LeBron James-best active player?

i disagree on the skill part....kobe is a better shooter than Lebron and that's about it....I've always felt his "shutdown" defense was somewhat overrated also. When looking at their "entire" games I'd probably have to say Lebron is better. Bron is a better passer, leader (doesn't cause the locker room problems Kobe has over his career), penetrator, and rebounder. And when it comes to the clutch he's just as good if not better than Kobe.....so many people get too caught up in the entire "final shot" argument that they don't think about the definition of a "closer". Brons ability to get to the basket with his speed and strength, along with his ability to find the open teammate are the primary reason why he's the best in the 4th quarter this season.

this has always been a stupid argument......last year when Wade was healthy I thought he was better than Kobe....Kobe isn't up on some hill by himself with no one being able to touch him. Whether you think he's the best we have right now or not, only a kobe fan boy would say "it's not really close"

 

Kobe is a better shooter than lebron in EVERY respect. Hes better at free throws, better at 3's, has a post up game, and most importantly, he's a better clutch shooter.

i know theres probably more, but i've only seen 2 game winners by lebron. one was a few weeks ago on a layup and the other was in the playoffs on a layup. he travelled both times.

Actually, kobe is a better passer and leader. What locker room problems? Wouldnt you be angry if management lied to you? Wouldnt you want to play for a contender?

At this stage in his career, yes, kobe is probably an inferior penetrator. but he more than makes up for it with his post game which lebron doesnt have at all.

Kobe is known for his clutch final shots. Until lebron proves he can do this too, he cant be compared to kobe.

remember, final shots decide the game. thats why theyre so important.

Not to mention he's in the eastern conference. why dont you check his 4th quarter stats again the western conference?

Yeah, you're right. They can probably touch his feet.

 

Lebron James > Kobe Bryant

 

yes I mentioned he was a better shooter......once again that "clutch" shooting thing is a little overhyped considering you don't have to be an outstanding shooter to be clutch......Lebron has been the most clutch player in the league this year, because of his ability to get to the rim at will....he's also hit some big jumps shots also............and Bron has had his moments with game winners over his career (in the reg. season and playoffs).

no way in hell Kobe is a better passer.....when it comes to vision and getting the ball into tight spaces there are only a handful better than Lebron in the game.............Kobe not being one of them. As far as the locker room problems are concerned, you never heard (or hear) Lebron constantly b****ing and demanding trades, because of the lack of talent around him. Not to say Kobe is a "bad" leader, but dude has a record of not being the greatest teammate to play with.

I agree that his post game is MUCH better than Lebrons.

Lebron has proven he can be clutch before......he's been pretty clutch down the stretch for about 3 seasons now.

I don't have stats handy, but I've seen him make clutch game winning baskets against the Lakers (twice), Blazers, Spurs, and Mavs.......................dude is unstoppable no matter what conference he's in.

LOL.....

 

True, you dont have to be "outstanding" b/c there are very few outstanding shooters in the league.

But when a clutch shot is needed, how many times have you ever seen a coach put the ball in the hands of someone who isnt a good shooter?

I'm not saying he didnt. I'm just saying that in the two instances I saw, his "clutch" plays were facilitated by the refs.

Sorry man, gotta disagree with you. You underestimate Kobe too much.

Btw, i'm going to assume you're saying there are a handful of non-pg players better than Lebron at passing. Otherwise, theres at least 10 people you're forgetting.

In the eastern conference, its possible to get to the finals with a lack of surrounding talent.

Its impossible to do that in the west. Not to mention that Laker's management had promised to build kobe a contending team and they didnt even come close.

People said the same thing about michael jordan. Does that mean jordan wasnt a good leader?

True, but I wouldnt put him at Kobe's level

 

it happens a lot....Lebron isn't a great shooter, but the ball in his hands and he makes things happen.

well he did travel on that one play against the Wiz, but Jordan pushed off, lol.....either way it doesn't matter, because he has plenty of 4th quarter heroics in his career to prove the people saying he's not "clutch" wrong.

We can agree to disagree, but I'm having a real hard time seeing how you think he's a better passer. For one Kobe is more of a scorer than Lebron, so at times he's not willing to create for other teammates. Lebron runs the Clevenland offense like a PG. He gets the ball and others set up. Oh and the people I think are better passers are Kidd,Nash, Paul, and maybe a couple of others.

My point wasn't even about the finals, lol.....my point is that he can do what he wants when he wants (just like any great player) no matter what conference he plays against. He just had another amazing game the other night against S.A.......it's funny you bring the conference thing into play, because my friends dad tried to make the same argument the other day, and when looking at his performances against the West this year I just don't see the validity behind the argument.

 

pffftt, TMac is better than them both!

/runs

 

fixed.

 

I'm trying to avoid getting into this, since it seems like people already made up their minds based on 20 seconds of highlights...

