ESPN’s complete 14th annual top 100 player rankings for the 2024-2025 season have been released. The Worldwide Leader expert panel was asked: “Which player will be better in 2024-2025?” for player-versus-player matchups with over 15,000 possible combinations to determine an order.

The first half of the top 100 ranking can be found here (even if there is no power Sixes were visible). Most of the remaining half issued Wednesday, while the remaining top 10 debuts on Thursday. As expected, Joel Embiid is featured in the latest edition.

The following players round out the top of the rankings:

10. Anthony Edwards

9. Kevin Durant

8. Joel Embiid

7. LeBron James

6. Stephen Curry

5. Jayson Tatum

4. Shai Gilgeous-Alexander

3. Giannis Antetokounmpo

2. Luka Doncic

1. Nikola Jokic

Embiid is having a career season, averaging 34.7 points, 11 rebounds and 5.6 assists in 33.6 minutes of play. However, his 2023-24 season was limited to just 39 games, missing much of the season with a torn meniscus in his left knee.

The statistics alone show that eighth place is a fairly low ranking considering production. Tim Bontempts, who wrote the blurb explaining Embiid’s rankings, stated that injuries were a major reason he dropped five spots compared to last year’s rankings:

“Biggest question for 2024-2025: A common theme here: Can Embiid stay on the court while returning to the dominant form of last season? Throughout his career, he has said repeatedly that he hopes for one full playoff run with a clean bill of health. And while there have been my fair share of bad breaks along the way, the simple fact is that this has yet to happen. If Embiid gets through this season healthy, he could easily rise back into the top five of this list next season. But what if he can’t? Falling out of the top 10 is on the table for the 2023 MVP.”

The Sixers and Embiid have placed an emphasis on keeping him fresh and rested throughout the season. It is said that Embiid will rarely, if ever, play back-to-backs, and the expectation is that Embiid will perform well throughout the year in hopes that his health will peak at the right time for the NBA postseason.

A healthy Embiid campaign and a successful playoff run could make these rankings look strange a year from now. Time will tell.