a championship wouldn't enable Kobe to surpass Lebron as the best player in the NBA
it would just mean the Lakers are a better team
it would just mean the Lakers are a better team
Originally posted by persianbruin
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the thing between kobe and lebron is age. kobe is 6 years older than lebron, so he had 6 years to polish his game. even though they both came out of high school, kobe came off the bench in his first year behind eddie jones and played with a superstar franchise player in shaq. lebron was able to learn from his own mistake and carry a team on his own, which probably makes him a better LEADER than lebron. kobe, on the other hand, had to play with shaq and vets like horry, fisher, rick fox, ron harper, etc so he never had to LEAD per se, just kinda polish his skill and cement himself beside shaq.
when shaq and kobe played, i felt like it was 55/45, with shaq being 55 and kobe being 45. shaq meant more to the team because he changed the game for 3qtrs, but come 4th qtr, kobe was the one the lakers turned to because he could simply take the ball out and dominate from the start of the 24 second shot clock. shaq, like yao, relies on someone to get him the ball. and also, his poor free throw shooting made him a liability at the end of games.
lebron at 24 and kobe at 30 is neck and neck, which is AMAZING considering lebron is dominating on pure athleticism and kobe is doing it off 12 years of working on his game. when it comes down to pure BASKETBALL skills, kobe beats lebron. from kobes footwork (lebron frequently travels due to poor footwork), shooting (lebron shoots a higher fg% bc he gets to the basket more often, but kobe is a better shooter with better mechanics) to his poise (he tries to get everyone involved in the first 42 minutes and kobe takes over in the last 6 minutes if its a close game). lebron is a passer, first and foremost. in a game winning situation, lebron will find an open teammate. kobe is a scorer and in a clutch situation, kobe trust himself to take the last shot, even if someone else less reliable is open. thats the biggest difference between kobe and lebron. lebron is a playmaker for all 5 players on his team, kobe is a playmaker for himself, and his pure dominance opens thing up for his teammate by virtue of everyone paying attention to kobe.
for the longest time, even since i've joined this board, i've always loved kobe. i've been a BIG t-mac/Kobe fan. when i buy tickets to rockets/lakers games, 50% of the reason is because of kobe (don't look at my hate towards the lakers) the only thing seperating kobe and lebron is kobes 3 rings. stats wise, lebron is better in all aspect. hes gotten more from and outta his team than kobe has. lebron went to the finals early in his career by himself. lebron dominates by his stats (triple double machine) and kobe dominates by his ability to close out a game himself. plain and simple, 2 seconds left, someone needs to take a 20ft jumpshot, kobe wins 101 times out of 100. with 10 seconds left, you need to get the best availible shot, you go with lebron 51 times out of 100. get my drift?
if kobe CANT win with this stacked team, which i think is better than cleveland, i dont think kobe can hold onto the nba best player title for much longer. this year, kobe and lebron are neck and neck. by the end of june, if kobe doesnt win a ring, lebron will overtake kobe as the best player in the league. i hate lebron. i hate how they don him 'king james' when he hasnt done shit in the league. but i cant hate his game. i know hes breathing down kobes neck as the best in the game. if kobe can win a ring, he can still hold onto that "kobe has rings, lebron doesnt" to fuel the kobe > lebron argument. but if he doesnt win one this year, people will point out that hes 0/2 in finals without shaq, that he needs shaq to win a ring, etc.
lebron will be the mvp this year, hes been to the finals, hes the most hyped player in the league, hes the most feared player in the league and his team went 39-2 at home this year. point blank. even kobe couldnt dominate as much at home with his team. just my .02
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