Player rankings can be an irritating exercise, because in most ways theres rarely much functional difference between the 13th and 14th best player in the league, and certainly not the 73rd and 74th. What can be meaningful, however, are player tiers. Guys can be grouped together in ways that make a little more sense in terms of impact. There are God-level stars, and regular stars. There are All-Stars and near-All-Stars. So as the season creeps towards us, the Locked On Network has put together its list of the best 100 players in the NBA. Three Lakers make the cut. (You can guess which ones...) -Luka Dončić, 4th. -LeBron James, 12th. -Austin Reaves, 58th. Luka is up in the super-elite group with Jokic, Shai and Giannis. LeBron is in that next tier down (for what it's worth, your hosts both had him in the top 10). And there's something special about that über-elite level guy that can cover a lot of sins. The Lakers are the only team to have someone at that level, plus another at LeBron's. Add in Austin Reaves at 58 and LA has a good amount of representation. But is it the right kind? Is it distributed as needed, from a skill set standpoint? Does it really matter, when the two guys headlining the thing are Luka and LeBron? Meanwhile, the Lakers have added guys who wouldn't be that far outside the top 100 in Deandre Ayton and Marcus Smart, and have Rui Hachimura, who has developed into a very reliable frontcourt shooter. All Stars? No, but in Ayton and Smart the Lakers are making major upgrades over what they had last year. So put it all together, and can you say the Lakers might be a little underrated? HOSTS: Andy and Brian Kamenetzky SEGMENT 1: The Lakers get three guys in the Locked On Top 100. SEGMENT 2: What it means to have Luka and LeBron. SEGMENT 3: Are the Lakers underrated? Support Us By Supporting Our Sponsors! 5-Hour ENERGY Tee up that trip! Enter for a chance to win a dream golf trip for two to any golf tournament* in the USA. Visit 5HEWIN.com for full rules and entry. No purchase necessary. Excludes the Master’s tournament. Ends October 31, 2025. Monarch Money Take control of your finances with Monarch Money. Use code LOCKEDONNBA at monarchmoney.com/lockedonnba for 50% off your first year FanDuel Right now, new customers can bet just FIVE dollars and if your bet wins—you’ll get THREE HUNDRED dollars in bonus bets to use across the app. Download the FanDuel app now by visiting FanDuel.comto get started FANDUEL DISCLAIMER: 21+ in select states. First online real money wager only. Bonus issued as nonwithdrawable free bets that expires in 14 days. Restrictions apply. See terms at sportsbook.fanduel.com. Gambling Problem? Call 1-800-GAMBLER or visit FanDuel.com/RG (CO, IA, MD, MI, NJ, PA, IL, VA, WV), 1-800-NEXT-STEP or text NEXTSTEP to 53342 (AZ), 1-888-789-7777 or visit ccpg.org/chat (CT), 1-800-9-WITH-IT (IN), 1-800-522-4700 (WY, KS) or visit ksgamblinghelp.com (KS), 1-877-770-STOP (LA), 1-877-8-HOPENY or text HOPENY (467369) (NY), TN REDLINE 1-800-889-9789 (TN)