Ray McCallum is Better Than His Ranking Suggests

Ray McCallum is a solid backup point guard with potential, but ESPN seems to disagree. ESPN.com released a top 400 list of NBA players. The list features the top 400 players in the league in order. Ray McCallum ranks No. 255 on the list.

Sep 28, 2015; San Antonio, TX, USA; San Antonio Spurs guard Ray McCallum (3) poses for a photo during Media Day at the training facility. Mandatory Credit: Soobum Im-USA TODAY Sports

McCallum is coming off the second season in his NBA career. McCallum averaged 7.4 points and 2.8 assists with the Sacramento Kings. In 30 starts his numbers jumped to 11.2 points and 4.3 assists.

The 24-year-old guard will be asked to take on a role similar to Cory Joseph‘s on the Spurs. In the offseason, the Spurs traded a future second round draft pick for McCallum.

Strangely enough the ESPN list has players like Gary Neal (#230), Nick Collison (#252), and Andre Miller (#253) higher than McCallum. McCallum is rising unlike most players, who are ranked low.

At this stage, he is a serviceable backup with athleticism. McCallum is at his best inside 20-feet, as he can attack the basket well. If McCallum continues to work on his three point shot (31%), he can become one of the better backup guards in the league.

This season McCallum looks to be one of the key pieces off the Spurs bench. With Tony Parker and Manu Ginobili only getting older, McCallum might be asked to play significant games in some regular season games. The Spurs got a nice backup at a low cost.

ESPN has to do something about McCallum’s ranking, he shouldn’t be ranked below 254 NBA players.

Next: Power Ranking the Spurs Roster, No. 3: Tim Duncan