OT Kobe or Lebron
Who are you going to be pulling for when they meet in the finals?
I am not a big fan of either, but I will have no interest in NBA Finals if they do not meet up. I think Lebron is probably the better player of the two and it will be interesting to see them go head to head for a series.
Kobe has the far better supporting cast, in fact, if Kobe and Lebron switched teams the Lakers would threaten the best record ever.
I rooted for the Lakers when Michael Jordan went for his first title, this series I think I would pull for the Cavs. I do not have near the animosity for Lebron as I did for Jordan.
As an aside, how could ESPN vote Jordan greatest athlete of the 20th century, when he attempted 3 sports and sucked at 2 of them. Give me Bo Jackson any day.
April 29th, 2009 at 11:25 PM ^
I've always liked Kobe. LeBron gets almost every call his way and he still manages to complain more than almost any other player. I guess if LeBron will ever win a title this would be a good year given that the Pistons didn't make a run.
April 29th, 2009 at 11:59 PM ^
LeBron is not better. Kobe's jump shot is way better than LBJ.
Kobe is better currently, but Lebron will surpass him in a couple years and be the best in the nba. done deal.
Exactly.
kobe and lebron are easily the 2 best players in the league. i honestly would say it is a toss-up. the lakers are my favorite team but i'd still love to have lebron on my squad. but, i think you're underrating lebrons supporting cast. the front office in cleveland has done a good job of building a very good team around lebron over the last few years.
is the more dominant/better player. Proven to be true when he sunk a basketball underhand from 3/4 court on 60 minutes.
ability to defend and score from the outside make him the better of the two. If you were starting an NBA team from scratch you would take Lebron first cause of his age but if you want the best player right here right now .... it's Kobe.
April 30th, 2009 at 10:05 AM ^
Lebron is better in terms of production, but Kobe is more skilled. Lebron is a genetic freak.
April 30th, 2009 at 10:24 AM ^
While Kobe may have a prettier offensive game, Lebron is the better player. I'm not the first to make this argument, but in the NBA, size and strength are very important skills. Lebron is a genetic freak in this regard (not to mention his speed/quickness). This gives him the ability to go to the rim at will, which creates higher percentage shots for himself than even Kobe can get.
He's also a better teammate. He would never have quit on his team like Kobe did Game 6 v. the Celts last year.
And whoever said Kobe's the better defender is wrong. Lebron can defend 4 positions, which Kobe cannot. And he could have been defensive player of the year this year.
April 30th, 2009 at 11:44 AM ^
Kobe has the better all around game, he has no weakness. Lebron is not reliable at the free throw line(which could hurt the Cavs if they play the Lakers in the Finals),an average mid-range jump shooter at best, although he has improved the 3 point shot. With regard to defending, no way is Lebron a better 1 on 1 defender, the majority of his defensive highlights come when he is playing help-side defense, or blocking a shot from behind. He does not move his feet as well as Kobe on the defensive side of the floor. To be totally honest about it, if Lebron were Kobe's size, he would probably be a role player in the league. On the other hand, if Kobe were Lebron's size with his skill set, he'd easily be the greatest player to ever pick up a basketball. Above all though, the deciding factor to me is Kobe's clutch play, the guy is simply the 1 person in all of basketball who is fearless with the game on the line, he just seems to have a thing for hitting big shots in big games.
2 years from now there is no doubt that Lebron will be the best, but right now my money is on Kobe/Lakers in the Finals.
April 30th, 2009 at 11:48 AM ^
But LeBron is "The Chosen One" in the minds of the NBA front office, and will get every opportunity to become THE dominant player for the next five years or so. I like Kobe's game more right now, but if they meet in the finals, the refs might elevate LeBron's game for him.
If LeBron signs with the Knicks as a FA, he will get superstar calls that make Michael Jordan jealous.
April 30th, 2009 at 11:48 AM ^
Kobe is better defensively and has a better outside shot. LeBron is a significantly better passer and better on the boards.
Clutch-wise, they're both great. I don't think anyone's forgotten that ridiculous LeBron game where he was the only Cav scoring in the 4th quarter and OT and scored like 25 straight or whatever it was and basically won the game all by himself.
April 30th, 2009 at 12:59 PM ^
I hope neither Cleveland or LA makes it because the media is insufferable regarding both these players. They are both great though; hard to say which one is better.
I like LeBron better though because he comes off as very mature in his interviews. I remember after US won gold in the Olympics, when Kobe was interviewed he acted like it was nothing and said he just "did what he does" or something like that. When LeBron was asked the same questions he talked about his respect for the other teams, the magnitude of the stage they played on, and his pride in representing the country. Those responses just seemed to reflect their personalities.
I have to disagree. I don't care much for LeBron's little photo antics before games and throwing powder into the air like he's king.
With regards to Kobe, I think he's just a confident guy, kind of like Tate. I remember when the Lakers played the Kings in the 2002 Western Conference Finals down 3-2 games. In the pre-game interview Kobe just smiled and said he was going to have fun and the team was going to do what they do.
Whatever you think of LeBron's various antics, they seem to be genuine expressions of an organically developed human personality. Everything that I have ever seen Kobe say or do screams artifice - like he is reading off a mental script of how an OMG awesome superstar should act at all times. The fact that he seems like less of an obvious ass-hat now than he did five years ago indicates to me that he's just gotten better at constructing and executing the script. But all mannerisms still seem fake.
I just don't understand this, from most accounts, MJ wasn't the most liked individual in the locker room, and to say he was arrogant/diva-ish would be an understatement. The fact of the matter is that MJ simply won, his game did the talking. From a competitive standpoint, is there anyone other than Kobe that you would rather have on your team? I don't care about scripted superstar behavior, all I care about is winning, and the man does that. You can keep the charmers, give me the guy that's about business on the court
The ranked list of who I like as a fan does not overlap completely with the list of who I'd like as a gm. This point strikes me as obvious and not really worth making.
That said, I could wear a lot of different hats and still take LeBron.
I agree with you, pretty worthless post. I plead boredom and an inability to fall asleep.
I will be cheering for the Lakers. Sure, I work just up the street from Staples, so the thought of the parade being here would be cool. But if the Cavs make the finals, I will cheer against them no matter who they play. I hate Cleveland, I hate LeBron, and I hope he never wins a title. That said, if the Cavs played a 7 game series against the Lake Show, the Cavs might win 2 but no more.
Birdman Andersen is the best player in the NBA.
If you want, I can show y'all the formula I used to arrive at that. Fair warning: I'll admit I probably apply too-large a multiplier to the Gelled Fauxhawk and Ugly Ass Colored-Ink Tattoos Variables.
Walter Herrmann FTW