Former Most Valuable Player awardees Kobe Bryant and Derrick Rose have fallen out of the top 50 in a list by Sports Illustrated.
Listing down the top 100 players in the NBA, Derrick Rose was ranked at 60 and Kobe Bryant was ranked 54th. With these players being two of the most popular not to mention their teams having a solid following, there was bound to be some salty reactions.
Sports Illustrated did not mince words with Bryant, even saying that "he should not have even made the list at all," hinting that 54 was already a "mercy" rank. They have the numbers (which were bad) and this conclusion: "All told, the 21-win Lakers, who were impotent in every facet, somehow managed to improve on both offense and defense when Bryant was out of the game."
Bryant was arguably the best player in the game in the sometime in 2006-2009 and he won the MVP in 2008. Rose, on the other hand, emerged out of nowhere and broke LeBron James stranglehold on the award in 2011.
It should be noted, though, that from 2006 up to 2013, Kobe Bryant was in the top 5 or better in the MVP race, while Rose has never made that distinction in any other year (h/t NBC).
However, those achievements are in the past, as SI argues. For Kobe Bryant, he may never get back to that level again. Derrick Rose is another matter.
Today's Fastbreak believes that Rose got the shorter end of the deal. "26-year-old Derrick Rose, on the other hand, still has the requisite athleticism, dribbling and finishing ability to be an All-Star again, despite numerous injuries. Last season, his skills seemed really rusty, and I expect some more of that rust to be shaken off this season."
Fox Sports also disputed that "a healthy Derrick Rose is undoubtedly better than Jrue Holiday, Tyreke Evans and Monta Ellis, who are ranked immediately ahead of him on the list. But whether or not he can remain injury-free for the bulk of an NBA season remains to be seen."
Should Kobe Bryant and Derrick Rose be in the top 50?