Kobe ranked 93rd best player this year.

[Heatles84]

Lol

This. Kobe's top 50...at least. He's not top 10 anymore, but damn, #93. ESPN is ESPN again.

 

[WiggyRuss]

More than likely, this was some "journalist" looking for click bait. If it's just a standard ranking of NBA players, it's boring and wouldn't get a lot of clicks or discussion. But ranking players with Kobe 93rd, gets talked about and maybe even gets a comment from Kobe if some reporter asks him about it.

It was voted on by a number of people- not just one persons opinion- and seriously- Mozgov was ranked ahead of Kobe in those rankings- becuase obviously the injury concerns came into the decision.

 

[trojanfan12]

It was voted on by a number of people- not just one persons opinion- and seriously- Mozgov was ranked ahead of Kobe in those rankings- becuase obviously the injury concerns came into the decision.

Yeah, I haven't seen the actual list. I heard them talking about it on a couple of sports talk shows. They were saying that often times they'll intentionally put a player low on these types of lists because they know people will talk about it. Otherwise, it's just a list that most don't care about.

I agree though, I think Kobe being injured 3 straight years and being 37 plays into it a bit as well. It at least gives them a somewhat valid point.

End of the day, I think we all know that, if healthy, Kobe is better than 93rd. If he gets hurt again, it really doesn't matter where he's ranked.

 

[JayNyte]

If Kobe was ranked in the top 20 I think the discussion (Albeit smaller) would have been that Kobe is receiving a "Lifetime achievement award" due to being great for so long, and it'd be disrespectful otherwise. I think 93rd is justified based off of the fact that Kobe has more tweets than minutes he's played over the last 3 years. A bench rider for the Sixers or Celtics averaging .8 per game is worth more as a player than one that sits on the sideline all season.

 

[Flauge]

93 is low. But he only shot 37% last year, he is injury riddled the last few years and is 37. You tend to not get better at this point in your career. I would love Kobe to put together a really solid season 20+ 5/5 only mid 40s or higher shooting. I just don't think it will happen and I don't think he will last. Truthfully, I would have ranked him somewhere near 30-35ish. Hate seeing the decline of legends.

 

[Shaqdaddy11]

If injuries have so much to do with rankings Derek Rose wouldn't even come close to the top 50.

 

[ducky]

^^^THIS^^^

Anyone who thinks a healthy Kobe, even at 37, is only the 93rd best player in the league clearly knows nothing about basketball. But he has to stay healthy or it doesn't matter.

Did you see him last year?

He was AWFUL. Go look up the numbers. Kobe was ranked in the 300's-400's (out of 492 players in the entire league who played minutes last year) in virtually every efficiency stat there was.

405th in the league in FG%.
435th in the league in adj FG%.
324th in the league in point per shot attempt.
475th in TO per 48.


A guy who is taking 20 shots a game can't shoot 37%. Obviously there is a place for high volume guys in this league still and you do expect a little dip in efficiency out of a player like that but what Kobe did last year was ridiculous. He was a negative player who hurt his team as much as he helps it.

Then add in the fact that he is another year removed from regular playing time, coming off surgery on his shooting shoulder, is 37 years old and is unlikely to change his playing style and there is no way I would want Kobe on my team. Add it all up and 93rd in the league is too high. He is a guy that I would trade because it would be addition by subtraction.

We have seen this play out before. Kobe has officially entered his MJ on the Wizard years. No way I would want that on my team unless I had literally no other options. But since that is the position the Laker's find themselves in, I suppose it will work out just fine on their way to another lottery pick.

 

[trojanfan12]

Did you see him last year?

He was AWFUL. Go look up the numbers. Kobe was ranked in the 300's-400's (out of 492 players in the entire league who played minutes last year) in virtually every efficiency stat there was.

405th in the league in FG%.
435th in the league in adj FG%.
324th in the league in point per shot attempt.
475th in TO per 48.


A guy who is taking 20 shots a game can't shoot 37%. Obviously there is a place for high volume guys in this league still and you do expect a little dip in efficiency out of a player like that but what Kobe did last year was ridiculous. He was a negative player who hurt his team as much as he helps it.

Then add in the fact that he is another year removed from regular playing time, coming off surgery on his shooting shoulder, is 37 years old and is unlikely to change his playing style and there is no way I would want Kobe on my team. Add it all up and 93rd in the league is too high. He is a guy that I would trade because it would be addition by subtraction.

We have seen this play out before. Kobe has officially entered his MJ on the Wizard years. No way I would want that on my team unless I had literally no other options. But since that is the position the Laker's find themselves in, I suppose it will work out just fine on their way to another lottery pick.

Yes, I did. He was coming off his 2nd season ending injury in a row and dealing with a shoulder injury that ended up ending a 3rd season after 30 something games. Last I checked, you need healthy shoulders to shoot the ball. He didn't play much in the pre-season and was essentially going through training camp during the regular season.

It's only the pre-season, but he already looks better than he has in the few games he's been available for over the past 3 seasons.

