Uh, can you tell me where you got that fine piece of info? Last time checked people loved kobe's fadeaway?
Well LeBron scores off of explosevness and power, that's not necessarily a pure scoring skill. Though it forces a mismatch on whoever guards him. LeBron is the best overall player in the league but he isn't a "pure scorer" Carmelo is a great scorer, but it's at the expense of the team. His game takes away from his teammates so I would not say he is the best. Kobe was the best 3/4 years ago but not anymore. Durant can score from almost anywhere on the floor, the dude has literally lead the league in scoring more times than he hasn't. Great shooter, great in transition, great off the dribble with a pull up or taking it to the whole. All he's missing is a consistant post up game, and being as tall as he is that shouldn't be hard for him to get. I think while LeBron is the best player in world, KD is the scorer since Jordan
Right now its Durant, he averages 28 with a PG that takes more shots than him. If he had a pure PG he could average 35 easily. His obscene length means he can shoot whenever he wants, wherever he wants, and still shoot at a high clip. LeBron is a close second, because he's such a good passer people greatly under-rate is scoring ability. The only reason Durant is better is because LeBron relies greatly on being able to get to the rim, while Durant can attack or shoot. Kobe in his prime was close with Durant, but his volume shooting approach never impressed me as much as Durants. He took an astounding 27 shots per game in his 35 ppg season. He isn't in their league now. He was a better player, never a better scorer though. Carmelo shouldn't ever be mentioned with these 3.
There was that statistician that wrote that Kobe was the second most overpaid player behind Rashard Lewis because he's become an inefficient volume shooter along with being the highest paid player in the game. He's a used to be, Durant and Lebron are better scorers now.
Lebron is #1 over Durant who is #2. Lebron may not be as good of a jump shooter as Durant but as evidenced by the Finals, he can score in a lot more different ways and makes it look easy. Both have a great FG%. Lebron is much better at putting it on the floor and slashing, while still having an above average shot. Durant is more one-dimensional in his scoring and when his shot isn't falling as was the case in the Finals, his effectiveness is not as good. #3 is either Kobe or Nowitzki. Both are top-notch scorers when healthy. Carmelo is at least a notch below those guys. Especially when we are talking about players in their prime. Kobe is older now and still putting up bigger numbers while shooting the same percentage as Melo (who is supposed to be in his prime now). On that note, I think that Deron Williams is a better scorer than Westbrook despite the lower shooting percentage, but just happens to be on a crappy team with less support so all the defensive attention is on him.
I say carmello cause it doesn't matter who he plays with. When in shape, he puts more pressure on the defender than anyone. We've seen durant have trouble getting the ball late in scoring position. Carmello can iso and get in scoring position. I also see posters using westbrook as an out, but anthony played with iverson and bilups.
You do realize Durant averaged 30.1 PPG while shooting 54.8% from the field while being defending a majority of the time by the person that most consider the best perimeter defender in the game (Lebron), right? His shot was definitely falling.
It's got to be LeBron or Durant right now. I don't get how so many people want to give style points for "pure scoring," or claim that a certain player is a better scorer by running off a list of his subjective skillset (as if other stars can't do the same things). Scorers score points. Good scorers do it efficiently. Giving style points for "versatility" makes no sense because it's basically rewarding someone for taking bad shots. Kobe and Melo brick more isolated perimeter jumpers? Good for them. I'll take someone like LeBron who drives it in for the easy bucket.
I'd also like to dispute the idea that Melo's game is aesthetically pleasing. I live in the NY market so I saw a ton of Knicks games last season. Melo has one of the most frustrating offensive styles that I can think of. He killed so many of the Knicks' possessions by demanding the ball at the elbow (long 2pt range, the worst types of shots in basketball). Then he'd have everyone clear out, so that he could isolate and slowly post up without actually getting far into the paint. So many stagnant plays and bricked shots came out of that. It wasn't just bad basketball, but annoying basketball as well.
In terms of efficiency it has to be Durant, he can nearly score at will with his 6'8-6'9 height and his freakishly long 7'0+ arm reach. If I wanted to rebuild with a player NOT named Lebron James, Durant would be the 2nd best player to get. Might be a bit biased with Durant being my favorite player though..
It's simple...Melo's repertoire of ways to score are unmatched by anyone in the game today. That doesn't mean he is the best scorer, nor does he have the most unblockable shot...hence, why he developed more "pure scoring skills as in the OP question. It just means his skill set is more broad and he can do more moves than anyone else. Melo is the most complete scorer...in terms of skill sets. I don't really care to argue this.
The OP question is pure scoring SKILLS. I take that as meaning who can score in the most different ways. That's clearly Melo.
just watch the olympics. The world does not know how to guard him. That's why he has been our best Dream Team player for the last 4 years.
the question is both....otherwise the question would stop at "Best Pure Scorer"...no? like many other threads. What makes this thread interesting is the "skills" part in plural. Otherwise, it is Lebron and Durant, no question.
