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Why do people still say Kobe is better than Lebron?

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I like Kobe and believe he is the 2nd best player in the league- great all around player, and Top 15-20 All Time. The closest guy to Jordan in terms of cumulative skills.

But, Laker fans have got to stop drinking the Kobe kool-aid.

At this point, he's just not as productive a player as Lebron: more skilled, but doesn't the impact the game quite as much.

They are comparable scorers- Kobe's more versatile, Lebron's more consistent.

That's really a product of their styles- by nature, jumpshooters are more prone to hot/cold streaks than a player who attacks the basket.

Lebron's biggest advantage offensively over Kobe is his style of play- 68% of shots are inside shots- and he is definitely the best finisher in the league. Compare that to Kobe- 45% of shots are inside shots, and he's a noticeably worse finisher.

Generally speaking- it's more beneficial to attack the hoop more because a player gets the big men in foul trouble, it opens up passing lanes more than playing on the perimeter does, and it's a more consistent style of play.

Lebron draws fouls more on big men (and more in general- though Kobe makes just as many because he's a superior free throw shooter) because he attacks the hoop, Kobe draws fouls more on perimeter guys with his moves on the perimeter.

And you can't discount the teams- the Lakers are a far superior offensive team- they have Phil Jackson as opposed to an idiot coach, at least offensively, in terms of Mike Brown. They also have more weapons.

At this point in his career, Kobe's job is relatively easier than Lebron's offensively- he carries less of a load, isn't forced to shoot as many shots with the shot clock winding down, is assisted on a far greater percentage of his jumpshots and plays in a far superior offensive system- the triangle- as opposed to isolating at the top of the key play after play.

Lebron is the better passer, has better court vision from what I've seen, and has worse teammates- which does affect his assists- but is offset somewhat by Kobe playing in the triangle, where it's typically harder to rack up assists.

Lebron is the better rebounder easily- because of his size/strength and because he plays some power forward.

Defensively, the gap has closed- Kobe is still the better defender by a little bit, but not by nearly as much as he used to be- they are about equal as help defenders (the one place where I feel Kobe is not that strong defensively), but Kobe is the better man defender. Lebron can guard the 1 to the 4, Kobe the 1 to the 3. For both, it's a question of when they put the effort forth.

And anyone saying Kobe is more clutch than Lebron hasn't seen Lebron play in a while- I'd say it's in Lebron's favor (Lebron is preferable in most situations because of his ability to get inside, but Kobe's jumpshot can be better in a limited amount of situations).

It's interesting to note that in the clutch, Lebron performed better last season by a fair bit: he averaged more points (most in the league), but was still noticeably more efficient from the field, his free throw shooting even went up to about 80%, was less turnover prone, was top in the league in steals and blocks (discounting big men), and he led the league in clutch +/-.

In fact, in the Top 10 of plus/minus, there were 6 Cavaliers (including Lebron). So, it's clear that though Lebron definitely faces more pressure situations than Kobe because of his team, his team comes out on top in the clutch more often than Kobe's does (and this is with a worse supporting cast).

And I have no desire to hear the regular drivel based, non-factual, whiny, homeristic appeal that most Kobe fans seem to give me.

If you want the 10 points, respond with some knowledge, and without bias.

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  1. Lebron is definetely the second best player in the league, but all around Bryant is better.  I don't believe that the defensive skills are as close as the author suggests.  There is a reason why Kobe has the reputation and awards for his defensive efforts, not to mention the reason why Kobe is always pitted up against the other teams best player including during this Olympics tournament.  Bryant is also more clutch than Lebron.  I am positive that if people with basketball knowledge were to be asked who they'd prefer to take that last shot, that most of them would go with Kobe.  Furthermore, Bryant is more effective with the different styles of basketball.  He can penetrate and score inside as well as hit the outside shot when it matters most.  Lebron can do this too, but in my opinion, Kobe can do it better.  Stat wise, Kobe has a better team so naturally other players are going to help carry the stat load more.  In Cleveland, you got Lebron and that's pretty much it.  He is able to carry the stat load because he is so much better than everybody else on the team.  Finally, Kobe has the experience factor which makes him a more dangerous player than Lebron.  All this being said, Lebron is not far from Kobe.  Give Lebron a few more years to work on his game, ie: outside shooting, his defense, and experience the playoffs a little more, and he could very well replace Bryant as The King of the Court.  Until then however...Kobe rules.


