Who is better Kobe or Lebron?

[legaleagle92481]

Re: Who is better Kobe or Lebron?

Kobe has won 5 nba titles and for 3 of the 5 was not the most valuable player to his team....hence he only has 2 Finals MVP awards.

As far as support, Gasol was incredible this year and the reason for the back to back championships. The Lakers can't win a game win Kobe takes over 25 shots, the stats prove that.

Again, my question is would the Lakers have lost if they had Lebron?

Yes, they would have lost with Lebron we all saw how well Lebron played against the Celts this year. Kobe and Shaq were both so valuable to the Lakers in the early 2000s that without either of them the team would not have won one ring. Both players came up huge throughout those seasons and the Finals who got the MVP is besides the point. As far as Gasol he did not win a single playoff game until he got on the Lakers and he played only 65 games out of 82 regular season games this year with except for grabbing an extra rebound and change per night was almost identical to every other year he has had. Yes he played well last night but he disappeared for a couple of games in the series as well. Plus Gasol does not get doubled since they are so worried about Kobe. He was far from the reason they won.

[legaleagle92481]

Re: Who is better Kobe or Lebron?

I think Lebron is better in nearly every category and the stats back that up but at this point Kobe does have the better drive your are correct about that for sure. I mean you can't go wrong with either player. My point is that Kobe is winning championships because of the situation. If you trade Lebron straight up for Kobe it would be hard to say Lebron wouldn't have the 5 rings right now. Lebron has many many years to catch up too lets not forget.

Its like Wilt and Russell. Wilt was much better in every category except Bill was the better allaround defender. Bill has 11 rings, Wilt has 2. Most people say Bill was the better player because of his drive and results. Wilt had the individual records, the scoring and rebounding titles and once even led the league in assists. Bill had Cousy, Sharman, Jones and Auberach on his side and barely scored 10 points a game. If you traded Wilt for Bill the Celts would have won 13 out of 13 championships instead of the 11 out of 13 Bill lead them to. But in sports there are no what ifs and situations are a chicken and egg argument. Would Odom have reupped without Kobe being there? Would Artest have signed there without Kobe being there? They could have went to the Cavs but chose Kobe because they felt correctly that he gave them best shot to win.

[Manram]

Re: Who is better Kobe or Lebron?

One final point Lebron may be the most SKILLED player in the NBA and noone can really argue that but that does not make him the best he lacks that drive that makes Kobe Kobe. Kobe pursues the title every single year like he has never won before and has the work ethic of a fringe roster player.

The reason lebron does not pursue the title every year is because he has no one on his team that is good besides him. He can only carry his team so far. I do not like kobe at all, he is a very arrogant player IMO and can not handle himself on the court. He whines if he gets touched

[gorilla777]

Re: Who is better Kobe or Lebron?

The reason lebron does not pursue the title every year is because he has no one on his team that is good besides him. He can only carry his team so far. I do not like kobe at all, he is a very arrogant player IMO and can not handle himself on the court. He whines if he gets touched

Show me an NBA player that doesn't whine. Paul Pierce deserves an Oscar for some of his work. And as far as Kobe, you will not find any fellow players that don't respect the guys work ethic and drive. I have always put MJ in his own category, but Kobe is damn close. He is one of the best clutch players of all time, top five. Off the court I never cared much for him, but that isn't what we are talking about. LeBron does not pursue a title? That sounds ridiculous.

[gorilla777]

Re: Who is better Kobe or Lebron?

Well if thats the case then Robert Horry is better than both of them! 7 rings.....How do you judge how good a player is...to me its every aspect of the game. Rebounding, defense, passing, scoring...

Is Kobe a better rebounder....no.
Is kobe a better passer...no
Is kobe better defensively....no
Is kobe a better scorer...possibly

Kobe is a clutch player and one hell of a basketball player....but to me the ring argument does not make much sense....was bill cartwright better than Karl malone or John paxson better than John Stockton? My point is that rings don't necessarily mean you are a better player its just means you are very fortunate and in a position to win one. Kobe has been very fortunate with a successful franchise with a history of winning while Lebron entered Franchise that was a basement team....now he single handedly has rejuvenated the team....

If you put Lebron on the Lakers this year they still win a title, if you put Kobe on the Cavs they still lose....anyone think differently.

Actually Kobe has the skills to match or better LeBron in most or all of those categories. He shot horribly last night, but went out and grabbed 15 rebounds.

[STLHAMMER32]

Re: Who is better Kobe or Lebron?

Actually Kobe has the skills to match or better LeBron in most or all of those categories. He shot horribly last night, but went out and grabbed 15 rebounds.

