The former Boston Celtics player’s rejection was “pure vindictiveness, deceit, or just plain wrong.”

Polarizing former Boston Celtics star Kyrie Irving was listed as the No. 34-ranked player in the NBA — angering NESN’s Gio Rivera and prompting him to call the (in his mind) error one that is “out of spite, disingenuous, or just flat-out wrong.”

“ESPN released its latest player rankings list for the 2023-24 NBA season, and snubbed Irving pretty harshly,” Rivera prefaced before saying, “Whether the move was out of spite, disingenuousness or just flat-out wrong, Irving clearly took issue with it.”

Irving fired back that the rankings don’t mean anything, and that he doesn’t have respect for media organizations like ESPN.

In an Instagram post, Irving stated, “Who… cares?” “I won’t ever. Not from ESPN or any of these other media outlets, rankings are meaningless in the league. I don’t think the majority of the analysts are reliable sources, and I don’t value their viewpoints.

Guard for the Boston Celtics Jrue Holiday has made a greater contribution to team success in recent years than Kyrie Irving. Irving shouldn’t take too much offense to that ranking, though, as he was placed ahead of a number of players who have made a greater contribution to team success in recent seasons, including James Harden, Klay Thompson, and Ja Morant.

Certainly, Jrue Holiday, the big offseason acquisition that Rivera expressly brings out in addition to his tirade over the alleged misfire, has made more of an impact on the team’s success than Irving. The Milwaukee Bucks became champions two years earlier, partly thanks to Holiday, despite their embarrassing 2023 playoff loss. They each won 50 games in the years they were unsuccessful.

Due in part to Irving’s actions when playing for the Brooklyn Nets, Harden and Kevin Durant were finally compelled to seek a trade. After Irving joined the Dallas Mavericks, Luka Doncic missed the playoffs for the first time since his rookie year.

In the NBA, winning is still important since the “#ringz” controversy determines who many people consider to be the best player of all time. Irving shouldn’t be criticizing those who think he can do more and who could be nudging him with the alleged insult; instead, he should be content with where he was.