Are There Really 92 Players Better Than Kobe?
There aren't too many people who would disagree that Kobe Bryant is a top 100 player in the NBA. Not too many would even disagree if you said he was a top 50 player.
According to ESPN's #NBARank, the Black Mamba comes in as the 93rd best player in the NBA.
Bryant dropped 53 spots from last year when he was ranked as the 40th best player in the league.
If he was still ranked at 40, it would make a lot more sense than 93.
The 17-time All-Star is clearly not the same player he was back in his younger days, and this list doesn't take into account career stats, but how is it possible that there are 92 players better than Bryant?
Bryant played in just 35 games last season, but he averaged 22 points per game.
He averaged 22 points and dropped 53 spots?
Of course, the aging veteran took far too many shots just to average those 22 points, but can you really blame the man? He had guys like Jeremy Lin, Nick Young, and Wesley Johnson on the team.
Bryant needs a little bit more respect than the 93rd ranked player in the NBA.
An argument can be made that the injuries over the past few seasons have diminished Bryant's standing in the league, but there still shouldn't be a doubt to the man's playing ability.
Bryant's last full season was during 2012-13 and he averaged just over 27 points per game leading his team to the playoffs.
There's no argument with the fact that Bryant should drop in the ranking after two consecutive injury plagued seasons, but the amount he dropped is the issue.
"If Kobe Bryant played 41 games in the past 41 years, there aren't 92 players better than he is," said ESPN NBA analyst Jalen Rose in an interview on ESPN.com
Rose has been very vocal in his dislike of Bryant, but even if you don't like the man, there should still be an ample amount of respect for him.
"He's still one of the more elite players in the league," Rose said. "There are not going to be 92 players in the league this year that will be better than Kobe Bryant."
ESPN hasn't shown who the top 70 players are yet, but some of the names who have ranked ahead of Bryant so far include: Michael Kidd-Gilchrist (77), Marcus Smart (85), and Luol Deng (92).