Back up your argument with statistics....Kobe struggling offensively in the biggest game of the year isn't helping your argument. The Lakers outrebounded the Celtics like crazy last night which is ultimately why they lost....Kendrick Perkins was out so Celtics were overmatched on the boards.

Lebron averages more points, more assists, more steals, more blocks per game. Lebron also has more triple-doubles in his career than Kobe.. Kobe has 13 years in the league more than 2x as many as Lebron.

[jetersbatboy]

Re: Who is better Kobe or Lebron?

Lebron stats and skill set for the most part better then MJ. But does that make Lebron better then him NO! Then why does that make him better the Kobe?

[STLHAMMER32]

Re: Who is better Kobe or Lebron?

Lebron stats and skill set for the most part better then MJ. But does that make Lebron better then him NO! Then why does that make him better the Kobe?

Michael is on a different level than both of them because he IS basketball. He changed the way the game was played. He changed the marketing of the game which is the reason kids saved entire allowances to buy a pair of his shoes hoping that it could in some way make them jump like Mike. Kid's on playgrounds stuck there tongue out and wore baggy shorts. Kobe modeled his entire game after MJ and Lebron started playing ball because of him. Michael is the ultimate figure in basketball, both Lebron and Kobe could and never will even try to compare themselves to Mike.

[TheGreat#8]

Re: Who is better Kobe or Lebron?

I was listening to ESPN radio on Wednesday night and I can honestly say it was refreshing for a sports commentator in this case Brian Kenny to be truthful as most of these guys are not.

Kenny said that if the Lakers win he will be hating life for weeks as he just hates Kobe Bryant. He said that he despises Kobe and hates to see the Lakers win as he think that Kobe cares all about himself period and is the most selfish athlete he has ever seen. While that is certainly debatable as there are many, many selfish athletes, it is refreshing to actually hear someone admit this.

WHere I work, literally overnight the entire place became Celtic fans in the finals. I asked a few coworkers why that was when they had hated the Celtics through the early rounds of the playoffs and they kept coming up with stupid excuses like the Lakers win too much, (hello Boston has 17 championships to 16 now for LA) and to a person nobody would admit what I believe to be the problem and that is Kobe.

Success breeds contempt as the saying goes and Kobe is I believe the most polarizing athlete playing any sport today. People either love him or absolutely cannot stand him or hate him. In fact, people hate him so bad that they are blinded by his greatness and that is a shame.

While I never rooted for the Bulls during Jordan's run, I certainly could appreciate his greatness. It is funny that the same people that loved Jordan and actively pulled for him and the Bulls criticize Kobe for the way he acts and plays which in many ways really is a carbon copy of MJ. MJ was as selfish and arrogant and still is to this day as any athlete who ever walked the earth (see his HOF speech last year) yet Kobe is villified because of the way that he carries himself?

I heard Kobe being criticized for ripping Shaq last night. Perhaps everyone fails to remember when Shaq won #4 in 06 how has told Kobe through the media how does my blank taste?

Bottom line is that athletes like Kobe come around once in a lifetime. He is not Jordan, will never be Jordan but that does nothing to diminish his greatness. Just like people saying he cannot be compared to MJ because he has 5 titles and not 6. Well, he turns 32 in August and with this team could make a run at 1 2 or even 3 more titles depending on what the Lakers are able to do with role players. What if he wins 7 or 8 then what will the argument be.

This same sad stupid argument how Shaq was the NBA finals MVP in the 1st three and Kobe was his sidekick is ridiculous. Rick Bucher was on ESPN Radio three nights ago and said quite simply that if anyone really believes that the Lakers would have won one title without Kobe then they are absolutely idiots. He is correct as good as Shaq was, Kobe was no Pippen to Jordan, he was nearly the equal of Shaq and the Lakers would never, ever have won any of those titles without him period.

I personally would love to see him get 2 or 3 more and then see what stupid excuses people can dream up next as to why he can never, ever be compared to Michael Jordan, or Magic, Larry, Bill Russell, Kareem etc. Of course as I read elsewhere and this is true, people are so blinded with hatred toward Kobe that it would not matter what he did. If he averaged 40 points a game and had 8 rebound, 8 assist and the Lakers swept through the playoffs in 16 straight games three straight years, people would still say you cannot compare him to MJ.

