Taurean Prince, John Collins represent Atlanta Hawks on preseason top 100 list

Most outlets release their lists of the top 100 players in the NBA in September, simply because there isn’t much to discuss in that dead period of the year. However, Tim Bontemps of the Washington Post chose a more timely moment to release his 2018-2019 ranking and, on Monday, Taurean Prince and John Collins featured on the list.

Collins previously garnered recognition as a top 100 player from CBS Sports and, in the Washington Post’s ranking, the second-year big man landed at No. 82 overall. As for Prince, the third-year forward received his highest mark of any major outlet, slotting in at No. 75 overall.

Kent Bazemore, who was the team’s highest-rated player by Sports Illustrated, was omitted from the top 100 but, to be frank, seeing two members of the Hawks on the same list is rather encouraging in an overall sense. For comparison’s sake, ESPN’s ranking listed no member of the Hawks in the top 100 and, well, this is more favorable.

Prince ranks ahead of fellow wings like Josh Richardson, Robert Covington, Nicolas Batum and Evan Fournier, while Collins gets the nod ahead of fellow 2017 draftees like OG Anunoby, Dennis Smith Jr. and Lonzo Ball. As always, it would be possible to pick apart all of these decisions on a player-by-player basis but, on the whole, Collins and Prince are treated more than fairly in this space.

Have any particular quibbles? Voice your displeasure (or praise!) in the comments below.

Stay tuned.