Kobe Bryant is probably playing his final year in the National Basketball Association (NBA), but one thing that he is not is a player who "sucks."

The 37-year-old Lakers great has been off to a poor start and apparently, frustrations on his end are starting to show. For those who missed it, here is the popular line that Bryant let out just recently via multiple news sites.

"I'm the 200th-best player in the league right now," he said, adding, "I freaking suck."

Bryant has been criticized time and again for his knack for wanting the ball most of the time but looking through his list of accomplishments, he is not a bad player in all. And such is shared no less by another current and future Hall of Famer in Lebron James.

According to Akron Beacon Journal, James isn't buying those statements made by Bryant. In fact, he believes that they were all made in an effort to challenge himself to do better and perhaps more.

Understandably, the Lakers are a woeful sight but this is not entirely because Bryant has been playing poorly. The whole team is not performing up to par and the frustrations radiate up to head coach Byron Scott, who has singled out the Lakers as playing soft defense.

The Lakers are not among the favorites for the Western Conference this season and the goal was for them to simply get over the hump and erase the stigma of two forgettable seasons. With a team composed mostly of upstart players, the Lakers may have just gotten off on the wrong foot.

For James, Bryant's age has nothing to do with his current performance. He bared, as reported by Akron Beacon Journal, that he too at one point felt he sucked when was just in his 20s but took it as a personal challenge. 

Bryant is no different. In all, he just took off on the wrong foot and is on a slump. Bryant has too much pride to give up that easily and at some point, he will be back to form.