Thebesteva
12-24-2013, 05:32 AM
:lol How the times have changed. I hear now Kobe and his fans are begging for him to be ranked in the top 40
Kobe Bryant Says Anyone Who Believes He's No. 25 NBA Player 'Needs Drug Testing'BY DAN FAVALE (http://bleacherreport.com/users/429923-dan-favale)
(FEATURED COLUMNIST) ON OCTOBER 24, 2013
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For those who believe Kobe Bryant (http://bleacherreport.com/kobe-bryant) is the 25th-best player in the NBA (http://bleacherreport.com/nba), look behind you; the Black Mamba is staring at you, tapping his feet, holding up a tissue and transparent plastic cup while pointing to the nearest bathroom.
ESPN placed Kobe at No. 25 (http://espn.go.com/nba/story/_/id/9830816/2013-nba-player-rankings-21-25) in its most recent NBA player rankings, down from No. 6 in 2012. Naturally, this wasn't going to sit well with the Mamba.
When asked about being No. 25, Kobe suggested that anyone who ranks him that low should be drug-tested, per the Los Angeles Times' Eric Pincus:
Drug-tested for what, exactly? We're not sure. But Kobe has a point.
Even at 35, and even while he's rehabbing a ruptured Achilles, Kobe is better than No. 25. Just last season, he finished in the Top 10 in player efficiency rating (http://www.basketball-reference.com/play-index/psl_finder.cgi?request=1&match=single&type=per_game&per_minute_base=36&lg_id=NBA&is_playoffs=N&year_min=2013&year_max=2013&franch_id=&season_start=1&season_end=-1&age_min=0&age_max=99&height_min=0&height_max=99&birth_country_is=Y&birth_country=&is_active=&is_hof=&is_as=&as_comp=gt&as_val=&pos_is_g=Y&pos_is_gf=Y&pos_is_f=Y&pos_is_fg=Y&pos_is_fc=Y&pos_is_c=Y&pos_is_cf=Y&qual=mp_per_g_req&c1stat=&c1comp=gt&c1val=&c2stat=&c2comp=gt&c2val=&c3stat=&c3comp=gt&c3val=&c4stat=&c4comp=gt&c4val=&c5stat=&c5comp=gt&c6mult=1.0&c6stat=&order_by=per) (23.0) while averaging the second-most minutes (http://www.basketball-reference.com/play-index/psl_finder.cgi?request=1&match=single&type=per_game&per_minute_base=36&lg_id=NBA&is_playoffs=N&year_min=2013&year_max=2013&franch_id=&season_start=1&season_end=-1&age_min=0&age_max=99&height_min=0&height_max=99&birth_country_is=Y&birth_country=&is_active=&is_hof=&is_as=&as_comp=gt&as_val=&pos_is_g=Y&pos_is_gf=Y&pos_is_f=Y&pos_is_fg=Y&pos_is_fc=Y&pos_is_c=Y&pos_is_cf=Y&qual=mp_per_g_req&c1stat=&c1comp=gt&c1val=&c2stat=&c2comp=gt&c2val=&c3stat=&c3comp=gt&c3val=&c4stat=&c4comp=gt&c4val=&c5stat=&c5comp=gt&c6mult=1.0&c6stat=&order_by=mp_per_g) per game (38.6) of all qualified players.
The complexity of his recovery clearly impacts his standing, but dropping him 19 spots is extreme. Under-the-influence insane, perhaps.
So of course Kobe wasn't happy. He was irate to begin with.
