunder fans are anxiously awaiting the opening of training camp a week from today. As we inch closer to that date the annual prediction articles are available for our viewing and debate pleasure.

One that draws ample interest is Sports Illustrated‘s annual Top 100 list.  The first portion listing players ranked in the 100 to 51 positions on the list was released on Monday and today the next group (50-31) came out. In addition, a companion post on Biggest Snubs was also released.

The panel that ranked the players this season includes Chris Herring, Rohan Nadkarni, Michael Pina, and Jeremy Woo.  Rookies aren’t considered and unlike many lists that disclude injured players who are felled, that’s not the case with SI.com. That means Kawhi Leonard and  Jamal Murray are on the list as well as Klay Thompson who’ll return from a two-year absence from the hardcourt.

OKC Thunder players glaringly absent from initial entries of SI.com Top 100

In the 13 seasons of the OKC Thunder franchise, the SI.com Top 100 list has featured several players from the roster. In fact, it was common for multiple stars to land in the top 10 or 20 on the list.

Supplementary players such as Steven Adams, Dennis Schroder, and Victor Oladipo found themselves making the cut further down the list. But with the top 70 players released and the “snub list” so far not one player from the existing roster was included.

No doubt, Shai Gilgeous-Alexander will land on one of the upcoming installments; the question is whether he’s in the 30 to 21 or 20 to 11 version. Intentions believe SGA will land in the 30 to 21 ranking — and we’ll find out tomorrow.

On one hand, it’s understandable no other players made the cut but poor Luguentz Dort can’t seem to get any respect. Draymond Green may have proved himself as a defender in the league but for him to rank 35th and Lu to not get a nod in the top 100 seems blasphemous from in our opinion.

Two former OKC Thunder players appear on the initial installments. Specifically, Jerami Grant lands in the 55th seed (previously 79th) while Russell Westbrook ranks 34th (previously 25th).

A trio of former players makes the “Biggest Snubs” list including two big men Steven Adams and Al Horford as well as Victor Oladipo who has dealt with injuries the past two seasons.

Again, the exclusion of Lu Dort is particularly harsh but that’s what the OKC Thunder will deal with as they revamp the franchise. Until the club starts amassing win tallies it’s likely only Gilgeous-Alexander will show up on these prestigious lists.