NBA fans react to ESPN ranking LaMelo Ball as the No. 3 player under 25

Whenever ESPN releases a ranking of players, be it their annual NBA Rank series, or Tuesday’s “NBA’s best 25 under 25,” there’s going to be controversy.

In an unsurprisingly animated segment on First Take, Stephen A. Smith lost it LaMelo Ball’s ranking at No. 3 on the list, as determined by a poll of three ESPN NBA experts. The point of the exercise was to rank the NBA’s young stars based on future potential, but ESPN’s confusing headline framing of “best 25 under 25” caused many heads to turn when Ball, after just 41 NBA games, was ranked ahead of Jayson Tatum (No. 5), Ben Simmons (No. 7) or Ja Morant (No. 15).

Here’s what fans are saying about ESPN’s ranking:

https://twitter.com/FirstTake/status/1379518201457954817 https://twitter.com/UptownDCRich/status/1379449538176516097

https://twitter.com/big_al_hoops/status/1379450237429891074 https://twitter.com/SamiOnTap/status/1379450068357419009

https://twitter.com/HunchoJt__/status/1379435900900241422 https://twitter.com/RoyalAShepherd/status/1379435457725882368

https://twitter.com/IamKrisLondon/status/1379482607826522113 https://twitter.com/CoreyB08/status/1379411858101264387

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