Ranking Players Based on Their NBA Top Shot Moment Values
When starting off in NBA Top Shot, you will quickly vibe out what moments have value and which ones don’t.
A lot of that has to do with the player in the moment.
While I think Top Shot on the whole will rise, some players rise at a faster rate than others. This has more to do with purely their ability on the basketball court. Their team, likability, and all sorts of other factors play into which ones are more valuable.
Here, I have ranked players (broken down by tiers) by their NBA Top Shot value. Feel free to roast me, but I suspect if you follow my guide, you will find that you’re going to make money from Top Shot instead of losing it.
Tier 1 – GOAT
IYKYK.
Lebron is in a class of his own as far as Top Shot is concerned. The only other player who has the notoriety and reputation at this point is Michael Jordan himself (and MJ doesn’t have moments…yet)
So when buying moments, you would be dumb not to be buying Lebron’s…as he will always be in the minds and in the conversations of NBA fans beyond 2021.
The only issue for beginners is that Lebron moments are already absurdly expensive. If you can afford it, however, there’s no better player to buy moments of than Lebron James.
Tier 2 – All-Timers
Kevin Durant, Steph Curry, Zion Williamson
Next, we move to “all-timers” aka players who will be remembered for generations to come and will be considered some of the best to ever lace them up.
I realize that I’m annoiting Zion too quickly here, but so far, his moments’ value speak for themselves. He’s by far one of the most valuable players on Top Shot as people are buying on potential.
He might get there, he might not, but at this point you can’t ignore the talent and the promise (plus, if he ever leaves the Pelicans he will only get more famous).
As for Steph and KD, both have contributed to the game more than we know.
Steph, of course, ushered in the 3-point era and brought in younger fans with his game. Long after he retires, people from Oakland and beyond will still be talking about how important he was.
The same goes KD. Despite a prickly personality, he’s building a resume that will put in the conversation with other all-time greats. As it stands, he’s already maybe the greatest scorer ever. These will stand long after his retirement and when his Twitter-fingers and their stories have faded in the annals of the past.
Currently too? Kevin Durant is one of the rarest NBA Top Shot superstars with only 5 moments.
Tier 3 – Superstars
Luka Doncic, Chris Paul, Kyrie Irving, James Harden, Giannis Aantetokounmpo
The next tier is reserved for a group who also will be remembered in NBA history, but ones who again have sort of baggage that devalues their moments.
With Kyrie it’s the off-court stuff, with CP3 it’s the no ringz, and for James Harden & Giannis it’s their playoff performance so far. Luka is getting a bump here, but even he’s starting complaining to the refs a lot more.
However, the talent level of all these guys is undeniable and their moment values are baked into that. You can’t go wrong with owning any of these players’ moments.
Tier 4 – MVP Caliber
Joel Embiid, Kawhi Leonard, Donovan Mitchell, Ja Morant, Nikola Jokic
What we’re seeing this year is some players making “the leap”.
While they haven’t reached that coveted superstar tier yet, they are certainly putting themselves in the MVP conversation which will serve their long-term value in Top Shot.
I realize this group is random, but I would say that the commonality between them all is they are in smaller markets and don’t have a die-hard fan base quite yet.
As they continue to get better and entrench themselves in their markets, I’d imagine it only improves their moments.
Tier 5 – Controversial Super Stars
Anthony Davis, Paul George, Russell Westbrook, Jimmy Butler, Kyle Lowry, Damian Lillard
The difference between tier 4 and tier 5 is really subtle, but it’s mostly rooted in age.
Tier 5 are more established league stars that (for whatever reason) have a bunch of die-hard fans, but an equally large amount of “haters”.
For that reason, their values are going to hold a lot of value to some people, and almost next to nothing for others. All of them have MVP potential (Russell Westbrook actually has already won an MVP) which only add to their moments’ values.
Tier 6 – Young Studs
Trae Young, Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, Jamal Murray, Jayson Tatum, Jaylen Brown, Ben Simmons
They are close…but not quite there yet.
A new generation of hoopers are sure to come, and likely one if not all of these guys will define that era. The only issue is we don’t know what the future holds for any of them.
As any basketball fan will know, it doesn’t always break your way (I’m an OKC Thunder fan, so you don’t need to tell me twice about how hard it is).
All that being said, the potential for these players are unreal. Time will tell, but if you’re looking to take some flyers on moments, try one of them!
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