Following the shake from the controversial ESPN NBA Rankings for this upcoming season, C.J. McCollum; who has proven to be an aspiring journalist himself, took to Twitter to prompt the players ranking journalists on their different strengths, weaknesses, and more — the same way NBA players have through the years.

Longtime journalist and Turner Sports personality David Aldridge took to Twitter to ask why athletes care about what writers/experts who haven't played in the league have to say about them, with fellow players Andre Iguodala and David West soon chiming in.

Aldridge humored the prompt, but McCollum seemed dead-serious about doing so.

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The scandal was at its most audible when Carmelo Anthony; a perennial scorer, was ranked as low as 64th in ESPN rankings, only one spot above Marcus Smart, who doesn't even hold a starting spot in the league.

His ranking was justified by ESPN due to his two declining seasons and a team that has been unable to make the playoffs or even challenge for them, a mix of being an aging star in a franchise that won't cooperate to his success with a capable supporting cast.

Anthony was ranked 37th in Sports Illustrated's Top 100 rankings, which seemed a hell of a lot more of a fair assessment than saying he would be outside of the first 12 starting lineups a GM would choose.

Whether his ranking was a calculated shot or just flat out a display of inept scouting, players like McCollum, DeMar DeRozan, and others find themselves often slighted by these rankings, just as they do with their NBA 2K18 rankings — making this a battle where no winner will emerge.