Robin Lopez Ranked No. 84 on SI.com Top 100 NBA Players List

This week SI.com began releasing it’s exhaustive list of the Top 100 NBA Players of 2016, and with numbers 100 through 31 revealed, only a single New York Knick made the list so far. Free agent acquisition Robin Lopez charts at No. 84, dropping two spots from the previous year’s ranking of No. 82.

SI.com’s list solely seeks to highlight who it predicts will be the league’s best players this upcoming season alone. The biggest determining factor in the rankings was the player’s past performance, including the postseason, weighted heavily towards the most recent results. Injuries and injury risks were taken into account, as was anticipating the improvement of younger players and the possible decline of veterans.

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First-year players (and delayed rookies like Joel Embiid) were not included, nor was the player’s salary taken into account. How a player fit into the context of his team’s system was minimized.

Of course, like most lists, there’s a high measure of subjectivity, which is what makes these lists fun to debate among fans.

Per SI.com:

"Given the wide variety of candidates involved and the deep analytical resources available, no single, definitive criterion was used to form this list. Instead, rankings were assigned based on a fluid combination of subjective assessment and objective data, including per-game statistics and advanced measures like Player Efficiency Rating, Win Shares, Real Plus-Minus, WARP, Net Rating and Synergy Sports data."

Lopez came to the Knicks this summer after two productive seasons with the Portland Trailblazers where he helped to improve the team’s defensive efficiency ranking from No. 26, prior to his arrival, to No. 10, last season. Lopez’s blue-collar work ethic will endear him to Knicks fans as his low-key game is suited more towards hustling on the glass and on the defensive end than putting up big numbers.

According to SI.com, Lopez has an impressively “adult” game:

"The 7-footer possesses old-school craft, setting quality screens, boxing out with extreme diligence, and extending possessions with his offensive rebounding. Although no one would suggest Lopez is quick or smooth, he’s a very effective interior defender who contests shots and uses his fouls to discourage drivers."