King James, the most overRated player in the league?

He will own the league soon enough.

 

Why would anyone include Kobe with a MJ comparision????

Every GM in the league would take Lebron over Kobe to build a team.

Lebron, though not the pure scorer, already does more on the court for his team than Kobe. Better leader, better passer, better rebounder, better at controlling the tempo. That more than makes up the fact Kobe has a better jump shot and Kobe is a better player the last 60 seconds--it is more important that Lebron is better the other 47 minutes and keeps his team on the same page.

Kobe is probably the most overrated player in the league from a W-L, team success, perspective--which I happen to weight a lot more than highlight plays and the occasional spectacular 50 point nights followed by a game he shot his team into the ground.

 

No he doesn't. I don't know what time will tell but LeBron plays no defense. Kobe does. That's a huge factor in my opinion (and I am defending LeBron in this thread).

 

On an every day basis, Kobe's defense isn't that good any more. He plays selectively hard on occasion but he has slipped A LOT the last couple of years. One could argue it's because he exerts so much on offense now but the same argument would apply to LeBron. IMO, LeBron's defense won't get much better as long as he has to hog the ball on offense to make anything happen for the Cavs. If he can't rest some on defense, either his minutes must go down (fat chance of that) or his shooting will go in the tank for good.

When the Cavs played in Dallas this past season, not only did LeBron take over on offense, he also guarded Shirk the last few minutes of the game and shut him down completely. The Cavs almost came back and stole that game.

 

aka ace...you are delirious.

 

Lebron has Kobe in steals, blocks and defensive rebounds, and his team has much more impressive defensive numbers over a Phil J coached/Kobe lead team. I wouldn't be too quick is determining Kobe is a more positive influence on the defensive end than Lebron.

I think Lebron's ability to get his teammates involved probably also helps defensively, I can imagine if you see Kobe chucking on off nights it is dispiriting for his teammates all the way around.

Again, as a total player/total team impact, Lebron is already > than Kobe (or Tmac). Kobe's better jumpshot just does not make up for the ways Lebron has edges (better getting his teammates involved, better at managing pace, more relentless for most if 48 minutes, more physical and better finisher). The fact Lebron is some much younger cements his greater value.

 

I'd only take duncan, wade and maybe nash over lebron. I sure wouldn't take kobe over him because lebron makes his teammates better even as crappy as they already are without him.

 

aka ace, your are delusional. Forget the 3 championships. That Kobe is gone. Compare Kobe since Shaq left to LeBron if you want to be fair. Kobe hasn't won a single playoff series. LeBron has won several (yes, in the weak East). Do you honestly believe Kobe makes his teammates better? You must be a relative or in his posse. The only thing he does is make his teammates sit back and watch him because they know once he gets the ball a shot is going up. LeBron's mates know to start cutting or go to their spots because LeBron will find them if they get open. He is also vocal on the court, though he doesn't rip his teammates up like Kobe does occasionally. One thing even Kober-lovers cannot deny: The guy is a LONER, NOT A LEADER. Everything written about him screams that fact. When you consider how incredibly talented he is, Kobe is a very difficult teammate.

Sure, Kobe is still better than LeBron, but for you to say they aren't in the same caliber is silly. They are close enough for a minority of people to believe (and be wrong) LeBron is already better.

 

I got to admit I see an argument I never, ever thought I would in regards to Kobe Bryant. I can understand the skills argument--but leadership and getting his teammates behind him--I have no idea what sport or which Kobe Bryant you could possible be thinking of.

 

Kobe is respected because of his tremenous individual basketball and scoring skills--which right now he is tops in the league (totally seperate issue from team leaderhsip and team committment). Everybody knows he got those rings on the back of Shaq Oneal, kind of like Pippen and Grant/Rodman with Jordan. But at least Pippen got his team past the 1st round without Jordan, something Kobe has yet to do without Shaq.

Well Shaq--the active basketball player with the greatest career still playing in the NBA--sure respected Dwayne Wade's leadership infinently more than Kobe Bryant. I would expect the vast majority of players yes would prefer to play with Lebron as well. Just maybe Kobe isn't the team leader you think he is.

