Cooper Flagg's preseason ranking is an insult to Jaden McDaniels, Naz Reid

Jaden McDaniels and Naz Reid are the first two Timberwolves stars to make ESPN's latest attempt to rank the top-100 players in the NBA. However, they preposterously come in far below an 18-year-old who has yet to even step foot on an NBA court.

Reid, the former Sixth Man of the Year, comes in at No. 90, dropping three spots from the previous iteration of ESPN's ranking. The Wolves showed their commitment to the homegrown star this offseason, signing the 26-year-old to a five-year, $125-million extension.

The 6-foot-9 big man continued his upward trajectory in the 2024-25 season, improving on the numbers that landed him the 2024 Sixth Man of the Year award. Reid averaged 14.2 points (up from 13.5), 6.0 rebounds (5.2), and 2.3 assists (1.3) last season. However, all those key stats dipped in the Wolves' second straight run to the Western Conference finals before being knocked out by Oklahoma City.

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McDaniels continued to show his lockdown ability on defense last season, all while adding a bit more to his offensive game, which sees him jump up two spots to No. 75 to begin the 2025-26 season.

In ranking him, ESPN noted that McDaniels was one of just five players to finish the season with 1,000 points, 100 steals and 50 blocks. He averaged a career-high 12.2 points per game while improving his rebounds from 3.1 to 5.7 per game, assists from 1.3 to 2.0, steals from 0.9 to 1.3, and blocks from 0.6 to 0.9 per game.

Despite all that, ESPN placed 18-year-old No. 1 overall pick Cooper Flagg well above those two seasoned veterans, claiming Flagg is the 52nd-best player in the NBA.

Not only is he above McDaniels and Reid, Flagg is also above the likes of Alex Caruso and Isaiah Hartenstein, who were key contributors on a championship Thunder team, and Myles Turner, who helped the underdog Pacers reach the NBA Finals this past season. Those are to name a few among 48 established players who find themselves ranked lower than Flagg.

Flagg has been hailed as a 'generational talent' since before he made his way to Duke, where he helped the Blue Devils claim the ACC title and reach the Final Four before being bounced by Houston. ESPN called Flagg "the most anticipated American prospect since LeBron James" and the "No. 1" player on a veteran Dallas roster. Those are lofty titles for an 18-year-old who has yet to prove himself at the professional level.

The young Mavs star may indeed end up becoming the star ESPN, and many others, are projecting him to be. However, ranking him above players who have actually proved it at the NBA level over multiple seasons is rather preposterous.

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