<p>Who's better?</p>
<p>Kobe Bryant, or LeBron James?</p>
<p>I get into this argument everyday in fourth period. LeBron all the way.</p>
<p>We’re talking about both past, present, and potential skill. At this present moment, I would say that Kobe has the better stats history, as well as the better overall ability. There is no doubt in my mind however that Lebron will catch up to and even surpass Kobe’s ability in the future.</p>
<p>Kobe is the best offensive wing player in the NBA. He’s a great playmaker, dedicated to his team, focused on the game, and clutch as hell; if you’re team is ever down by two points with seconds on the buzzer, give the ball to Kobe. Footwork, control, and motion are all unsurpassed as of yet. Practically flawless in his game. </p>
<p>LeBron is mad athletic, with strength and speed to match. Very diverse in his basketball skills, and very selfless in his playing style. Most importantly, he has HUGE potential. He may not be as great a shooter as Kobe, but he’s continually improving, both in outside shooting and team defense. </p>
<p>Tl;dr: At the moment, Kobe beats LeBron. But I think it’s safe to say that LeBron will eventually have his run.</p>
<p>OT: I once introduced myself as “Bron” at a Starbucks. </p>
<p>“Bron. You know, like ‘LeBron James,’ except without the ‘Le’.”</p>
<p>I agree with the fact that LeBron in essentially all physical aspects surpasses Kobe, hell maybe Jordan. What he does, he does it effortlessly.</p>
<p>I want to see how their heart is, what sort of mentality they have.</p>
<p>Kobe is an assassin, a mercenary. Heartless. He is the Black Mamba. Deadly with a quick strike. He will rip your heart out and think nothing of it. All he does is win. He has that winner’s mentality.</p>
<p>LeBron - I have yet to see it in him. I think with a change in mentality and a little more heart, he could do all Kobe does and more.</p>
<p>Kobe has 4 rings. He gets it done.
LeBron 1 finals appearance, 0 rings. He fails to step up when the time calls for him to be the King.</p>
<p>All in all, I think Kobe is better overall. If we’re not going on winning ability and such, LeBron is reasonably ahead.</p>
<p>kobe in each of his four rings has had a dominant big man shaq then gasol
lebron has never had a dominant big man and has gotten very deep in the playoffs
and when shaq left the lakers kobe couldnt get past the second rround of the playoffs and lebron has been carrying his team every year</p>
<p>I don’t even like 'em but even I know it’s LeBron.</p>
<p>Kobe and LeBron are two of the best players to ever play the game. Picking between them depends on what style you prefer. If you want to see a 6"8 guy plow through defenders and dunk on the opposition’s big guy, then you would like LeBron. But if you want to see game winning jumpers, impossible fade aways, and a guy screaming for the ball, you’d probably like Kobe. Still, LeBron can drive better than anybody, and he has an almost effortless ability to get the ball to the hoop.</p>
<p>That said, I think Kobe is better for a couple of reasons. Kobe gets the job done when it matters. He’s extremely clutch, and he’s an offensive beast (remember his 81 point performance)…and he can [jump</a> over an Aston Martin](<a href=“http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7hWJkdUMiMw]jump”>http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7hWJkdUMiMw).</p>
<p>^Lol the Aston martin, such a fad video, for being to the side.</p>
<p>I think if we want to compare both on the Jordan scale as a lot like to do, as do I…</p>
<p>LeBron fails on that scale. I don’t see LeBron here devastated by not winning. I don’t see that same feeling about winning as I see in other great players in the league. I see more of a winning attitude in Dwayne Wade for crying out loud.</p>
<p>Kobe. He wins, no matter what it takes.</p>
<p>kobe bryant is better</p>
<p>I prefer Kobe’s style and mentality though I think LeBron is a more dominant player. We’ll see if LeBron can ever be a leader…</p>
<p>We’ll see if LeBron doesn’t ask Nike to hold tapes.