 

Either LeBron must have beat up your little brother or you are on Kobe's payroll. Just watch the Lakers games and Cavs games. Kobe's teammates relax when he has the ball; LeBron's mates get active and get ready. That is the difference between the two players. Kobe is too impatient to be a leader and can't understand why all people aren't like him. That is why he is a loner, why other players don't like being around him and why he is the opposite of a leader. LeBron is the type of person people gravitate to. I watched the Cavs a lot this season and Damon Jones, Marshall, Larry Hughes, Big Zero and Eric Snow did exactly that. They willingly did what LeBron would tell them to do because they respected and admired him. LeBron has a long way to go but his career is off to an awesome start.

Kobe has respect from other Lakers but it's mixed with contempt. I'll say it again: For a player soooo talented, he is one of the most difficult players in history to play with. The whispers about the guy are off the charts. Even Phil Jackson blasted him about being "uncoachable". READ THIS: Leaders understand and are able to read other people. They also have a clue about how they come off to others. Kobe gets 0 out of 10 on these measurements. If you refuse to acknowledge his flaws that is your business, but don't expect everyone else to drink the same Kool Aid.

Your statement that performance speaks for itself shows me you know absolutely nothing about leadership. When you get a few years in today's job market under your belt, things will be more clear. Leadership isn't about what you accomplish personally, it's about how you affect the performance of others. It's sad but there are thousands of managers/supervisors/directors in the workplace who never figure this out.

The one thing we agree on is Kobe is currently a better basketball player than LeBron. Most people that follow the NBA know this.

 

Since when has kobe ever been a leader since shaq left? He picks fights with teammates(see odom) and ball hogs for stretches. Sure he's a better offensive player than lebron but I want to win and lebron is in his teammates ears getting them believing they can step up their games. Before game 6 vs detroit james told gibson they would double/triple him so have your gun locked and loaded and ready to fire. He scored 31 that night.

Plus watch how unselfish lebron is on the court, even when his teammates can't hit shots to save their lives. Kobe does it once in awhile, but not nearly as often as lebron.

Kobe is the better player right now but I'll take lebron to run my team because of his unselfishness.

 

Oh man, I can't believe this post. If I wanted to be sarcastic I would copy and paste your post, because this is completely the exact opposite of the truth. Every single word of it. And you know what? Everyone would interpret it as so, because I don't think there's a single person here who could agree w/ your laughable statement. Too crazy for me to even post a rebuttal on each point.

 

He is the most overated player in the NBA... He doesn't have an ounce of clutch shooting in him maybe luck but he wont ever win a championship unless he gets a team like the pistons when ben wallace was with them.

 

Jordan also never got swept in a championship, or did jordan's shot look like ****.

 

What makes you think that James is the MOST overrated player? There are a lot more overrated players than Lebron. Lebron is overrated, but at least he beat a talent loaded Pistons and carried his team to the finals. I mean when no.2 best player on the Cavs team is some rookie named Gibson during the playoffs, that's gotta tell you something.

If you compare James' feats with T-Mac at around the same age, Tayshaun Prince as a rookie turned Tmac into an ordinary player, while Prince got completely bullied by James. And the Piston's is the team that devised the whole "Jordan Rules" to concentrate their entire defense on stopping James. The guy is a beast. It's arguable whether James is overrated, but a lot of it has to do with the media and Nike.

 

Tay Prince also except for a few minutes in game 2 took out Kobe in their finals match-ups. Tay Prince has been able to accomplish nothing versus Lebron or Wade--worth noting the only 2 swingmen Detroit just has had completely no answer for the last few years.

 

Did you ever think MJ never played in the Finals at age 22 and he never played with a team so overmatched in talent and coaching like these Cavs were? I doubt it.

You guys who love taking shots at LeBron need to chill. You are just as bad (or worse sometimes) than people who overrate him. Is it jealousy? Why does LeBron bring out the worst in you? Try taking a deep breath and looking at the real picture. What he has accomplished in his short career is amazing considering the horrible franchise he plays for.