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Using their expertise in all things basketball (and driving conversations through yet another symbolic power ranking), the folks over at ESPN recently ranked Kobe Bryant as the 93rd best basketball player in the NBA.

To put that into perspective, Trevor Ariza is ranked 94th in the ESPN rankings. Last year, Kobe was listed as the 40th best NBA athlete.

ESPN’s explanation for placing Kobe in the same company as Trevor Ariza and Ryan Anderson was short (but pretty accurate if Kobe’s first preseason game was any indication of what’s in store for the Lakers this year):

At this stage, Kobe has turned into a parody of himself, with seemingly every field-goal attempt coming “against all odds,” as Bryant dominates the ball during possessions and often shooting long jumpers against double coverage.

While some pointed to Kobe’s inefficiency from the floor last year and his age as factors as to why ESPN’s ranking of Kobe was reasonable, others were decidedly more skeptical as to why the Black Mamba was in the same company as veteran role players. Here are some of the best responses (from both sides of the debate) below:

[BSO]

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