 

[bksballer89]

Whiteside is #68

 

[ducky]

Yes, I did. He was coming off his 2nd season ending injury in a row and dealing with a shoulder injury that ended up ending a 3rd season after 30 something games. Last I checked, you need healthy shoulders to shoot the ball. He didn't play much in the pre-season and was essentially going through training camp during the regular season.

It's only the pre-season, but he already looks better than he has in the few games he's been available for over the past 3 seasons.

All you just said makes my point for me. He's been banged up and missed significant time each of the last two years. And even when he has played, he hasn't been good.

What are the chance that a 37 year old who has logged 46K regular season NBA minutes bounces back and shows flashes of what he once was? Inefficient as he has been and an injury plagued season is probably what you can expect from Kobe the rest of the way. That's just the way it is. Expecting anything else is like expecting Jordan to look like Jordan when he was playing for the Wiz. Sure he had his flashes and games where he was the player you once remembered....but it was few are far between. And the same is almost certainly going to be true of Kobe.

Kobe should be happy that he is in the NBA with guaranteed contracts and not in the NFL. His career would have been over years ago because no one would have been willing to pay Kobe anywhere close to what he would thinks he deserves. He's have to be playing on a Paul Pierce type of deal. Giving Kobe that huge extention a couple years ago before they had seen him come off of the Achilles injury is one of the worst resigns in the last 5 years in any sport.

 

[Arizona_Sting]

You gotta factor health into rankings, otherwise D-Rose would be higher on most rankings. Until Kobe proves he can play at a high level for an entire season he's just an old, injury prone shot-chucking machine.

If he's 100 percent and shows it then he'll move up in the mid-season rankings. Don't think 93 is spot on, but it's close… I'd have him around 75ish while factoring in health.

 

[True Lakers Fan]

This. Kobe's top 50...at least. He's not top 10 anymore, but damn, #93. ESPN is ESPN again.

I haven't looked at ESPN's power rankings which are worthless in years. They are based on a person's immediate performance only with the use of formulas, and the guy(used to be Hollinger) has always hated the Lakers. He is a true blue hater

 

[True Lakers Fan]

You gotta factor health into rankings, otherwise D-Rose would be higher on most rankings. Until Kobe proves he can play at a high level for an entire season he's just an old, injury prone shot-chucking machine.

If he's 100 percent and shows it then he'll move up in the mid-season rankings. Don't think 93 is spot on, but it's close… I'd have him around 75ish while factoring in health.

You didn't see him play last night

 

[Arizona_Sting]

You didn't see him play last night

HAHAHAHHAHAHAHHA look who they played against man
.

 

[True Lakers Fan]

HAHAHAHHAHAHAHHA look who they played against man
.

It's still a win and they played good. At least the Lakers are still better then the average Euro though. Think the Suns could do that?

 

[Arizona_Sting]

It's still a win and they played good. At least the Lakers are still better then the average Euro though. Think the Suns could do that?

Why you bringing the Suns up? The LAKERS played some shitty team no one has ever heard of and you're telling me to go check Kobe's stat line? lolz

 

[True Lakers Fan]

Why you bringing the Suns up? The LAKERS played some shitty team no one has ever heard of and you're telling me to go check Kobe's stat line? lolz

I'm just telling you that the rankings on ESPN have never been credible and this fact goes back to before I even joined CBS Sportsline. Everyone in here that has a brain already knows that Kobe is better than 93. If you have him at 75, that's your opinion and you have the right to your inconsiderable opinion. It does not make you look smart though because regardless of they played, Kobe looked good. The players were hustling and they appear to have good chemistry. The chemistry appears better than what I have seen in the last five years. If they continue to play like that, they will come close to the playoffs and possibly make then depending on how the rookies handle themselves under pressure.

 

[Arizona_Sting]

I'm just telling you that the rankings on ESPN have never been credible and this fact goes back to before I even joined CBS Sportsline. Everyone in here that has a brain already knows that Kobe is better than 93. If you have him at 75, that's your opinion and you have the right to your inconsiderable opinion. It does not make you look smart though because regardless of they played, Kobe looked good. The players were hustling and they appear to have good chemistry. The chemistry appears better than what I have seen in the last five years. If they continue to play like that, they will come close to the playoffs and possibly make then depending on how the rookies handle themselves under pressure.

I'm not backing ESPN up at all, I know how much of a joke they are, it's been that way for a while. If you read my post you'd see that if he proves he's healthy he'd be much higher, but I have him around 75 with health issues included.

 

[lakersrule]

Kobe should be happy that he is in the NBA with guaranteed contracts and not in the NFL. His career would have been over years ago because no one would have been willing to pay Kobe anywhere close to what he would thinks he deserves. He's have to be playing on a Paul Pierce type of deal. Giving Kobe that huge extention a couple years ago before they had seen him come off of the Achilles injury is one of the worst resigns in the last 5 years in any sport.

He still makes the NBA and the Lakers a ton of money. Way more than they paid him. From the winning basketball games angles, you have a point. From the revenue generating angle, not so much.

 

[wildturkey]

When you factor in how bad he was last year, and don't kid yourself as he was awful last year gunning for his own numbers, and his uncertain health, I think its perfectly fair to rate him outside the Top 50. 93 is probably a little low though.