I watched every single Bulls game over the 12 - 15 years of Michaels career at least in the playoffs. There were more than a few times when Michael had to get bailed out by his teammates. Go ahead and look up the stats, they do not lie. Why is that not held against him? DOn't get me wrong I don't hate Jordan he is the best that ever played, but people have cannonized the man and act like he never, ever had a bad game scored 50 a game in the playoffs and won every game he ever played. Revisionist historians just cannot stand the idea that someone might possibly be nearly his equal for whatever reason.

[STLHAMMER32]

Re: Who is better Kobe or Lebron?

I was listening to ESPN radio on Wednesday night and I can honestly say it was refreshing for a sports commentator in this case Brian Kenny to be truthful as most of these guys are not.

Kenny said that if the Lakers win he will be hating life for weeks as he just hates Kobe Bryant. He said that he despises Kobe and hates to see the Lakers win as he think that Kobe cares all about himself period and is the most selfish athlete he has ever seen. While that is certainly debatable as there are many, many selfish athletes, it is refreshing to actually hear someone admit this.

WHere I work, literally overnight the entire place became Celtic fans in the finals. I asked a few coworkers why that was when they had hated the Celtics through the early rounds of the playoffs and they kept coming up with stupid excuses like the Lakers win too much, (hello Boston has 17 championships to 16 now for LA) and to a person nobody would admit what I believe to be the problem and that is Kobe.

Success breeds contempt as the saying goes and Kobe is I believe the most polarizing athlete playing any sport today. People either love him or absolutely cannot stand him or hate him. In fact, people hate him so bad that they are blinded by his greatness and that is a shame.

While I never rooted for the Bulls during Jordan's run, I certainly could appreciate his greatness. It is funny that the same people that loved Jordan and actively pulled for him and the Bulls criticize Kobe for the way he acts and plays which in many ways really is a carbon copy of MJ. MJ was as selfish and arrogant and still is to this day as any athlete who ever walked the earth (see his HOF speech last year) yet Kobe is villified because of the way that he carries himself?

I heard Kobe being criticized for ripping Shaq last night. Perhaps everyone fails to remember when Shaq won #4 in 06 how has told Kobe through the media how does my blank taste?

Bottom line is that athletes like Kobe come around once in a lifetime. He is not Jordan, will never be Jordan but that does nothing to diminish his greatness. Just like people saying he cannot be compared to MJ because he has 5 titles and not 6. Well, he turns 32 in August and with this team could make a run at 1 2 or even 3 more titles depending on what the Lakers are able to do with role players. What if he wins 7 or 8 then what will the argument be.

This same sad stupid argument how Shaq was the NBA finals MVP in the 1st three and Kobe was his sidekick is ridiculous. Rick Bucher was on ESPN Radio three nights ago and said quite simply that if anyone really believes that the Lakers would have won one title without Kobe then they are absolutely idiots. He is correct as good as Shaq was, Kobe was no Pippen to Jordan, he was nearly the equal of Shaq and the Lakers would never, ever have won any of those titles without him period.

I personally would love to see him get 2 or 3 more and then see what stupid excuses people can dream up next as to why he can never, ever be compared to Michael Jordan, or Magic, Larry, Bill Russell, Kareem etc. Of course as I read elsewhere and this is true, people are so blinded with hatred toward Kobe that it would not matter what he did. If he averaged 40 points a game and had 8 rebound, 8 assist and the Lakers swept through the playoffs in 16 straight games three straight years, people would still say you cannot compare him to MJ.

I watched every single Bulls game over the 12 - 15 years of Michaels career at least in the playoffs. There were more than a few times when Michael had to get bailed out by his teammates. Go ahead and look up the stats, they do not lie. Why is that not held against him? DOn't get me wrong I don't hate Jordan he is the best that ever played, but people have cannonized the man and act like he never, ever had a bad game scored 50 a game in the playoffs and won every game he ever played. Revisionist historians just cannot stand the idea that someone might possibly be nearly his equal for whatever reason.

I don't hate Kobe, I respect his game and I think he is among the top 25 to ever play. What the question was to begin with was who was better Kobe or Lebron. I can honestly say Lebron is better at most aspects of the game and the statistics back that up. Lebron is well rounded and like I said earlier is a triple double threat every night. Who is more successful at this point, Kobe. The better player, I guess that depends on how you judge that....to me the better all around player is Lebron but that is my opinion. Lebron only has 6 years in the league and what he has done so far is incredible, the rings will come for him in time.

[gorilla777]

Re: Who is better Kobe or Lebron?

Back up your argument with statistics....Kobe struggling offensively in the biggest game of the year isn't helping your argument. The Lakers outrebounded the Celtics like crazy last night which is ultimately why they lost....Kendrick Perkins was out so Celtics were overmatched on the boards.

