On the latest episode of Podcast P, Paul George and the panel had a brief discussion about the ESPN Top 100 rankings. As soon as Jackie Long introduced the topic to the panel, the Los Angeles Clippers star immediately called the rankings “bullsh*t.” Further, PG13 dished out his opinions on Russell Westbrook being ranked as the 94th-best player in the NBA.
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The panel – Paul George, Dallas Rutherford, and Jackie Long – couldn’t fathom the fact that ESPN had ranked Russell Westbrook as #94. PG13 claimed that Westbrook being ranked lower than rookies was a sign of disrespect.
Paul George claims that Russell Westbrook is a top 25 players
Paul George couldn’t help himself but express his frustration with ESPN’s bizarre rankings. The sharpshooter instantly dismissed the rankings by stating that “their opinions didn’t matter.” Further, the 6ft 8” swingman stated that this list was meaningless considering the fact that the people who created it were not ranked themselves.
“I saw that bullsh*t… They had Russ at like 70-80? That’s disrespectful… Their opinion doesn’t matter, bro. Like 465 guys talking crap to me and I’m like ‘bro, I’ll beat you easily’. And the people that are talking, y’all not even ranked, like you’re not even in that conversation… That sh*t has weight to some degree. I’m sure there are people, scouts, GMs look at that when it comes contract talk.”
Unlike what ESPN’s rankings suggested, the eight-time All-Star showered his teammate with praises. As per George, Westbrook should actually be ranked at least 70 spots higher than he is. Explaining how Mr. Triple Double was an impactful player on both ends of the floor, Paul George ranked him as high as a “top 20-25” player.
“He’s still a triple-double. He proved he can by the number 1 option this past playoffs. He proved that he can still defend at a high level, he proved that he can dominate the game. How many more guys can do that on both ends? There’s not 24 other guys that can do it on both ends like Russ. And they’re saying there’s 92 of them.”
Westbrook might not be the formidable force that he once was.; however, as George mentioned, there is no way that there are 93 players currently better than him.
Rookies have been ranked higher than Russ
Russell Westbrook is one of the greatest point guards to ever play the game. The 6ft ” slasher has had a successful 15-year career so far, winning an MVP, two scoring titles, and being selected to nine All-Star & All-NBA teams.
Despite being a sure-shot first-ballot Hall-Of-Famer, ESPN has ranked some rookies, who have not even played their first regular season games yet, above Russ.
The likes of Victor Wembanyama, Scoot Henderson, and Chet Holmgren are ranked 47, 78, and 73, respectively. Now, these three rookies are great players and are some of the best young talents in the league. However, ranking them higher than a proven all-time great seems mind-boggling and difficult to comprehend.