  2. I don't care about the ten points, I'm going to state the truth if you like it or not.

    One more thing, tell me when Lebron gets his team to the finals.

    You may have stats however Kobe is a force that can't be defined by stats, he's simply the best player in the league.

  3. cause he is he is a good player all around  probally best defensive sg in the nba cmon lebron just came in u cant rlly say whos better but for now it is kobe cause he won more doesnt matter if he had shaq way better defensive player and has proved himself to be a clutch player

  4. Yeah Lebron is the best, simply.

    If you made a barter of Lebron and Kobe, I don't even think that Kobe would carry the Cleveland in playoffs.

    Also, Lebron is not even his prime, and believe me he will be a great "accurate shooter."

    The 10,000 points of Lebron proved that even without finesse jump shot, you can still be a menace.


  5. To much to read.

    I love Lebron James, but he is not better than Kobe yet. Maybe after this upcoming season. Lebron is getting closer but one thing he needs to overtake Kobe is a little more consistency on his jumper.

    They both play defense which is good.

  6. I think your in love with Kobe Bryant. That might be the bigger question. To take that much time to write that essay, you really must love the guy. Yes, as of now if you can tell me Lebron is better than Kobe, you have an additional problem (first one was loving Kobe Bryant) Lebron still has time ahead of him to prove otherwise but as far as offense and defense goes, It is by far Kobe Bryant. He is clutch. A performer. Lebron...not yet...

  7. At this point in time Kobe is the better player. He's the reining MVP who took his team to the Finals with the best record in the West. If his sidekicks(namely Gasol, Odom) would stepped it up like the celtics players did then they would win the NBA title and Kobe would be on top of the world. Unfortunately, they lost because of softness in the supporting cast.

    LeBron is very good but he's just not there with Kobe yet. It may change next season but until then Kobe's the best!

  8. because he is. period. G.O.A.T.

  9. I'm a fan of both players. This season Kobe took his team to the Finals and lost 6 game series. Last season LeBron did the exact same and lost in a 4 game series. Some people may look at stats. Some people may just judge. It's experience. Kobe's been in the league longer. Kobe has 3 rings & won MVP. LeBron is still very young as has a lot to learn. Kobe's in his prime right now. LeBron will be too in a few years. But yeah, it's all about experience. When LeBron turns 30, he may or may not be better than Kobe. Just wait&see!

  10. WOW to long to read ...

    But All i got to say is Kobe Bryant is Better than Lebron James right now ... i don't know about the next few years but He is better than Lebron at every except Rebound and Block shot since Lebron is taller and can jump higher than Kobe( at 30)

    You know if you gonna decide player by Stats ...  

    Al Jefferson has Better stats than Kevin Garnett ... But Garnett is much better player than Jefferson

    Just because you say He is Clutch-er than Kobe Bryant that doesn't make him clutch-er ..

    I will and go look at the pole in NBA ... Who USA wants to take the last shot if there any close game in Olympics like 70% of said Kobe Bryant..

    Even after awful Finals .. People still thinks He is the Best Player ... ..

    LoL and you say Lebron is as good as defender than Kobe if not better ?

    PLEASE GIMME BREAK!

    He wasn't even All-Defensive 2nd team .. and there isn't thing about Lebron that is underrated ...

    So don't tell me he is as good as Kobe at defensive end ...

    And you think Ray Allen isn't as important as Paul Pierce ? Man .. i think you don't know what you talking about ...

    Only Reason Boston struggled in 1st 2 rounds is Ray Allen was in shooting slump and look what happened

  11. because he is

  12. dont think Kobe is better then Lebron James at anything except for his shooting touch, but other then that, Lebron is the NBA's MOST COMPLETE player. At such a young age Lebron can do much more with practically nothing, and Kobe requires a large amount of talent to be productive at his full potential

  13. pwned

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