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Victor Oladipo Jumps to 20th in SI's Player Countdown

It's player ranking season.

With the season just over a month out, publications have started to release their now-annual list of the top 100 players in the NBA. Sports Illustrated has started early and just released players 30-11 on its list.

In that grouping, Victor Oladipo landed at 20th, thanks to his first All-Star season and emergence as a go-to player capable of impacting the game on offense and defense.

On Monday, when 100-51 was revealed, Pacers players Domantas Sabonis (79), Thaddeus Young (76), and Myles Turner (67) all made the list.

Oladipo, who landed at 77th on SI's list last season, moved way up on the rankings after his explosive 2017-18 campaign with the Pacers in which he earned: "enough hardware to start a personal shrine after earning Most Improved Player, All-Star, All-NBA Third Team and All-Defensive First Team honors in one of the great mid-career breakouts in recent memory," wrote Ben Golliver.

Golliver also noted just how crucial Oladipo was to the Pacers' success last year, as the Blue & Gold went 0-7 in games which Oladipo didn't play. He credited Oladipo for transforming into a true offensive creator and late-game option for the Pacers.

"Oladipo also settled in as a late-game option," Golliver writes. "Ranking fourth in clutch scoring and leading the pesky, overachieving Pacers to a 24-17 record in games that were within five points in the last five minutes."

Being ranked at 20 puts Oladipo ahead of All-Stars like LaMarcus Aldridge (21), Klay Thompson (22), John Wall (24), and Bradley Beal (27).

Just in front of Oladipo on SI's list are Karl-Anthony Towns (19), Nikola Jokic (18), and Kyrie Irving (17).