Kobe Bryant's ESPN Rank: It's a Joke

ESPN has garnered quite a bit of criticism regarding their ranking of Los Angeles Lakers’ star shooting guard Kobe Bryant, and rightfully so.

They listed Bryant as the NBA’s 40th best player, which is absolutely ludicrous. Granted, Bryant is coming off of a second straight season-ending injury, but he has shown during the offseason that he is ready to get back out on the court with the Lakers and make a difference.

Not only has he shown that he is back to full health, he is one of the greatest player that has ever played the game, and also is one of the toughest.

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Bryant was only able to play in six games last season, and showed steady improvement before going down with the knee injury. Even though there are health concerns, Bryant has shown in the past that he can battle through injuries that would sideline almost any other player.

Ranking him at 40th across the entire NBA is purely disrespectful to a Hall of Famer that has been compared quite often to Michael Jordan.

At the age of 36, there are also a lot of people concerned about his age. While that is an issue for most players, Bryant has shown the ability to adapt his game to the symptoms of aging. He isn’t ready to give up his throne yet, and he will continue dominating the league even with the injury and age issues.

Los Angeles is going to be depending on their franchise player to come through this season, and they are going to be putting the ball in his hands every single possession once again. Bryant is more determined than ever to prove that he can overcome the latest obstacles that he has faced in his career,and that extra fire will spur him forward.

So what rank would be fair for Bryant heading into his 19th NBA season?

At this point in time, there is no doubt that he has dropped from his top-10 status that he has held for quite some time. Bryant is still good enough to be in the top-25, and his rank is right around 24 or 25. ESPN simply isn’t giving him the respect that he deserves, and are clearly not taking into consideration the hardships that he has endured to get to where he is at already.

It will be a very intriguing to watch Bryant as he looks to prove himself once again, and we may see him more motivated than he has been in quite some time. The NBA is about to see exactly what one of the best is capable of when doubted, and he will surprise quite a few people.

Obviously we’re not going to see a young Bryant that comes out and scores 81 points in a game, but a 25 point per game average is definitely not out of the question. He is still more than capable of being an above average playmaker for his teammates as well, and has shown a much better ability to pass over the past couple of seasons.

All of that being said, Bryant is not going to play like a washed up veteran who is dealing with chronic injury issues. He will be a veteran leader like he always has been and he will lead by both example and experience. The Lakers haven’t seen the last of the dominance that they have seen in the past from Bryant.

Expect to see him prove ESPN to be a complete joke once again as far as their player rankings are concerned, and to come out much stronger than many are predicting.

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Kobe Bryant’s ESPN Rank: It’s a Joke

By Evan Massey | Oct 18, 2014