We think you're near Los Angeles

Kobe Bryant ranks as 7th best player in the NBA according to ESPN

Ryan Ward's photo
Kobe Bryant Examiner

A couple of weeks from now, the 2011-12 NBA regular season was supposed to get underway with Kobe Bryant and the Los Angeles Lakers getting back to business. Unfortunately, that will not happen due to the fact that the NBPA and NBA owners haven't been able to reach a new Collective Bargaining Agreement (CBA) and as a result have had the first two weeks of the upcoming season cancelled.

Despite the NBA lockout continuing and the first two weeks being cancelled, ESPN has started ranking the Top 500 players in the league. Obviously, with all the talent on the Lakers these days there were a few players that made this list in the Top 30 like Andrew Bynum (30th), Pau Gasol (11th) and of course, Kobe Bryant (7th).

Advertisement

There is no question that this point in his career that Kobe Bryant is the most successful active player in the NBA with five rings, two NBA Finals MVPs and one NBA MVP to his credit, but it seems that ESPN isn't sold on the fact that he is still a Top 5 player in the league. Kobe was given a score of 9.40 which is .22 less than the next player in line.

Here are the players that were ranked ahead of Kobe Bryant:

#6 Kevin Durant, Oklahoma City Thunder (score: 9.62)

#5 Dirk Nowitzki, Dallas Mavericks (score: 9.67)

#4 Chris Paul, New Orleans Hornets (score: 9.68)

#3 Dwyande Wade, Miami Heat (score: 9.72)

#2 Dwight Howard, Orlando Magic (score: 9.82)

#1 LeBron James, Miami Heat (score: 9.91)

The six players ranked ahead of Kobe Bryant are no doubt the future of the NBA and will be the league's top dogs once the Black Mamba officially calls it quits, but if you combined all NBA titles of these six players in comparison to Kobe they still come up three short. That alone is enough to put the five-time NBA champion at least in the Top 5 in my opinion. Kobe may not be considered to be a youngster anymore in this league (33 years-old), but he is still amongst the league's elite and should have been ranked higher.

What do you think Kobe Bryant should've been ranked in ESPN's Top 500 NBA players? Let me know what you think in the comments below this post.

Follow the Kobe Bryant Examiner on Twitter: @KobeExaminer

NEW YORK, NY - OCTOBER 04: Kobe Bryant listens as Derek Fisher, President of the National Basketball Players Association, speaks at a press conference after NBA labor negotiations at The Westin Times Square on October 4, 2011 in New York City.
NEW YORK, NY - OCTOBER 04: Kobe Bryant listens as Derek Fisher, President of the National Basketball Players Association, speaks at a press conference after NBA labor negotiations at The Westin Times Square on October 4, 2011 in New York City.
Photo credit: 
Patrick McDermott/Getty Images
Kobe Bryant out of the Top 5 by ESPN

Video: Kobe Bryant out of the Top 5 by ESPN

Related topics:

Suggested by the author:

, Kobe Bryant Examiner

Ryan Ward is a passionate and opinionated sportswriter that has dedicated himself to his craft over the past three years, writing about all the sports he loves from the US and overseas from international soccer to NFL football but with an especially passionate interest in NBA basketball and Kobe...

Don't miss...