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Duke in the NBA: Five former Blue Devils make ESPN Top-100 List

By Kevin Connelly

LONDON, ENGLAND - JANUARY 11: Kyrie Irving #11 of the Boston Celtics holds off Ben Simmons #25 of the Philadelphia 76ers during the NBA game between Boston Celtics and Philadelphia 76ers at The O2 Arena on January 11, 2018 in London, England. (Photo by Dan Mullan/Getty Images)
LONDON, ENGLAND - JANUARY 11: Kyrie Irving #11 of the Boston Celtics holds off Ben Simmons #25 of the Philadelphia 76ers during the NBA game between Boston Celtics and Philadelphia 76ers at The O2 Arena on January 11, 2018 in London, England. (Photo by Dan Mullan/Getty Images) /
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ESPN has released its yearly Top-100 NBA players and there are five former Duke Basketball players that have made this years list.

Some of the names you could have imagined, but there are five former Duke Blue Devils that have been named as Top-100 NBA Players by ESPN; Kyrie Irving, Jayson Tatum, Brandon Ingram, J.J. Redick, and Justise Winslow.

Starting with the lowest ranked Blue Devils, Justise Winslow comes in at No. 96 as he enters his fourth season with the Miami Heat.

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Winslow averaged 7.8 points per game last season, as well as 5.4 rebounds, 2.2 assists, 0.8 steals, and 0.5 blocks.

In the NBA, Winslow is still developing his offensive game as his athletic-ness and defensive intensity are at an elite level for such a young player.

The most experienced former Duke Blue Devil is listed as the No. 65 best player in the NBA, J.J. Redick will once again be the veteran presence on the young and talented Philadelphia 76ers team.

Redick will be entering his second season in the City of Brotherly Love and averaged 17.1 points per game last season en route to an appearance in the Eastern Conference Semi-Finals.

The next former Blue Devil on the ESPN Top-100 list is Brandon Ingram of the Los Angeles Lakers as the No. 54 player.

Ingram will enter his third season with the Lakers and he will have much needed scoring help with the addition of LeBron James.

The Kingston, North Carolina native took a major leap last season bumping his points per game average from 9.1 to 16.1 and with defenses focused on limiting the production of James, Ingram could thrive this season with the purple and gold.

Another dominant scoring wing out of Duke is Jayson Tatum and he ranked No. 24 in the highly regarded list.

Tatum is coming off of a dominant rookie season where he was thrusted into leading a young Boston Celtics team that made a run to the Eastern Conference Finals.

In his sensational rookie season, Tatum averages 13.9 points per game in playing and starting in 80 games this season.

As Tatum gets set for his sophomore season, he will have his teammate and former Blue Devil next to him in Kyrie Irving who is ranked No. 20.

Irving will be returning after a knee injury that kept him out the last 20 games of the regular season and the playoffs.

In 60 games with his first season with the Boston Celtics, Irving averaged 24.4 points per game along with 5.1 assists.

With James out of the Eastern Conference, Irving, Tatum, and the Celtics have their sights set on the NBA Finals and possibly an NBA Championship in 2018-19.

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