Kyrie Irving rips ESPN for his No. 34 NBA player ranking: ‘Don’t mean a damn thing’

Kyrie Irving doesn’t care what ESPN thinks of him, and he made sure to let the rest of the world know it. 

The Worldwide Leader is gearing up for the upcoming NBA season by ranking the best players in the league, and in the outlet ranked Irving at No. 34, which did not sit well with his fans.

The fan account Kyriecenter on Instagram posted about ESPN only ranking the guard 34th on their top 100 list, prompting a response from the player himself. 

“Who. TF. cares. I Never will,” Irving wrote in a reply that has garnered more than 3,500 likes on the social media platform. 

“Rankings don’t mean a damn thing in the league, especially not from ESPN or any of these other media platforms. Majority of the analysts are not credible sources in my eyes and I don’t respect them or their opinions.”

In its reasoning for placing Irving where it did, ESPN wrote that “a team-issued suspension and Brooklyn’s eventual granting of Irving’s trade request added to the eight-time All-Star’s turbulent track record.” 

The outlet did praise Irving by discussing his unquestionable skillset and place as one of the NBA’s most “productive guards.” 

Irving has never been afraid to voice his opinion or call out those he felt were unfairly going after him.

Over the summer, he got into several social media battles with sports media personalities, including Barstool Sports founder Dave Portnoy, whom Irving had challenged to a game of 1-on-1. 

There is no questioning the talent that Irving possesses on the court, which led to such high hopes when he teamed up with Kevin Durant in Brooklyn, but off the court, things have been a bit choppy. 

Irving’s time with the Nets ended when he was traded in February to the Mavericks. 

After playing alongside Luka Doncic in Dallas, he signed a three-year, $126 million extension with the Mavericks in June.