Lebron averages more points, more assists, more steals, more blocks per game. Lebron also has more triple-doubles in his career than Kobe.. Kobe has 13 years in the league more than 2x as many as Lebron.

The majority of the NBA players would choose Kobe to take the last shot or defend the best player on the other team.
So your argument is that LeBron is better in stats? That does not tell the whole story. Kobe has done what he had to beat the opponent. LeBron has failed when he has his big moments.You point out one game? Please.... Scoreboard-that is the argument ultimately.

[TheGreat#8]

Re: Who is better Kobe or Lebron?

Actually, Lebron just finished his 7th full season in the league and Kobe his 14th so Lebron has played roughly half of Kobe's career.

In terms of stats, they tell far from the whole story. I think the one thing that people fail to realize and perhaps Kobe does, is that 82 game seasons and 4 rounds of playoffs will really wear you down. Kobe has been in 7 NBA finals half of his years in the league and has gone into the playoffs every other year. I believe that if Kobe at this stage really cared about the regular season, he could average easily 7 or 8 assist a game and probably another couple of rebounds. I think what he and many other superstars and borderline star players realize such as the Celtics, it is not all about having the NBA's best record. Look what happened to the LeBron's the last two years, best NBA record and home early in the playoffs. LeBron's supporters keep throwing this out there that he has to do that for his team to win. Why? If he scaled it back a bit and say they won 10 less games, they would still make the playoffs and like the Lakers or Celtics and even the Spurs and the Bulls who did not always have the best record and famous 6th seed Rockets in 94, perhaps he would have something left in the tank in May and June when the real basketball starts.

Kobe realizes that the only thing that matters to his legacy is rings at this point in his career. Let LeBron have his regular season MVP's who cares if he gets 10 of them, the one that matters is the finals MVP and Kobe knows that and so do all the other great champions. Teams like the Lakers, Celtics, Rockets, Spurs and Bulls did not always have to have the league's best record they knew how to win on the road when it counted. LeBron needs to figure that out. Kobe already has as even a player like LeBron cannot keep killing himself to put up big numbers ever night for 82 plus games a season 100 plus if you factor a deep playoff run as he will hit a wall at some point as he actually seemingly has done several times in the past couple of years.

Why is he not as good as Kobe, it is simple, Kobe knows what is important and once LeBron figures out that he does not have to win all the awards, have the biggest stats and win every regular season game perhaps he will get there to. Nobody remembers who won the most regular season games, it is all about the ring at the end.

[gorilla777]

Re: Who is better Kobe or Lebron?

And rings for LeBron? He better get started. The guys start wearing down at a younger age nowadays when they enter out of HS, since there is only so much tread wear in their legs.

[STLHAMMER32]

Re: Who is better Kobe or Lebron?

The majority of the NBA players would choose Kobe to take the last shot or defend the best player on the other team.
So your argument is that LeBron is better in stats? That does not tell the whole story. Kobe has done what he had to beat the opponent. LeBron has failed when he has his big moments.You point out one game? Please.... Scoreboard-that is the argument ultimately.

Kobe has had 2x as many seasons in the league and been apart of one of the best franchises in all of sports...of course he will have more rings than Lebron at this point.

Do you think Kobe is a better passer than Lebron? Do you think he is a better rebounder than Lebron? Do you think he is feared on defense more than Lebron.....you can see the fear and how players adjust there shots on fast breaks and drives to the whole because they don't want to have the ball rejected into the 8th row of the stands and be on sportscenter.....

I am looking at this from an unbiased point of view I am just a fan of the game and looking at what I see. You may not agree with me and thats fine, I'm just looking at it from an overall player view. Comparing rings is tough like I said because if Lebron and Kobe changed shoes I think Lakers still win the 5 titles Kobe was a part of.

[STLHAMMER32]

Re: Who is better Kobe or Lebron?

Kobe has had 2x as many seasons in the league and been apart of one of the best franchises in all of sports...of course he will have more rings than Lebron at this point.

Do you think Kobe is a better passer than Lebron? Do you think he is a better rebounder than Lebron? Do you think he is feared on defense more than Lebron.....you can see the fear and how players adjust their shots on fast breaks and drives to the hole because they don't want to have the ball rejected into the 8th row of the stands and be on sportscenter.....

I am looking at this from an unbiased point of view I am just a fan of the game and looking at what I see. You may not agree with me and thats fine, I'm just looking at it from an overall player view. Comparing rings is tough like I said because if Lebron and Kobe changed shoes I think Lakers still win the 5 titles Kobe was a part of.

corrections....sorry lol!