< Back to front page Text size – +

Rajon Rondo is top Celtics player in ESPN NBA rankings

Print | Comments () Posted by Gary Dzen, Boston.com Staff September 28, 2012 09:31 AM

Tweet
E-mail

By Gary Dzen, Boston.com Staff

ESPN finished its annual ranking of NBA players Thursday. Unsurprisingly, LeBron James finished at the top, followed by Kevin Durant and Dwight Howard.

The most interesting ranking from a Boston perspective was Rajon Rondo at No. 12. Rondo was the highest ranked Celtic, finishing ahead of Kevin Garnett (No. 21) and Paul Pierce (No. 29). To me that seems right. Garnett and Pierce can be more important to the Celtics in any particular game, but Rondo has become their best player. I think Pierce may be too low on the list (behind Tyson Chandler, Kyrie Irving, and Marc Gasol?), but having three of the top 30 players in the league is what makes the Celtics who they are.

Rondo finishes very high on the list overall, but on the list of point guards he's behind Chris Paul (No. 4), Derrick Rose (No.5), Russell Westbrook (No. 9), and Deron Williams (No. 10). I'll agree on three of those names, but I have a hard time putting Rondo behind Westbrook.

What do you think? Is Rondo ranked properly? What about the other Celtics? Vote in the poll below and leave a comment.