In their annual ranking of the NBA’s best players, ESPN proclaimed that Kobe Bryant was the 93rd best player currently in the league.
Naturally, someone asked Kobe what he thought about being ranked lower than the likes of Tobias Harris (#89), Marcus Smart (#85) and Timofey Mozgov (#78).
Kobe didn’t bite.
“I don’t need to defend that [ranking]. Nobody does, really.”
Pressed on what he thought of the ranking, Bryant said, “Please don’t ask me about silly stuff like that.”
However, as great as Kobe’s response to the whole exercise was, the most hilarious thing about ESPN’s ranking of Bryant is that they were apparently being charitable with Kobe.
“This ranking puts him much higher than advanced stats suggest. For instance, if you look at real plus-minus, which includes both offense and defense, and factor in how many minutes he’s likely to play, those stats project that he’ll be about the 163rd-most valuable player this year. He’s projected to add only about two wins this season to the Lakers’ total. Our voters decided to give him the benefit of the doubt and move him up to 93rd.”
Who is the 163rd most valuable player according to ESPN’s ranking?
Kobe Bryant: Actually projected to be just as valuable as a Sacramento Kings backup center.
