ESPN.com is ranking the top 500 players in the NBA leading up to the NBA season. They started at No. 500 and are working their way up. On Thursday, No.’s 36-40 were unveiled. Kobe Bryant has already made the list, checking in at No. 40.
That’s right, ESPN believes there are 39 players who will perform better than Bryant during the 2014-2015 season. The player ranked one spot ahead of Kobe is Andre Iguodala, who averaged 9.3 points, 4.7 rebounds and 4.2 assists per game last season.
The rankings were generated by ESPN Forecast, which includes a “diverse panel of 200 people with NBA expertise” whose predictions and opinions are all taken into consideration. While there isn’t an explanation for every player’s place on the Top 500 list, it’s probably safe to assume Bryant’s ranking has a lot to do with injury history and age.
Kobe turned 36 in August. While I wouldn’t bet against him with the ball in his hands for the last shot of the game, it’s unreasonable to assume he can be anywhere close this season to the player he once was. Bryant played in just six games last season after suffering a knee injury. He spent the entire offseason before that recovering from a torn Achilles.
Would it shock anyone if Kobe had a bounce-back season? Not really, because we all know he has an incredible work ethic and has won five NBA championships for a reason. But from a common sense standpoint, it’s just not reasonable to predict that Bryant will be one of the best players in the NBA this season. Those days are likely gone.
