Kobe Bryant or Lebron James?

HighlightReel · 01-20-2012, 12:30 PM

Quote:

In my grade 11 English class we had to write a debate paper to present in front of the class on whatever topic we wanted. The first thing that popped into my mind was the infamous debate on who the better basketball player is, Kobe Bryant or Lebron James.

Now most people believe that Kobe Bryant is the better player simply because he has more championship rings than Lebron.

Is this a legitimate way of comparing who’s better by who has more rings?

Not entirely.

Former LA Laker, Adam Morrison, has two more rings than Lebron James for just sitting on the bench and offering moral support. Does this mean that he is better than Lebron? Of course not. Not even close.

Numerous of hall of fame greats including Charles Barkley, John Stockton, Pete Maravich and dozens of others never even won a single ring.

Surprisingly to most, in the 5 NBA rings Kobe has won, he’s only been the Finals MVP twice. In comparison Michael Jordan was Finals MVP all six times he won the NBA championship.

In Kobe’s 17 year career thus far in the NBA, he’s only been the season MVP once in 2008. Lebron has already won it twice and is only 9 years into his career.

This tells us a few things.

1. MVP stands for Most Valuable Player, which means the value to your team. Lebron has been of more “value” to his team and has had less high profile players playing with him up until leaving to play in Miami. This gave him a much higher chance of him winning the MVP award. When Kobe had Shaq on his team, his “value” shrinks because the Lakers would arguably be a championship contender without him.

2. Lebron has dominated the regular season. Kobe has dominated the post season.

If you dive into the statistical portion of this debate, it gets rather interesting.

This season so far Lebron is averaging 29.9 points a game, 7.9 rebounds a game and 7.6 assists a game.

Kobe is averaging 30.4 points a game, 5.7 rebounds a game and 5.6 assists a game.

Their numbers are very similar, however there are things numbers don’t tell you. Kobe has four 40 point games already and has been a driving force to many Laker wins. Lebron on the other hand is dishing out the ball more and grabbing more rebounds. His numbers are almost exactly the same from when he won the MVP awards a few years ago.

Last night the Miami Heat dominated the Lakers or perhaps, Lebron dominated the Lakers with a monster performance. With Dwayne Wade out with an injury, he stepped up to the plate. Kobe had a sub-par game and didn’t really get any sort of rhythm going.

The reason why I prefer Lebron over Kobe Bryant is because he is more of a complete player. His passing abilities are phenomenal for a wing player and he rebounds the ball like a power forward. He is simply put, a freak athlete. Kobe is more of a pure scorer and has slowly improved his other aspects of his game.

Kobe has that X-factor attribute that you can’t forget about. The clutch factor. He is known for his game winning shots and miraculous buzzer beaters.

Despite all of this, the main point that most people forget is something pretty basic. Basketball is a team sport. No player can win a NBA championship by himself. Figuratively and realistically it can’t be done. The Cleveland Cavaliers organization thought Lebron could and didn’t provide him with the necessary support.

Kobe Bryant had Shaq.

Michael Jordan had Pippen.

Lebron James had …. Antawn Jamison.

This is why he left Cleveland, they didn’t have the right pieces to win a championship. He left to go to Miami because he thinks they have the right pieces and SHOULD win the NBA championship this year.

People heavily criticize Miami for not winning the NBA championship last year. They have every right to do so as well. Think of it like this though. In their first year as a team, they were better than than all 30 other teams in the league and made it to the NBA finals. In their first year together as a team! They didn't reach their goal of winning it all, but got very close.

To conclude, the better basketball player at this moment in time, and the best in the world is Lebron James. He’s younger, less injury fatigued and is a more dominant force.

When it’s all said and done and both of these players are in the hall of fame, that’s when the REAL debate will begin. Lebron has many more years left in his career and has tons of time to win a couple of rings. Kobe could even win a another ring before he retires.

Mean while, in a unknown location, Michael Jordan is laughing over a margarita with Magic Johnson about what Lebron James has accomplished. Nothing to their standards. No NBA rings to show for his efforts but that won’t last long. I sure as well hope not.

Source: Nilsen Report

pzabby · 01-20-2012, 12:44 PM

this debate is interesting and his take on it is right. however, if we were to compare kobe in his prime, to lebron in his prime (now), does the conclusion stand? I wouldn't say so. what would you all say?

powerfulpanda · 01-20-2012, 01:08 PM

right now lebron is better. prime vs prime i think lebron is better as well. individually kobe might be better but lebron can make the overall team better. once lebron gets it right mentally (which i think he will) it will be more obvious he is better.

kobe fans always want to bring up championships. the 1st three, kobe was the 2nd option. lebron has never been a 2nd option ever. that alone should tell you something. so we can only use the 2 championships kobe won as alpha in this argument. his 1st year he was 1st option and had help he lost in the nba finals, then won afterwards 2 years straight. lebron's first year with help he lost in the finals as well, now he's in his 2nd year with help and its yet to be seen. but people are quick to judge.

