While Stephen A. Smith threw out words like “disrespectful” and “blasphemous” and fan tweets continued to flow, Bryant brushed off the ranking after the Lakers’ preseason loss to the Raptors on Thursday night.
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“I don’t need to defend that (ranking). Nobody does, really,” Bryant said per ESPN. “Please don’t ask me about silly stuff like that.”
Bryant called ESPN “a bunch of idiots” after he was ranked No. 40 on last year’s list. This season’s panel didn’t go so far as to call Bryant names, but the profile was not positive.
“At this stage, he 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 shoots long jumpers against double coverage.”
While there’s room to argue whether Kobe belongs at No. 93, it’s tough to dispute ESPN’s assessment when this happened in the first quarter of the Lakers’ first preseason game.
Classic Kobe.