let’s keep a tab on who says who</p>
<p>Kobe: 5
LeBron: 3</p>
<p>Switch up Kobe and LeBron, Lebron would be more successful.</p>
<p>By a purely “For one regular season [meaning age and how much longer before retiring doesn’t matter]”, I would want Kobe on my team.</p>
<p>It’s LeBron guys. Kobe’s body of work is of course better, he has been in the league far longer than LeBron. Also, Kobe was the second-fiddle on 3 great Lakers championship-winning teams. Sure, Shaq was never great in P&R defense, but he was the most dominant big man since Kareem, you can even say he was better than Kareem and Hakeem on offense (save for those pesky FTs). Kobe and Shaq then drifted apart, and Kobe was stuck with a pretty bad team that he couldn’t get out of the first round of the playoffs. Then the Gasol trade went down, and the Lake show was back. Gasol is the most skilled big man in the game (not most dominant or powerful, mind you, he is finesse).</p>
<p>LeBron carried his team to a Finals appearance sans any semblance of a decent supporting cast. He took 4 straight games from the Pistons, and Gibson chipped in too. Kobe never took a helpless team to a Finals. Gasol has been an All-NBA player the last 3 years; LeBron never has played with somebody as good as Shaq/Gasol in their primes. And don’t think that Shaq was going to take over like he did 10 years ago, or that Jamison would step up and shut the door on defense and be a nice complement; bad trade. The Cavs have tried, but failed, to bring in a great, consistent guy that gets it done. </p>
<p>Kobe is an assassin, but he is a jump shooter (hence the epic buzzer beaters). LeBron led the league this year with most game-winning buckets made with less than 24 seconds on the clock. LeBron powers to the hole to win games, then plays D on the other side of the floor to lock it down. Kobe is raw still, but declining. LeBron will retool his outside shot for next year, he is still improveing. Kobe has just about maxed out his potential, and hopefully gracefully ages so he remains at a high level for another 3-5 years. Don’t tell me LeBron has 0 heart, he gave up for the first time in his career against the Celtics because he realized he did not have the pieces to get it done. He did not want to risk getting banged up and still possibly lose in 7 games to the Celtics, so he did not care to advance, only to lose to the Magic the next round. He has done all he can for Cleveland, and should lace up for the Bulls next year 
In Kobe’s case, looks like he has a date with Boston!</p>
<p>I grew up loving Kobe, emulating his moves, but realize that LeBron joins Wilt and Shaq as the most physically-imposing and capable players ever.</p>
<p>They play different positions so its a bit like comparing apples to oranges. Kobe is much more a jump shooter and LeBron likes to take it to the basket. Kobe is ridiculous in the clutch e.g. 5 game winners this season in addition to all the games he’s taken over. LeBron is definitely the best player over all but one is in the playoffs, one isn’t. One has four rings, one has zero.</p>
<p>If LeBron goes to the Bulls, he spends his career in jordan’s shadow. Not good.</p>
<p>A person with heart fights until the end, that series he could’ve done better in.
Kobe of old was a slasher. Have you seen the stuff he did inside the paint? He was sick nasty raw and vicious. Slowly as he got older, he molded into a jumpshooter.</p>
<p>Worrying about getting banged up is trivial. If you want to win, you sacrifice yourself on that court.</p>
<p>All in all, LeBron hasn’t shown me that he has the mental toughness to do it.</p>
<p>2010 NBA PER
- LeBron James 31.19
.
.
. - Kobe Bryant 21.95</p>
<p>It’s not really close anymore. Kobe is over the hill. He’s still one of the best players in the league, but this debate is just silly. And “clutchness” is a shockingly subjective metric for CC. It’s a matter of opportunity as much as skill. Kobe’s missed tons of game winners in his career, probably far more than he’s made - but those are easy to forget. </p>
<p>Heck, everyone seems to have already forgotten the game winner he missed in Game 6 against the Thunder. That’s probably because he had one of the best centers in the game to clean up for him. Story of his career.</p>
<p>@TCBH: He’s missed 2 game-winning shots in the first two rounds alone, agreed, he is on the downslope of his career. LeBron is more efficient and can keep going on. He can still make those epic shots, but he has decline visibly in the last 2 years; injuries do take their toll.</p>
<p>@MIT: Kobe was up 3-1 on the Suns several years ago, and rigged the series so the Lakers would lose. He wanted to make a “point” to the front office. LeBron was not even that close to beating the Celtics this year. He literally had 0 consistent offensive help. LeBron is a winner and leader, and he tried all that he could this year. There was no way he could win 4 games against this Celtics team; same way in 2008. 1 player CANNOT get it done when the supporting cast is not doing their job. And yes, Kobe was a slasher when he got into the league, but improved his skillset. LeBron has gained about 50+ pounds since he’s been in the league, and his brute force greatly impacts his jumpshot. The same thing happens to me, the touch is not consistently there from the outside when I play (but I stopped playing on a regular basis now). Kobe has lost weight to ease up the wear on his body, and it also helps him not have too much arm strength. LeBron has shown me that he can dominate an entire game/series. Pair him with a superstar in his prime, solid dependable suppporting cast, and a real head coach. If he fails to win after that (aka this offseason), then I will say he is not a winner.</p>
<p>Kobe airballs shot with 3 seconds left … Lakers win. What a clutch guy.</p>
<p>If you want to win Kobe, if you want nice stats LBJ. Stats wise LBJ is a beast nearly averaging a triple double every game, he is athletic and one of the best defensive players as well. LBJ wins MVPs and Kobe wins championships.</p>