Unfortunately, age has to play into this choice. If they were the same age, I would say Kobe, but for right now it's Lebron. Lebron still has an ugly jumper though.
Kobe is more skilled in offense and defense, but Lebron is better at everything else, passing, rebounding, athleticism, intangibles, efficiency, and etc. If I had to choose a player for struggling team (with both players at the same age), I would choose LeBron. If you put LeBron on 05-06 Lakers, they beat Phoenix down in 5 games (no way they blow 3-1 lead), or if you put him on the 03-04 team, they'd crush the Pistons with the way Shaq was playing. Kobe is near the perfect player, Lebron is near the perfect "team-player" and "player" at the same time. LeBron won 66 games on a team that wouldn't win 39 without him.
LBJ is not a team player. A team player gets the most out of his team and maximize the team capability. What Cavs have: 3pts shot and inside scoring What Cavs lack: mid-range shots The lack of mid-range shots make the cavs terrible at spacing, it's showed in last year's ECF. Instead of refining his mid-range game, LBJ is still doing every move from top of ring with either a high P&R or one on 5. No many catch and shoot off screen, no post up game. Instead of complement the roles for what they couldn't, he's demanding everyone to be a jump shooter and Shaq doing a bunch of high picks. Hughes needed the ball to be effective, Shaq needs the ball down load to be effective, I don't see LBJ creating room for his teammates to excel. And guess what, Shaq will never excel from high post.
I would say Lebron is the most athletic player in the league, and Kobe Bryant is the most skilled player. I think in todays league(compared to 90s and early 00s), its built for players like lebron bc of the no handchecking so you can almost get by with more focus on athleticism. I would want kobe, for intangibles, defense, and even offense. I think even if you give lebron stars like wade on his team he wont win bc he will take away their game, everyone focuses oh lebron averages more assists and stats. Kobe plays in an equal opportunity offense, lebron plays in an offense run soley through him, that is why it would take away any other star player who wants to create hsots. Lebron averages the most possessions per game beyond any other player, by far, so ofcourse he is going to have the most stats and hands on the other player....and due ot this he is better suited to play with guys like delonte west and mo williams and even illgaskus who will defend and hit open shots to spread the court for him. I take kobe, he reminds me of bball in the good old days, he has an intensity that is unmatched, and he just has a pretty game, not only that, he even took lessons from the dream...
Count all the points and other stats of James the great hype and he is not even close to Kobe. Kobe has led his team to a championship by himself and several other championships with Shaq. Until James has even come close to that will I ever consider him worthy of the comparison with Kobe. Having said that, I think Kobe, if he really did what he did to that lady in Co., is as scum as a scum can get as a person.
When did Kobe lead a championship team by himself? Or are you referring to last year when he had Lamar Odom and Pau Gasol all playing a big part? Look at the Lakers now without Gasol, almost lost in an overtime game against the thunder of all people. Its Lebron all the way. Kobe good and got better with the offseason workouts with Hakeem, but there's no one like LBJ and there will probably be no one like LBJ. At his peak (which is probably still a couple years from now), LBJ will blow Jordan away.
Lebron has to catch Magic first, and I strongly doubt he ever will. IMO he is not close to the basketball player that Magic was. How will Lebron be when he loses his elite athleticism as he ages? To me, that will determine his legacy. Magic and Michael were studs WITHOUT the wings...
Did MJ ever win a championship without Pippen? Hell, MJ was 1-9 in playoff without Pippen. This is ridiculous, every superstar needs some help. LBJ hasn't proven he could lead a team to championship, and that's all that counts. He hasn't even learned how to share the ball if you ask me.
yea no championships are won alone, the only championship I can remmeber that only had one star was the dream in 93-94, and even then, he wouldn't have won without solid role players, in the end of the day basketball is a coheisve sport, it takes 5-5, and to win a championship with anyone is a difficult task, even if you have star players or not, we saw wit the lakers with hall of famers and sunds with a lot of talent, its much more than just having stars on teh court, execution leadership, and most of all defense is what wins...kobe has gotten 4, not many in the history have averaged over 20 ppg in 4 championships runs, props are there it feels like lebron is getting all these props on how much he will win instead of what he has done, as of now he just creates crazy stats, thats it, he still has a lot of flaws and espn loves to ignore them and just overlooks him in the media love affair of lebron, the kid hasn't won a championship yet hes considered a king and best in teh game yet he hasnt won in his own game?... they had a 24 hours of lebron on his birthday which they dont do for kobe or mj even in nba tv, espn was reporting on his cold. throughout hte day with updates it makes me sick almost, i mean its weird, he deserves props btu its hard to give it to him, ive never seen a player who is top 5 in the league, one of the best, yet still overrated... and not to mention his marketing deal is a total rip off, they say kobe is a mj wannabe, but we have lebron who has been calculated by nike before he started on the league, uses lj23 to sell, copies his shoe style, stole kg's powder thing and then sells it as his self, sorry to get carried away btu this guy can simply be frustrating sometimes
and to add to the team thing, if you put lebron on the lakers and in the triangle offense, chances are he would do much worse andh is teammates would be much worse bc he is not a spot up shooter or doesnt shoot off ball, he hasn't mastered that skill set, he keeps the ball in his hand penetrates and dishes out fi he does get the bucket there, adn thats his game, he wouldn't do as well in the triangle bc of his inconsistent jumper i feel, and hes a great passer, yet its equal opportunity so he would have to give it up more and his stats would go down across the board and having bynum and gasol in the middle would clog his penetration and make him more of a shooter which as i said was shaky and lower his fg percentage.... to optimize lebron james you want to build a team who can shoot and spread the court for him and play solid defense, on oppose to other stars, ect.
Yeah, with 5 rebounds and 4.5 assists per game on 45% shooting. Lebron dropped 30 a game with 8 rebounds and 7 assists on 48% shooting. Lebron also averaged more steals and 1.4 blocks per game to Kobe's .4 blocks. I wouldn't use stats to try to prove Kobe is the better player. Lebron has a big edge there.
This year I still think Kobe is better. When both Careers are done I think Kobe will still have a better one. But James will be the top dog for a long time after this year.
I wouldn't use stats either and it's not because James has a edge ( not that big ). But because the whole Lakers squad OWNS Cleveland. It's damn amazing that Kobe even has those stats even when he is part of that starting 5. It's one of those if you swapped Lebron and Kobe who would have the better stats scenario.
He won a title in 1991 and 1998 without having a guy on the team that was even on the allstar team. Also no one else on his title teams or Bulls teams ever led the team in scoring, PER or win Shares. That can't be said about Kobe. Hell MJ never was outscored in ANY Playoff Series Ever.
In terms of what? Fantasy rankings? Bryant is still an elite player and is still the best shooting guard in the league.
