Why Jalen Rose Believes Kyrie Irving Was Ranked Far Too Low By ESPN

The knee injury Kyrie Irving endured last season has clouded ESPN’s judgement.

That’s what ESPN’s Jalen Rose argued on Friday’s episode of “Get Up!,” during which he claimed Irving should be closer to the top of the network’s list of players who will have the best season in 2018-19. ESPN ranked Irving No. 20, prompting an impassioned response by Rose.

“The glaring omission for me is Kyrie Irving is ranked 20,” Rose said incredulously. “He should be in the top 15. He is that good.

“I know what ends up happening. We see it with Kawhi (Leonard) on this list. When you get injured, people forget how good you are. Kyrie Irving is going to be leading the best team in the Eastern Conference in scoring, about 20 points per game. He’s going to be efficient, he’s going to be a game changer, he’s going to have the ball in his hand a lot late (in games). He’s going to have a chance to put on a show this year.”

Irving has recovered fully from the knee injury that sidelined him at the end of the regular season and the the entirety of the playoffs. Celtics coach Brad Stevens noted this week how excited Irving is about the upcoming season.

Rose should feel the same way about the prospect of Irving proving him right in the coming months.