look at clevelands roster that went to the finals against the spurs. just look at the roster! gibson, hughes, lebron, gooden, Z. stop being biased for a sec, do u honestly think they are contenders? playoff team....sure, but not contenders. its simply unbelievable lebron brought that group to the finals. people are saying how this years lakers team is pretty weak compared to previous years and are in trouble. imagine if lebron had this group? this laker group is miles better than the group he had took to the finals in cleveland. kobe has to score 40 a night for them to have a shot at winning. lebron made big Z an allstar, so he would likely turn bynum into an allstar and gasol the best pf in the game

bottom line tho. lebron HAS to win the championship this year

dfunkie1 · 01-20-2012, 01:17 PM

lebron is definitely the superior talent between the two, but he's still a child. this argument will always weigh in kobe's favour until lebron starts to develop that 'next level' that players like kobe and jordan played at. until he does, i don't believe that there's a reason to have this discussion.

powerfulpanda · 01-20-2012, 01:26 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Jackson Filth

lebron is definitely the superior talent between the two, but he's still a child. this argument will always weigh in kobe's favour until lebron starts to develop that 'next level' that players like kobe and jordan played at. until he does, i don't believe that there's a reason to have this discussion.

remember when shaq left what was kobe's biggest critism? can he win one without shaq and he win one being the best player? he dealt with that for YEARS and finally he won one but prior to that he was heavily critisized as well. he wasn't always on that "next level", but he got there tho.
if lebron won last year he would have been ahead to kobe's curve, win this year he's on pace, don't win this year he's behind...

dfunkie1 · 01-20-2012, 01:29 PM

it's not a race, and it doesn't matter when kobe developed it, he did. i didn't said that lebron is not capable of developing it, he just hasn't yet.

thought · 01-20-2012, 02:08 PM

in terms of attitude and drive there is no comparison...kobe is on another level that i don't think lebron is ever capable of reaching. and you know what, you don't have to be as competitive as kobe to win, you really don't. people say it can be a hindrance to him at times, and i believe it. but there needs to be a drive, because the drive is what pushes you to lift a couple extra reps, shoot a thousand extra shots a night, etc.

i dunno. i think you're either born with that fire or you're not. i don't see lebron waking up one morning and just being hungry to win, for the sake of winning. i feel like that's what makes guys like kobe and MJ so great. they need to be better than everyone else. i don't get that vibe from lebron. and i think it's because of that attitude that kobe is so much more skilled than LeBron...there's almost an obsessiveness around getting better and not falling behind, and that's what makes kobe so great. again i don't get that from lebron.

who the fuck knows though, i don't know him personally. i just know that with all lebron's talent, if he was at kobe's skill level, it'd be scary.

LightsOut · 01-20-2012, 06:49 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by powerfulpanda

right now lebron is better. prime vs prime i think lebron is better as well. individually kobe might be better but lebron can make the overall team better. once lebron gets it right mentally (which i think he will) it will be more obvious he is better.

kobe fans always want to bring up championships. the 1st three, kobe was the 2nd option. lebron has never been a 2nd option ever. that alone should tell you something. so we can only use the 2 championships kobe won as alpha in this argument. his 1st year he was 1st option and had help he lost in the nba finals, then won afterwards 2 years straight. lebron's first year with help he lost in the finals as well, now he's in his 2nd year with help and its yet to be seen. but people are quick to judge.

look at clevelands roster that went to the finals against the spurs. just look at the roster! gibson, hughes, lebron, gooden, Z. stop being biased for a sec, do u honestly think they are contenders? playoff team....sure, but not contenders. its simply unbelievable lebron brought that group to the finals. people are saying how this years lakers team is pretty weak compared to previous years and are in trouble. imagine if lebron had this group? this laker group is miles better than the group he had took to the finals in cleveland. kobe has to score 40 a night for them to have a shot at winning. lebron made big Z an allstar, so he would likely turn bynum into an allstar and gasol the best pf in the game

bottom line tho. lebron HAS to win the championship this year

yee he's never the 2nd option when wade is injured, and kobe plays in the tougher conference, the year the cavs made it to the finals the east was terrible and the pistons were on the decline but still I agree that it was amazing what lebron did to bring that group there.

Toby · 01-21-2012, 09:11 AM

Kobe vs. LeBron talk hurts my face

Chiggmo · 01-21-2012, 04:47 PM

Kobe does nothing but score, Lebron does everything.

carp · 01-21-2012, 04:49 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Chiggmo

Kobe does nothing but score, Lebron does everything.

that's what she said!

Chiggmo · 01-21-2012, 04:50 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by carp

that's what she said!

Lol...

RaptorsandBuckeye FaN · 01-21-2012, 04:51 PM

I think Jackson said it best. James is the superior player and the most talented player in the league. He is missing that attack mode where the game is on the line he can go in that mode and take the game over by himself. He has done it before(Pistons playoff game and other examples) but doesn't do it enough.

TORaptor4Ever · 01-21-2012, 07:17 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by RaptorsandBuckeye FaN

I think Jackson said it best. James is the superior player and the most talented player in the league. He is missing that attack mode where the game is on the line he can go in that mode and take the game over by himself. He has done it before(Pistons playoff game and other examples) but doesn't do it enough.