ESPN had already predicted (https://twitter.com/kobebryant/status/385063108235915264) his Los Angeles Lakers (http://bleacherreport.com/los-angeles-lakers) would finish 12th in the Western Conference. Stashing him behind guys such as Joakim Noah (http://bleacherreport.com/joakim-noah), Chris Bosh (http://bleacherreport.com/chris-bosh) andJohn Wall (http://bleacherreport.com/john-wall) in the player rankings is the equivalent of poking a roaring bear with a stick made of honey. Or asking Michael Scott to work alongside Toby Flenderson:
Kobe Bryant Says Anyone Who Believes He's No. 25 NBA Player 'Needs Drug Testing'BY DAN FAVALE (http://bleacherreport.com/users/429923-dan-favale)
(FEATURED COLUMNIST) ON OCTOBER 24, 2013
86,944 reads
257 http://static.bleacherreport.net/images/redesign/common/icon_comment.png (http://bleacherreport.com/articles/1824088-kobe-bryant-says-anyone-who-believes-hes-no-25-nba-player-needs-drug-testing#comments)
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http://img.bleacherreport.net/img/images/photos/002/573/740/KobeGiggle_crop_north.jpg?w=650&h=440&q=75
For those who believe Kobe Bryant (http://bleacherreport.com/kobe-bryant) is the 25th-best player in the NBA (http://bleacherreport.com/nba), look behind you; the Black Mamba is staring at you, tapping his feet, holding up a tissue and transparent plastic cup while pointing to the nearest bathroom.
ESPN placed Kobe at No. 25 (http://espn.go.com/nba/story/_/id/9830816/2013-nba-player-rankings-21-25) in its most recent NBA player rankings, down from No. 6 in 2012. Naturally, this wasn't going to sit well with the Mamba.
When asked about being No. 25, Kobe suggested that anyone who ranks him that low should be drug-tested, per the Los Angeles Times' Eric Pincus:
Drug-tested for what, exactly? We're not sure. But Kobe has a point.
Even at 35, and even while he's rehabbing a ruptured Achilles, Kobe is better than No. 25. Just last season, he finished in the Top 10 in player efficiency rating (http://www.basketball-reference.com/play-index/psl_finder.cgi?request=1&match=single&type=per_game&per_minute_base=36&lg_id=NBA&is_playoffs=N&year_min=2013&year_max=2013&franch_id=&season_start=1&season_end=-1&age_min=0&age_max=99&height_min=0&height_max=99&birth_country_is=Y&birth_country=&is_active=&is_hof=&is_as=&as_comp=gt&as_val=&pos_is_g=Y&pos_is_gf=Y&pos_is_f=Y&pos_is_fg=Y&pos_is_fc=Y&pos_is_c=Y&pos_is_cf=Y&qual=mp_per_g_req&c1stat=&c1comp=gt&c1val=&c2stat=&c2comp=gt&c2val=&c3stat=&c3comp=gt&c3val=&c4stat=&c4comp=gt&c4val=&c5stat=&c5comp=gt&c6mult=1.0&c6stat=&order_by=per) (23.0) while averaging the second-most minutes (http://www.basketball-reference.com/play-index/psl_finder.cgi?request=1&match=single&type=per_game&per_minute_base=36&lg_id=NBA&is_playoffs=N&year_min=2013&year_max=2013&franch_id=&season_start=1&season_end=-1&age_min=0&age_max=99&height_min=0&height_max=99&birth_country_is=Y&birth_country=&is_active=&is_hof=&is_as=&as_comp=gt&as_val=&pos_is_g=Y&pos_is_gf=Y&pos_is_f=Y&pos_is_fg=Y&pos_is_fc=Y&pos_is_c=Y&pos_is_cf=Y&qual=mp_per_g_req&c1stat=&c1comp=gt&c1val=&c2stat=&c2comp=gt&c2val=&c3stat=&c3comp=gt&c3val=&c4stat=&c4comp=gt&c4val=&c5stat=&c5comp=gt&c6mult=1.0&c6stat=&order_by=mp_per_g) per game (38.6) of all qualified players.
The complexity of his recovery clearly impacts his standing, but dropping him 19 spots is extreme. Under-the-influence insane, perhaps.
So of course Kobe wasn't happy. He was irate to begin with.
ESPN had already predicted (https://twitter.com/kobebryant/status/385063108235915264) his Los Angeles Lakers (http://bleacherreport.com/los-angeles-lakers) would finish 12th in the Western Conference. Stashing him behind guys such as Joakim Noah (http://bleacherreport.com/joakim-noah), Chris Bosh (http://bleacherreport.com/chris-bosh) andJohn Wall (http://bleacherreport.com/john-wall) in the player rankings is the equivalent of poking a roaring bear with a stick made of honey. Or asking Michael Scott to work alongside Toby Flenderson: