And wasn't Z a 2 times all star? Take it this way. 2 years after Z became all star, LBJ led him to finals. Kobe did the same thing with Gasol.Only he won it all the next year. I don't know if LBJ has peaked yet. But he has never changed his style of play. And I highly doubt 100% LBJ ISO and P&R can win cavs a champion. Last time I checked, Wilt can't do that.
OK, Smush had problem with Kobe. And he had 2 seasons with 10+ PPG with Kobe. And guess what, 2 months after he joined Heat, he had problem with everybody in the team including Riley and he got waived, and Smush had 2M*2 contract while he played for minimum in Lakers. Kobe looked so much tolerant if you ask me.
Kobe's better, but it's not by much. It's so close I can barely decide. Their games are different but I have no doubt that LeBron would have won on the Lakers last season. He is also a great closer. As far as the pub LeBron get's, Kobe used to get the same kind of pub at a point in his career when he had proved less than LeBron has. Colorado ended all of that. Pre Colorado Kobe was one of the posterchilds....
I'll take Kobe in the last 10 seconds of a tie ball game. I'll take Lebron for the other 47:50. Lebron's the better player.
Yeah, MJ expanded his game. However, his limited game (i.e. the non refinded jumper) wasn't the reason that they were losing. If Grant and Pippen (Pippen in particular) played in 89 or 90 the way they did in 91 onward, then the Bulls would have won. It took time for the supporting cast to mature.
Sure, I'd say Kobe is more skilled as a jump shooter. I'd say Lebron is more skilled as a passer (one of the best in the NBA right now) and rebounder. Kobe might have the edge on defense. Ultimately they both can rack up the points and take over a game. They do it in different ways, but two points is two points. There's a recent article on how he took Hickson under his wing over the summer, took him traveling with him, practicing and pick up games all over the place. I'll see if I can find the article again. I think it shows what kind of teammate and leader he is on and off the court. BTW, I don't get why people are penalizing Lebron for what kind of player he may or may not be in the future. You don't think he's better than Kobe now, that's fine. But it's kind of lame to say 'he won't have a jumper in the future and will break down, so Kobe gets the edge.'
He brought them to the playoffs. Then he blew a 3-1 lead, while he quit in Game 7. Kobe is great. I can even give him better than LeBron but it's close. But I don't see him winning on any team LeBron has been on. When he had poor teams he lost, just like LeBron.
this discussion amuses me b/c i don't think it's even close. lebron is BY FAR the best player in the league, regardless of how you look at it. stats? lebron has it impact? lebron has it affects the game more on both ends? lebron has it? do with less? lebron has it makes scrubs better? lebron has it i will give that kobe is still he more polished offensive player--in terms of jumpshooting and post game (but lebron is getting better every year). lebron is shooting 52% from the field, with an improving midrange game (that lull you to sleep than pop is pretty damn efficient this year). his 3pt shot is there (though no great and kobe was never a great 3pt shooter either). but EVERY other facet of the game, lebron blows kobe out of the water.
Did Kobe Bryant blow the 3-1 lead? He kept the team in all but the last game 7. He single-handedly put them up by 3 points with under :20 to play in Game 6. If I remember correctly, that team was a rebound away from "upsetting" the heavily favored Phoenix Suns (62-20, 05 - 54-28, 06 - 61-21, 07). 05/04/06: Suns at Lakers, YouTube: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GfFRx0q0v5o (@ 1:29 mark) You can harp on '07, but remember that Odom (shoulder) and Walton (ankle), two "key" players, were playing through season-ending-injuries in the playoffs, both required offseason surgeries. It should also be noted that the World Champion Heat were swept in the quarter-finals that season. Its nice that you think the 05-07 Suns were comparable to the (42-40, 05 - 41-41, 06 - 43-39, 07) Wizards and (41-41, 06) Nets; the playoff teams that James led the Cavaliers past in the playoffs. You think the McGrady/Ming Rockets could have advanced to the conference-finals in the East?
yeah and phil jackson vs. mike brown has nothing to do with their successes and failures. if a real coach were to guide lebron he and his team would dominate a decade.
Are you saying LBJ is under-hyped? What LBJ has done AI hasn't done by 2001? And AI's only one year older at that time. LBJ is hyped to be GOAT while he's comparable to AI in achievement so far in the career.
What scrub has Leborn made better? We heard how Wally was a good shooter and played off LBJ will benefit that. His fg% slumped 10% after traded to Cavs. What bench warmer LBJ has translated to solid starter in his career Like Kobe did to Smush and Ariza? None. LeBron sure did shoot a high %, and if you go to 82games to see the break down, he got more than half of his points on layup/foul shooting. It's effective, but only in the sense that all other inside players have to get out of the way. As a result Shaq's efficiency would slump by a big margin who never excel on high post. Until Cavs become a good offense team, the stats of LeBron is just useless. It's a team game. LBJ hasn't learned how to allow his Robin to shine, and before he put "check my 'team' stats" on his chest. His teammates will always look like scrubs.
thanks for the good laugh. just to let you know: you need good offensive players to have a good offensive team. tell me how kobe did the 2 years before pau came?
Lebron right now is better than Kobe was in his prime. There really is no debate, Lebron is clearly the better player and by a huge margin.
What Kobe did before Pau came? Before Bynum went down, they're number 1 seed in west that year. Kobe also took a year with only 2 players of starter caliber to playoff in west. Tell me who else has done that the past decade. Yes, you need good offensive players to have a good offensive team. But Gasol's number doesn't go down after going to Lakers, actually his FG goes up a lot. Is Shaq a good offensive player? He's 17.8/.609 last year and 11.2/.509 this year. How about you have to let other good offensive players have touches to have a good offensive team?
Kobe in his prime in lead a team to championship, LeBron right now can suck stats from his teammates but hasn't proven anything else.
I don't even know what any of that has to do with what I said. I weighed in on the comparison of who's the better player and their skill sets. I never mentioned anything on hype or whether his accomplishments were greater or worse than AI or Kobe or anyone else. Bringing up these other points is not a dispute to what I've posted. I'm comparing what they are doing for their teams right now. To answer your questions, LBJ isn't under or over hyped. He's, at WORST, the 3rd best player in the league. The only way he's over-hyped, if possible, is by 2 spots which isn't much. Actually I'd like to see this master list of media pundits who have already picked Lebron as GOAT. And yes, as far as NBA Finals appearances he and AI have accomplished the same thing. Lebron is probably the best player to come along who can challenge for GOAT since Kobe, but if you've already made up your mind Lebron isn't a great basketball player and/or can't accomplish anything else at 24 you're entitled to your opinion. And people need to grow up and stop crying about 'Lebron gets more attention than my favorite player'. You guys act like Kobe never gets mentioned on ESPN. Who cares? No one gives a crap about the Rockets and have written them off. I still watch most of the games and enjoy it just as much. It doesn't hurt my feelings if someone writes in their blog that the Rockets won't make the playoffs this year. BTW, it's pretty obvious you don't watch Cavs games.
One does not deserve to be in the discussion of GOAT before he's even won one championship. I don't care media gives more attention to LBJ either. But he's not yet a better player until his team can win a championship or 4.
