Bryant Ranked too Low or Just Right by NBA?

When ESPN came out and ranked Los Angles Lakers shooting guard Kobe Bryant as the 40th best player in 2014, he went out of his way to call them “a bunch of idiots”. In 2015? Bryant finds himself ranked as the 93rd best player in the NBA.  With 19 seasons under his belt (not to mention 5 rings to go along with it), The Athletes Hub took an inside look to if Bryant’s ranking is too low, or if it’s just right.

Kobe Bryant’s ranking is just right:

There is an argument for this.  While there may not be 92 other NBA stars better than Bryant, there were 92 players that proved themselves to be more effective last season. In his past 2 NBA seasons, Bryant has only taken part in 41 out of 164 regular season games. Bryant was only able to succeed in 37% of his shots last season, a career worst.

With ESPN ranking “The Black Mamba” at #93, it goes to show that ESPN does not take career achievements into consideration, and they shouldn’t have to. Bryant has not proven to be healthy since his season-ending injury just a few years back, and it’s unlikely that Coach Byron Scott will let Bryant play the minutes he desires in 2015.

Kobe Bryant’s ranking is too low:

C’mon guys, it’s Kobe we are talking about here. Bryant has proven to one of the most dominating scorers when healthy, and that should not change this upcoming year. Numbers never lie, but how about a killer instinct? A fair amount of the players that are ranked above Bryant do not contain that instinct that Bryant has showed fans for 19 seasons.

With 17 All-Star selections to his name and ranking the 3rd highest when it comes to points, Bryant has always been a “hit or miss” type of player.  While Bryant is statistically one of the worst defenders and efficient scorers, Bryant has been in the driver seat for most of his career.

Overall, it isn’t up to ESPN’s stats to tell fans who is a better basketball player, because ultimately you see it with your eyes.  Was Bryant robbed in ESPN’s rankings, or was it just right?