Editor’s Note: On Monday, we introduced the methodology and research that went into creating the tiers in general, as well as listing the players in the Nos. 80-125 best player range. Rather than recap in full, we encourage you to peruse there for those details to allow us to get right into Tier 3.
Having breezed through Tier 5 (players 80-125) and Tier 4 (players 38-79) on Monday and Tuesday, respectively, we now move on to Tier 3. We’re into what we might call the Top 40, even though as of right now only 37 players remain.
Tier 3 consists of players who perform at a level worthy of getting “in the conversation” for an All-Star slot, but are probably just short of being All-NBA Third Team level contributors. From a statistical standpoint, this is the group that starts to produce at a level deserving of the 25 percent “rookie max” available to players coming off of their initial NBA deals, and should be worth somewhere in the region…
