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Los Angeles Lakers: Is Kobe Bryant NBA’s 93rd-Best Player?

By Mark Vandeusen

September 28, 2015; El Segundo, CA, USA; Los Angeles Lakers guard Kobe Bryant speaks to press during media day at Toyota Sports Center. Mandatory Credit: Gary A. Vasquez-USA TODAY Sports
September 28, 2015; El Segundo, CA, USA; Los Angeles Lakers guard Kobe Bryant speaks to press during media day at Toyota Sports Center. Mandatory Credit: Gary A. Vasquez-USA TODAY Sports /
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Kobe Bryant is 37 years old.  The Los Angeles Lakers superstar has played a total of just 41 games over the past two seasons, while shooting only 41 percent from the floor.

Earlier this week, ESPN.com revealed position’s No. 91-100 of its #NBArank feature.  Bryant, the third-leading scorer of all time, landed at No. 93.  Is it really possible there are 92 players in the league better than him?

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ESPN Radio’s Danny Kanell and Ryen Russillo debated this topic on their show Wednesday.  In making a case in Bryant’s defense, Kanell brought up a playground analogy: If you were choosing sides for a pick-up game, are there really 92 players you’d take before Kobe?

Probably not.  Brandon Knight is No. 91 on ESPN’s list–can you actually envision Knight going ahead of Bryant?

I’d argue that example applies to a single NBA contest as well.  If a team was building a roster to win one game, wouldn’t a healthy Bryant be among the top 92 choices?  The key word, though, is healthy:

Another means to assess Kobe’s ranking brought up on the Russillo & Kanell Show: Where would Bryant be taken in a draft with every NBA player available?  In that scenario, it’s hard to imagine Kobe being selected anywhere near the top 93.

For example, Los Angeles rookie D’Angelo Russell checks in at No. 109 in the rankings.  But given a choice between him and Bryant, the Lakers would undoubtedly take Russell as the player they’d prefer to have going forward.

Somewhere between evaluating him for just one game and for the rest of his career, No. 93 overall is likely a reasonable assessment of Bryant’s current skills.  What should be of greater concern to L.A. fans, however, is that their 2015-16 squad doesn’t have a single player rated among the top 90.

Next: Is Derrick Rose The Chicago Bulls' 4th-Best Player?

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