Four Trail Blazers Land in Recent Top 100 List

The Ringer recently released its final Top 100 players rankings for the 2025-2026 season, and four Trail Blazers made the list. Here’s who made the cut, their commentary, and what it means for Portland moving forward. 

Starting with the current fact of the franchise, Deni Avdija. 

Danny Chau wrote, "Maybe the most impressive aspect of Avdija’s postseason debut is that his superpower—ramming his way into the paint with impunity and drawing fouls en route—survived the transition to a higher caliber of competition. Avdija’s free throw rate against the Spurs in the first round was higher than his regular-season figure, further evidence that he possesses a truly world-class skill."

With Damian Lillard primed for a return next season, will Avdija's decline in useage impact his star power?

 "Jrue [Holiday] provided all the usual Jrue things during Portland’s five-game first-round series against the Spurs—timely scoring, stout defense, and all the little plays that make it so hard for coaches to take him off the floor,", Isaac Levy-Rubinett wrote. "At 35 years old, Holiday can still access the kind of winning efforts that turned him into the gold standard for physical, complementary scoring guards over the past decade. But there was some real Spider-Man pointing at Spider-Man s*** going on when he and Stephon Castle or Dylan Harper shared the floor. Holiday got the better of them a few times, and they made Holiday look his age on occasion. But even as newer versions of the Holiday archetype arrive in the league—and perhaps because of them, as the modern game trends back toward size and skill—these playoffs showed there’s still a place for the original."

Unfortunately, with Damian Lillard's return and Scoot Henderson's potential, Holiday may be the odd man out unless he shifts to an off-ball combo guard role.

"It wasn’t how Clingan would have scripted his playoff debut, but such is life in the first round against Victor Wembanyama," wrote Chau. "Clingan, who is already one of the league’s best rebounders and shot blockers, was often played off the floor against the Spurs, who played fast and loose, forcing the Blazers to downsize just to keep up. (Backup center Robert Williams III, the Blazers’ more mobile option at the 5, logged one more minute in the series than Clingan did.)"

Clingan's ceiling may be lowered because of his limitations in guarding in space. Robert Williams III played one more minute in the playoffs than Clingan because he simply is more athletic and was a better defensive matchup against the Spurs. Still, Clingan is one of the best young rebounders and shot-blockers in the league and even provides a threat to become a semi-stretch five.

Rob Mahoney wrote, "Camara’s unrelenting defense made him essential personnel in Portland’s attempt to upset the eventual Western Conference champs. Yet his limitations on offense also allowed the Spurs to load up on Deni Avdija and Jrue Holiday, dragging the Blazers into the mud. Things can get tough for Camara (and tougher on his teammates) when his shot isn’t falling. He’s just so disruptive in coverage—and so flexible in whom he can guard—that he makes a coach want to leave him on the floor during even the coldest spells."

Camara being an extremely disruptive wing defender has turned him into one of the most important core players for the Blazers. O.G. Anunoby played the same role for the Knicks and Luguentz Dort for the Thunder during their championship runs, respectively. Camara can jump up the rankings if he can offer more offensively than just spacing.