First Pick Blog

5 NBA championships, 7 Finals appearances, 2 NBA Finals MVPs, 1 NBA MVP, 14 NBA All Star selections, 4 All-Star MVPs, 2 NBA scoring titles, 10 All-NBA First team selections, 2 All-NBA Second team selections, 2 All-NBA Third team selections, 9 All-NBA First team defense selections, 3 All-NBA defensive second team. All of these impressive achievements were not compiled by a team but instead from a single player, a legendary figure by the name of Kobe Bean Bryant, also known as the 6th best player in the NBA by ESPN…….yes thats not a typo, it says 6th. ESPN has the audacity to rank Bryant outside of the top 5 for the second consecutive season (7th in 2011). Now all the Kobe haters out there will be quick to point out that these stats reflect the younger Kobe Bryant, these people are idiots. The so-called old man averaged 27.9 pts/game good for second in the NBA, led all NBA players in All-star game voting, won an Olympic gold medal, and carried a mediocre Lakers team all season all in the past 12 months.

Not only does Bryant possess the physical tools and career accomplishments to place him in the top 5 but he also possesses a competitive drive that is matched by no other athlete in any major sport. Kobe Bryant simply does not accept average play, anything below a championship is seen as defeat by Bryant which is what separates him from many other athletes on this planet. Now I’m not saying Kobe Bryant is currently the best player in the league, that honor clearly goes to Lebron James and even 2nd place would have to go to Kevin Durant, however I see no reasonable explanation for why Bryant slipped out of the top 3, yet alone the top 5 altogether. I may be a Lakers fan but make no mistake, there are many Non-Lakers fans out there that share this view. It is clear that Bryant is clearly one of the most decorated and accomplished players to ever step foot on the hardwood and clearly still posses world-class talent, unfortunately the boneheads at ESPN don’t understand that.