ESPN has raised a few eyebrows this off-season with their annual #NBARank countdown of the best players in the league today. The list has had a few surprises (Kobe Bryant at #40, John Wall ahead of Kyrie Irving and Kawhi Leonard), but none have been as shocking as where the list ranked recently injured (and reigning MVP) Kevin Durant.
#NBArank 8: Kevin Durant (@KDTrey5). http://t.co/CxglAIW27N http://t.co/uOFCpxvyeE
— NBA on ESPN (@ESPNNBA) October 24, 2014
Umm, what?
Any list of top NBA players that doesn’t have Kevin Durant in the top two is pretty much a list that makes zero sense.
And trust me, ESPN knows that.
The feeling here is that the company wanted to make a splash and stir up some controversy (as if the attempted ethering of Kobe Bryant last week wasn’t enough), which became especially clear after the following was tweeted in preparation of backlash from NBA fans.
Important #NBArank note: Each player's rating is a prediction of the QUALITY and QUANTITY of his contributions for the season.
— NBA on ESPN (@ESPNNBA) October 24, 2014
If healthy, Kevin Durant would have been #NBArank No. 2, with a near-perfect rating of 9.94. http://t.co/CKsDq5kMpl
— NBA on ESPN (@ESPNNBA) October 24, 2014
I mean I get what ESPN is trying to do here, but no.
Even with a month of action missed, Durant is going to be at worst the second-best player in the NBA season barring some unforeseen consequences of his injury. And everyone knows that.
The gap between KD and the third-best player in the league (either Chris Paul, Blake Griffin or Anthony Davis) is so wide that even a broken foot and a month missed shouldn’t be enough to drop Durant under any of them.
My guess here is that ESPN realizes rankings are pointless since everyone has their own opinion, and are instead using this list to get people talking about them before the NBA season tips off. I can already hear an ESPN anchor discussing Russell Westbrooks higher ranking as an issue between he and Durant in May when the Thunder are struggling in the playoffs.
Then again, what’s sports without a little drama? ESPN has succeeded in turning a pointless list into national conversation. Again.