Sep 24, 2026 · 56 min · 20 segments
On the latest episode of Pickaxe and Roll, Ryan Blackburn breaks down the ESPN NBA player rankings heading into the 2026-27 season, including another placement for Nikola Jokic as best player in the…
Ryan BlackburnHost
Uh, they have gone from, uh, 100 to 51, and then 51, or then 50 to 21 in, in places like that, uh, gone to from 50 to 25 or, or somewhere in that general vicinity.
This year, they decided to release it over three days, 100 to 51, 50 to 11, and then do the top 10 on the final day.
And what they ultimately came down to was I, I think a, a pretty interesting place.
But, uh, they market it as a razor-thin race for number one that ultimately Nikola Jokic did win.
Uh, you've got Nikola Jokic at one, Victor Wembanyama at two, and Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, who's the back-to-back MVP and, uh, somebody who previously won a title and then only lost to Wemby and the Spurs in the Western Conference Finals, he is at three, Luka at four, Giannis at five.
Jalen Brunson jumps all the way up to six after leading the title-winning New York Knicks.
Cade Cunningham jumps up to eight, Jayson Tatum at nine, and Donovan Mitchell at 10.
He says, "I thought Brunson was number one." I think that was Peter Schrager's personal list.
There was something that came out, uh, that y- when ESPN's promoting the, the list and they're, they're recording some bites and, and some, some segments on it.
I think Peter Schrager, who is from the New York area and clearly a Knicks fan, had Brunson number one.
I think that that's a pretty reasonable list overall, and I'm actually kind of surprised.
I did this on the, uh On a short last night that I recorded for Late Night Nuggets, which you should definitely also check out, go view that short as well.
Uh, they have gone from, uh, 100 to 51, and then 51, or then 50 to 21 in, in places like that, uh, gone to from 50 to 25 or, or somewhere in that general vicinity.
This year, they decided to release it over three days, 100 to 51, 50 to 11, and then do the top 10 on the final day.
And what they ultimately came down to was I, I think a, a pretty interesting place.
But, uh, they market it as a razor-thin race for number one that ultimately Nikola Jokic did win.
Uh, you've got Nikola Jokic at one, Victor Wembanyama at two, and Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, who's the back-to-back MVP and, uh, somebody who previously won a title and then only lost to Wemby and the Spurs in the Western Conference Finals, he is at three, Luka at four, Giannis at five.
Jalen Brunson jumps all the way up to six after leading the title-winning New York Knicks.
Cade Cunningham jumps up to eight, Jayson Tatum at nine, and Donovan Mitchell at 10.
He says, "I thought Brunson was number one." I think that was Peter Schrager's personal list.
There was something that came out, uh, that y- when ESPN's promoting the, the list and they're, they're recording some bites and, and some, some segments on it.
I think Peter Schrager, who is from the New York area and clearly a Knicks fan, had Brunson number one.
I think that that's a pretty reasonable list overall, and I'm actually kind of surprised.
I did this on the, uh On a short last night that I recorded for Late Night Nuggets, which you should definitely also check out, go view that short as well.
The rest of this transcript — segmented and speaker-labeled, so you land on the exact moment something was said
Search every transcript — by keyword, by phrase, or by meaning, across every show Radar indexes
Trends — what is surging across podcasts, measured against its own baseline
Alerts — when a name you follow appears in a newly indexed episode
No account is needed to search Radar.