Who is better Kobe or Lebron?

[TheGreat#8]

What I said was that I feel Lebron is better in several areas of the game personally and the stats back that up. If you want to compare stats with MJ and Kobe go right ahead because MJ stats are pretty damn good......Michael also appeared in 6 NBA finals and won all 6 while taking Finals MVP honors for all 6 of them....Kobe will never compare himself to MJ and he shouldn't MJ is on a level all by himself.

I am not sure that this is fair on several levels. First, I would think that there would not be too much disagreement that the Bulls played against overall less skilled teams than say the Lakers did in the 80's when they were facing the Celtics as an example. Magic Johnson played in 9 finals and won 5. Twice lost to the Celtics in the finals. I dare say that Michael never had to play teams at that level in the finals and if Magic's Lakers did not play those great Celtic teams he might have at least 7 rings, we will never know. While it is impossible to speculate what might have happened, and Michael could only play who he played, I think that people tend to overemphasize the fact that he was 6 - 0 in those finals. While certinly that is a phenomenal accomplishment, I don't believe that the overall skill level of any of those teams was say on par with the Larry Bird Celtics or even the 08/10 Celtics that the Lakers just played and this sentiment is echoed by several very notable journalist that I recently heard discussing this element as at no time did MJ have to play teams with three future HOF players in the starting lineup. He did have to play very, very good teams with two HOF players in Stockton and Malone in 97 & 98 but at no point did he face teams with the overall depth and quality of a lineup that the Celtics threw out there night in and night out.

The other issue here and it is pure speculation, is that the Lakers are already favored in 2010-11 to threepeat. You say that Kobe should never be compared to MJ. Again, pure speculation, but at 32 what if Kobe gets 2 - 3 more rings. If he wins two more than MJ and were to be named finals MVP in all those finals, you absolutely have to put him in that discussion.

The beauty of this whole thing is that Michael will never play another game again (unless his HOF speech was completely serious that he would play at 50) and Kobe still has 2 - 4 good if not great years ahead of him to keep making a run. I don't think you can put Kobe in that discussion yet, however if he were to win 7 or 8 titles, you absolutely have to do that as it does not matter your feelings on Shaq/Kobe during the first three runs, anybody that can win 6 or more rings in today's grueling NBA with the schedule etc. is accomplishing something amazing given the 4 total rounds of playoffs, and the length of the season. Lets face it, in many ways, MJ was very lucky to have played on teams that remained intact in terms of health. How many times historically have we seen potentially historic teams never reach the pinnicle due to injury. MJ was fortune that his teams never faced a serious injury that derailed the season and kept them from defending their title.

The bottom line is, that it is sheer stupidity for anyone to suggest that at no point, can any player ever be compared to MJ. At some point now or in the future, a great player will come along and do amazing things, win titles, MVP's, take his team to the next level and in sports, that is what you do compare players. Kobe is not MJ, however to suggest that nobody will ever come close to what he did is ridiculous as you cannot know the unknown. It seems like everyone gets caught up in this idea that if you even remotely compare anyone to MJ that you are somehow diminishing or trivializing what he accomplished which could not be further from the truth. While MJ is the gold standard against which others are compared, it is absolutely impossible to say that at no point can anyone ever come close to accomplishing any of those goals and records in the future.

[STLHAMMER32]

I am not sure that this is fair on several levels. First, I would think that there would not be too much disagreement that the Bulls played against overall less skilled teams than say the Lakers did in the 80's when they were facing the Celtics as an example. Magic Johnson played in 9 finals and won 5. Twice lost to the Celtics in the finals. I dare say that Michael never had to play teams at that level in the finals and if Magic's Lakers did not play those great Celtic teams he might have at least 7 rings, we will never know. While it is impossible to speculate what might have happened, and Michael could only play who he played, I think that people tend to overemphasize the fact that he was 6 - 0 in those finals. While certinly that is a phenomenal accomplishment, I don't believe that the overall skill level of any of those teams was say on par with the Larry Bird Celtics or even the 08/10 Celtics that the Lakers just played and this sentiment is echoed by several very notable journalist that I recently heard discussing this element as at no time did MJ have to play teams with three future HOF players in the starting lineup. He did have to play very, very good teams with two HOF players in Stockton and Malone in 97 & 98 but at no point did he face teams with the overall depth and quality of a lineup that the Celtics threw out there night in and night out.

The other issue here and it is pure speculation, is that the Lakers are already favored in 2010-11 to threepeat. You say that Kobe should never be compared to MJ. Again, pure speculation, but at 32 what if Kobe gets 2 - 3 more rings. If he wins two more than MJ and were to be named finals MVP in all those finals, you absolutely have to put him in that discussion.

The beauty of this whole thing is that Michael will never play another game again (unless his HOF speech was completely serious that he would play at 50) and Kobe still has 2 - 4 good if not great years ahead of him to keep making a run. I don't think you can put Kobe in that discussion yet, however if he were to win 7 or 8 titles, you absolutely have to do that as it does not matter your feelings on Shaq/Kobe during the first three runs, anybody that can win 6 or more rings in today's grueling NBA with the schedule etc. is accomplishing something amazing given the 4 total rounds of playoffs, and the length of the season. Lets face it, in many ways, MJ was very lucky to have played on teams that remained intact in terms of health. How many times historically have we seen potentially historic teams never reach the pinnicle due to injury. MJ was fortune that his teams never faced a serious injury that derailed the season and kept them from defending their title.

The bottom line is, that it is sheer stupidity for anyone to suggest that at no point, can any player ever be compared to MJ. At some point now or in the future, a great player will come along and do amazing things, win titles, MVP's, take his team to the next level and in sports, that is what you do compare players. Kobe is not MJ, however to suggest that nobody will ever come close to what he did is ridiculous as you cannot know the unknown. It seems like everyone gets caught up in this idea that if you even remotely compare anyone to MJ that you are somehow diminishing or trivializing what he accomplished which could not be further from the truth. While MJ is the gold standard against which others are compared, it is absolutely impossible to say that at no point can anyone ever come close to accomplishing any of those goals and records in the future.

Sure guys will have talent and stats that might surpass MJ, what I am saying is that as far as a player revolutionizing the game or setting the standard and changing the game on many levels, no one can be compared. Some goes for Babe Ruth, the impact he had on the game was something no one can compare to even though some of his numbers will be surpassed.

Sports is more than stats as you said earlier, I never relied upon stats soley when making my arguments....its what I see and how I feel. Kobe very well be the best player in the league it just depends upon how you view it. To me Lebron is the best overall player for the way I view it....and I was pointing out the stats don't say otherwise.....

I dont think the ring comparison is fair yet because Lebron has half of the seasons Kobe has had.....and once again its Kobe's situation that has allowed for the rings, Lakers are the best team in basketball no question....but if you put Kobe on the Cavs he would not have 5 rings right now.