Stephen A. Smith, LaVar Ball Disagree with Carmelo Anthony’s ESPN Ranking

Collin Loring • 09/13/2017

ESPN placed Carmelo Anthony 64th in their NBA player rankings and both Stephen A. Smith and LaVar Ball had to disagree.

NBA Twitter erupted on Tuesday when ESPN released their player rankings from slot 51 to 75.

New York Knicks forward Carmelo Anthony was ranked 64th, which is a 33 spot slide from his ranking last year.

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Espn should be ashamed ranking Melo in the 60's. Whoever was involved making that list needs to be fired!

— CJ Fair (@cjfair) September 13, 2017

63 players better than melo in the league this year 😂😂😂😂😂😂😂😂😂😂😂😂😂😂😂😂😂😂😂😂😂😂😂😂😂😂😂😂😂😂😂😂😂😂😂😂😂😂😂😂😂 imma laugh this the rest of the day

— 7even (@iAmSJ) September 12, 2017

I don't even like Melo but ESPN's experts actually ranked Lonzo better than him LMAO come on now

— Jordan Kaplan (@JKap415) September 12, 2017

Espn is doing stuff for attention. It's sad. No possible way Melo is in the same discussion as Lonzo Ball or Marcus Smart.🤦🏽‍♂️ #Facts #NBA

— Lethal Shooter (@LethalShooter__) September 12, 2017

63 players better than Melo??? Come on man y'all tripping with this one ESPN. Who made that list??? pic.twitter.com/Vw9oKQBMUK

— Billy (@snacks) September 12, 2017

When you see why Melo is trending. So much disrespect bruh. pic.twitter.com/ugNbVXeAva

— A Phizer A (@Aqua174) September 12, 2017

The criticism carried into Wednesday when Stephen A. Smith addressed the controversy on ESPN’s First Take.

Anthony, a 10-time All-Star, was ranked behind numerous players who aren’t held in the same regard.

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That includes names like Danny Green, Robert Covington, Danilo Gallinari, and rookie Lonzo Ball.

Ball’s father, LaVar, was a guest on First Take and agreed that the ranking was beyond bogus.

“He should be mad that he ain’t in the top ten.”

Though a big topic two days in a row, Ball says rankings like this can’t be taken seriously.

“It’s just an opinion to keep everyone talking who should be the best.”

Beyond that, he also had a couple pointers for Anthony moving forward.

“His game is going down, he’s getting older. Who’s going to play with him? He holds the ball too long. As his career changes, he needs to get people to want to play with him.”

It’s hard to take Ball seriously, who never surpassed the college level as a player.

With Anthony ranked 64th, NBA fans across the globe will be waiting to see how he responds on the court this year.

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