Karl-Anthony Towns was the biggest winner in this week's NBA Draft Rankings, jumping up two spots to #2 overall. Towns is blessed with tremendous size and athleticism, but it was his toughness and physicality against a very good LSU front line that earned him the rankings jump.
If you look around at other ranking lists, you'll find that Duke center Jahlil Okafor is #1 in almost every one. While Okafor is as polished offensively as any college big man I've seen in a long time, he doesn't play with anywhere near the effort and fight that Towns does. Towns imposes his will on the game at all times and never takes a play off. He seemingly grabs every ball that comes close to his area, and he dominates the glass in his 20 minutes per game. This mentality wins games, and players who play like this work hard to improve.
While Towns' offensive game isn't quite as smooth as Okafor's, it's not that far off. Okafor has better touch around the basket, but Towns is much better dealing with contact. Physical play can take Okafor out of position and out of his game at times, while Towns appears to thrive on it. Towns runs the court extremely well, has a great jump hook, and nearly always wins the battle for position down low. He's even shown a very nice looking outside jump-shot.
Towns is also the much better defensive player. He's an intimidating rim defender, blocking over two shots per game in his limited minutes. He uses his length and athleticism to deny opponents around the basket, and he has the quickness to keep up with smaller players on the perimeter. Towns is also far better when it comes to being in the right position and helping his teammates defensively. For all these reasons, Karl-Anthony Towns has now taken over the #1 center spot.
| 2014-2015 PLAYER RANKING LIST | ||||||
| Rank | Player | Position | Team | Height | Weight | Year |
| 1 | D'Angelo Russell | SG/PG | Ohio St. | 6'5” | 180 | Freshman |
| 2 | Karl-Anthony Towns | C | Kentucky | 6'11” | 248 | Freshman |
| 3 | Stanley Johnson | SF/SG | Arizona | 6'7” | 245 | Freshman |
| 4 | Jahlil Okafor | C | Duke | 7'0” | 265 | Freshman |
| 5 | Devin Booker | SG | Kentucky | 6'5” | 185 | Freshman |
| 6 | Bobby Portis | PF | Arkansas | 6'10” | 231 | Sophomore |
| 7 | Jerian Grant | PG | Notre Dame | 6'5" | 202 | Senior |
| 8 | Cameron Payne | PG | Murray St. | 6'2” | 180 | Sophomore |
| 9 | Gary Payton II | PG | Oregon St. | 6'3” | 175 | Junior |
| 10 | Michael Qualls | SG/SF | Arkansas | 6'6” | 210 | Junior |
| 11 | Treveon Graham | SG/SF | VCU | 6'6" | 220 | Senior |
| 12 | Emmanuel Moodiay* | PG | China | 6'5” | 190 | Freshman |
| 13 | Myles Turner | C | Texas | 7'0” | 240 | Freshman |
| 14 | Cliff Alexander | PF | Arizona | 6'8” | 250 | Freshman |
| 15 | Jerelle Martin | PF | LSU | 6'10” | 236 | Sophomore |
| 16 | Malcolm Hill | SG/SF | Illinois | 6'6” | 230 | Sophomore |
| 17 | Trey Lyles | PF | Kentucky | 6'10” | 255 | Freshman |
| 18 | Domantas Sabonis | PF | Gonzaga | 6'11” | 210 | Freshman |
| 19 | Kelly Oubre | SF | Kansas | 6'7” | 190 | Freshman |
| 20 | Justin Anderson | SG | Virginia | 6'5” | 210 | Junior |
| 21 | Caris LeVert | SG | Michigan | 6'7" | 200 | Junior |