But I don't even know how this is close. Before he entered the league many people were already comparing Lebron to Magic and saying he should be put at point guard. If you actually spend more then a few minutes, you'll see Lebron has some of the best court vision in the game, point guards included. (Don't get me wrong, I'm not putting him ahead of Nash, CP3, Kidd, etc) But when you're the 1st, 2nd, and 3rd scoring option on such a horrible team it's not feasible to put him there.

 

Kobe Bryant>LBJ.

 

How can Kobe not be better than Lebron? Kobe is a superior on the offensive and defensive end. I love it how people say Lebron makes his teammates better/leader/passer/etc., but make Kobe out to be some ball hog only worried about himself. But to put those thoughts to rest, here and some stats to think about:

Eric Snow:

03-04 PHI 6.9 APG, 10.3 PPG
04-05 CLE 3.9 APG, 4.0 PPG

Larry Hughes

04-05 WAS 4.7 APG, 22.0 PPG
05-06 CLE 3.6 APG, 15.5 PPG

The same statistical drop offs occured with Damon Jones, Donyell Marshall, and Drew Gooden. I'm just too lazy to post it for you guys, but feel free to check out NBA.com to verify. The only factor that changes with each of these players is that they started playing with Lebron.

And please don't mention Boobie Gibson. The guy today made 11 3 pointers, and was named MVP of the Rookie/Soph game, but can only average 11 PPG playing with Lebron. He's shooting 46.7% from 3, plays 32.4 minutes a game and only has 11 PPG with Lebron?!?!?!? Clearly someone isn't trusting their teammate enough.

I often wonder how much better that Cavaliers would be if Lebron stopped trying to be the end all and be all of the offense/point forward, and focus on playing strickly as a small forward, similar to Carmelo Anthony and try to feed off of other players.

 

LeBron is better. The people who say Kobe is better and that "it isn't even close" are the same type of people who still think Shaq is the best center in the league although he hasn't been for the last 3-4 years.

I'm not saying it's that obvious but a lot of people will say that Kobe is better even when it will be obvious that he isn't. It seems to happen with every player that has been widely considered as 'the best' at some time.

BTW, the notion that Kobe is clutch and LeBron isn't is pure BS. Some guy at another message board took all the play-by-plays and compared the players contributions during the last 3 minutes of games that were 5 points or closer to see who is more clutch. LeBron dominated everyone by a mile including Kobe and he also had more game-winning shots than Kobe. Kobe's 'clutch' label is the same thing as Yao's 'soft' label - while there is some truth there, it's overblown to massive proportions.

At worst LeBron>=Kobe.

 

Kobe is better. The people who say Lebron is better is that "it isn't even close" are the same type of people who still think shaq is the best center in the league although he hasn't been for the last 3-4 years. I'm not syaing it's that obvious but a lot people will say that Lebron is better even when it willbe obvious that he isn't. It seems to happen with every over-rated league-poster boy.

BTW, the notion that Lebron is clutch and Kobe isn't is pure BS. Some guy at another message board took all the play-by-plays and compared the players contributions during the last 3 minutes of games that were 5 points or closer to see who is more clutch. LeBron hogged the ball all the time, travels, while kobe is a mile ahead of everyone else, and he also had more game-winning shots than Lebron. Lebron's 'clutch' label is the same thing as Yao's 'soft' label - while there is absolutely no truth there.

At worst KOBE>>Lebron

 

Can you provide a link? I'm curious to see if this is limited to regular season or includes playoffs.

Also, how far back did the guy test? This season? Last season? 1 month?

 

Interesting. Except that Eric Snow went from a starter to COMING OFF THE BENCH in 04-05. He averaged 10+ min less per game. Hughes is averaging the SAME AMOUNT OF SHOTS he took in Washington and then in Cleveland. Have you ever noticed that some (many) players play big in their contract year and once they get a fat check, slack off?

And Boobie is a very promising player, and probably one of our top 3 guys now. But using an ALL-STAR game to prove that he should be scoring more is ridiculous.

The biggest problem w/ the Cavs is actually their coach. Mike Brown has less offensive ingenuity then JVG. He does have them playing great defense though. Believe me, I don't enjoy knocking my team, but watching them play is very aggravating. I do appreciate Big Z for his tenure w/ the franchise, unfortunately he's past his prime and those annual foot injuries didn't help.

BTW, I also recall someone posting 'clutch' stats and Lebron was the leader this year. Durvasa might have done it (related to Tmac and Yao I suppose). I could be mistaken though. Lebron has led the Cavs to many game winners this year. We've had way too many 'down to the last second' games.

 

If he stepped up his defense on a nightly basis, I'd say without a doubt. He is a monster on the offensive end, and not only with his scoring. He can pass, rebound, and practically runs PG on some possessions while carrying the scoring load. He has improved a lot from last year.

 

LMAO but true..