Lebron has taken a lot of heat for this but he's actually taken over quite a few games by himself. He KILLED the Bulls last year in the playoffs in the 4th Q of all of those games and just a few nights ago he mutilated the Spurs in the 2nd half to lead his team back from a big 1st half deficit.

He's getting there.

I don't think there's any question that he's the more complete player though.

01-20-2012, 01:08 PM	#3 (permalink)
powerfulpanda ... Senior Member Join Date: Nov 2009 Location: Vancouver Posts: 1,470 Representing:	right now lebron is better. prime vs prime i think lebron is better as well. individually kobe might be better but lebron can make the overall team better. once lebron gets it right mentally (which i think he will) it will be more obvious he is better. kobe fans always want to bring up championships. the 1st three, kobe was the 2nd option. lebron has never been a 2nd option ever. that alone should tell you something. so we can only use the 2 championships kobe won as alpha in this argument. his 1st year he was 1st option and had help he lost in the nba finals, then won afterwards 2 years straight. lebron's first year with help he lost in the finals as well, now he's in his 2nd year with help and its yet to be seen. but people are quick to judge. look at clevelands roster that went to the finals against the spurs. just look at the roster! gibson, hughes, lebron, gooden, Z. stop being biased for a sec, do u honestly think they are contenders? playoff team....sure, but not contenders. its simply unbelievable lebron brought that group to the finals. people are saying how this years lakers team is pretty weak compared to previous years and are in trouble. imagine if lebron had this group? this laker group is miles better than the group he had took to the finals in cleveland. kobe has to score 40 a night for them to have a shot at winning. lebron made big Z an allstar, so he would likely turn bynum into an allstar and gasol the best pf in the game bottom line tho. lebron HAS to win the championship this year Last edited by powerfulpanda; 01-20-2012 at 01:12 PM.

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01-20-2012, 12:44 PM	#2 (permalink)
pzabby and a 1, and a 2, and a 1,2,3,4! Senior Member Join Date: May 2010 Location: toronto Posts: 7,055 Representing:	this debate is interesting and his take on it is right. however, if we were to compare kobe in his prime, to lebron in his prime (now), does the conclusion stand? I wouldn't say so. what would you all say?

01-20-2012, 01:17 PM	#4 (permalink)
dfunkie1 censored Senior Member Join Date: Apr 2008 Posts: 5,356 Representing:	lebron is definitely the superior talent between the two, but he's still a child. this argument will always weigh in kobe's favour until lebron starts to develop that 'next level' that players like kobe and jordan played at. until he does, i don't believe that there's a reason to have this discussion.

01-20-2012, 01:29 PM	#6 (permalink)
dfunkie1 censored Senior Member Join Date: Apr 2008 Posts: 5,356 Representing:	it's not a race, and it doesn't matter when kobe developed it, he did. i didn't said that lebron is not capable of developing it, he just hasn't yet.

01-20-2012, 02:08 PM	#7 (permalink)
thought jonas smellandchewthis Senior Member Join Date: Feb 2010 Posts: 4,731 Representing:	in terms of attitude and drive there is no comparison...kobe is on another level that i don't think lebron is ever capable of reaching. and you know what, you don't have to be as competitive as kobe to win, you really don't. people say it can be a hindrance to him at times, and i believe it. but there needs to be a drive, because the drive is what pushes you to lift a couple extra reps, shoot a thousand extra shots a night, etc. i dunno. i think you're either born with that fire or you're not. i don't see lebron waking up one morning and just being hungry to win, for the sake of winning. i feel like that's what makes guys like kobe and MJ so great. they need to be better than everyone else. i don't get that vibe from lebron. and i think it's because of that attitude that kobe is so much more skilled than LeBron...there's almost an obsessiveness around getting better and not falling behind, and that's what makes kobe so great. again i don't get that from lebron. who the fuck knows though, i don't know him personally. i just know that with all lebron's talent, if he was at kobe's skill level, it'd be scary.

01-21-2012, 09:11 AM	#9 (permalink)
Toby a nacho hound Senior Member Join Date: Nov 2010 Location: South of Portland, home of the Blazers Posts: 6,064 Representing:	Kobe vs. LeBron talk hurts my face

01-21-2012, 04:47 PM	#10 (permalink)
Chiggmo rootin for the eagles, boise state, the leafs, raps, and jays Senior Member Join Date: Jul 2010 Location: Halifax Posts: 5,683 Representing:	Kobe does nothing but score, Lebron does everything.

01-21-2012, 04:51 PM	#13 (permalink)
RaptorsandBuckeye FaN saying Go Bucks, Raptors, 49ers, Reds and Blue Jackets! Senior Member Join Date: Feb 2008 Location: Columbus, Ohio Posts: 4,835 Representing:	I think Jackson said it best. James is the superior player and the most talented player in the league. He is missing that attack mode where the game is on the line he can go in that mode and take the game over by himself. He has done it before(Pistons playoff game and other examples) but doesn't do it enough.