| 22 | Delon Wright | PG | Utah | 6'5” | 190 | Senior |
| 23 | Derrick Marks | PG | Boise St. | 6'3" | 204 | Senior |
| 24 | Daniel Hamilton | SG | UCONN | 6'6” | 175 | Freshman |
| 25 | Justise Winslow | SF/SG | Duke | 6'6” | 218 | Freshman |
| 26 | Taurean Waller-Prince | SF | Baylor | 6'7" | 215 | Junior |
| 27 | Kevon Looney | SF | UCLA | 6'8” | 200 | Freshman |
| 28 | Zak Irvin | SG/SF | Michigan | 6'6” | 215 | Sophomore |
| 29 | Buddy Hield | SG | Oklahoma | 6'5” | 208 | Junior |
| 30 | Corey Hawkins | PG | UC Davis | 6'3” | 195 | Senior |
| 31 | Dorian Finney-Smith | SF/PF | Florida | 6'8" | 218 | Junior |
| 32 | Malcolm Brogdon | SG | Virginia | 6'5” | 217 | Junior |
| 33 | Rakeem Christmas | PF | Syracuse | 6'9" | 250 | Senior |
| 34 | Rondae Hollis-Jefferson | SF/SG | Arizona | 6'6” | 220 | Sophomore |
| 35 | Terry Rozier | PG | Louisville | 6'1” | 190 | Sophomore |
| 36 | Montrezl Harrell | PF | Louisville | 6'8” | 235 | Junior |
| 37 | Tyrone Wallace | SG/PG | California | 6'5” | 200 | Junior |
| 38 | Jordan Mickey | SF | LSU | 6'8” | 220 | Sophomore |
| 39 | Frank Kaminsky | PF/C | Wisconsin | 7'0” | 234 | Senior |
| 40 | Sam Dekkar | SF | Wisconsin | 6'9" | 220 | Junior |
| 41 | Christian Wood | PF | UNLV | 6'11” | 220 | Sophomore |
| 42 | Kris Dunn | PG | Providence | 6'3" | 205 | Sophomore |
| 43 | Jaron Blossomgame | SF | Clemson | 6'7” | 215 | Sophomore |
| 44 | Jamel Artis | PF/SF | Pitt | 6'7” | 220 | Sophomore |
| 45 | Denzel Livingston | SG | Incarnate Word | 6'4” | 178 | Senior |
| 46 | Michael Gbinije | SG/SF | Syracuse | 6'7” | 200 | Junior |
| 47 | Yogi Ferrell | PG | Indiana | 6'0" | 178 | Junior |
| 48 | Romelo Trimble | PG | Maryland | 6'2” | 175 | Freshman |
| 49 | Sir'Dominic Pointer | SG/SF | St. John's | 6'6" | 196 | Senior |
| 50 | Jakob Poeltl | C | Utah | 7'0” | 235 | Freshman |
| 51 | Dillon Brooks | SF/SG | Oregon | 6'5” | 205 | Freshman |
| 52 | Willie Cauley-Stein | C | Kentucky | 7'0" | 244 | Junior |
| 53 | LeBryan Nash | SF | Oklahoma St | 6'7" | 220 | Senior |
| 54 | Wayne Selden | SG | Kansas | 6'5” | 230 | Sophomore |
| 55 | Dakari Johnson | C | Kentucky | 6'11” | 260 | Sophomore |
| 56 | Corey Walden | PG/SG | E. Kentucky | 6'2” | 206 | Senior |
| 57 | Georges Niang | SF | Iowa St. | 6'8" | 230 | Junior |
| 58 | David Laury | PF | Iona | 6'9” | 245 | Senior |
| 59 | Xavier Rathan-Mayes | PG | Florida St. | 6'4” | 180 | Freshman |
| 60 | A.J. English | SG | Iona | 6'4” | 190 | Junior |
| 61 | R.J. Hunter | SG | Georgia St. | 6'6” | 190 | Junior |
| 62 | Tyler Harvey | SG | E. Washington | 6'4” | 185 | Sophomore |
| 63 | Angel Delgado | PF | Seton Hall | 6'9” | 215 | Freshman |
| 64 | Demetrius Jackson | PG | Notre Dame | 6'1” | 195 | Sophomore |
| 65 | Xavier Johnson | SF | Colorado | 6'7” | 230 | Junior |
| 66 | James Blackmon Jr. | SG/PG | Indiana | 6'4” | 190 | Freshman |
| 67 | Ron Baker | SG | Wichita St. | 6'3” | 222 | Junior |
| 68 | Branden Dawson | SF | Michigan St. | 6'6" | 225 | Senior |
| 69 | Anthony Brown | SG/SF | Stanford | 6'6" | 215 | Senior |
| 70 | D'Vauntes Smith-Rivera | SG/PG | Georgetown | 6'3” | 218 | Junior |
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