kobe or lebron

[RocketPower23]

Magic- May you please answer my question (or any of you lakers fans) as to why you think Kobe is better then Lebron... what does Kobe have the edge over lebron on aside from shooting and man defense?

How about the fact that Kobe is dangerous from every single position on the court. You put Kobe down in the low-block, you are going to have your work cut out for you. If you watch any Laker, every time you see Kobe get the ball in the post, just watch the footwork, the up-fakes he puts in, just imagine trying to be the player trying to guard him. LeBron out this point just lacks this skill. In fact he lacks many skills, but because he's a complete freak of nature, it's just not going to matter much. LeBron doesn't have great foot-work, he can't play off the ball well (Cavs fans, just because he can get a couple of lobbed dunks in a game, doesn't mean he can play well without the ball), his defensive instincts just aren't as good as Bryant's. There is a reason why the consensus among most scouts is that Kobe is the better player, there's simply much more to basketball then stats and such. They break down the game to the smallest equation when analyzing it. LeBron is a freak, and this league will be his soon enough, but IMO, he still hasn't passed Kobe yet.

[EMB6903]

I think Lebron is just as good as Kobe as a help defender, I wouldnt say he doesnt have defensive instincts....Also Lebrons back to the basket game is very solid... the only thing Lebron lacks at this point of his career is a jumpshot, that is the only thing stopping him from being a 38ppg a night person.. I do agree with you Kobe is a more versatile scorer.. probably the most versatile scorer that has ever picked up a basketball... but Lebron has still been a more efficent scorer then Kobe has the last 2 years.

[Gerald3Wallace]

as much as i hate to say this, lebron has/will surpass kobe this year

[RocketPower23]

I think Lebron is just as good as Kobe as a help defender, I wouldnt say he doesnt have defensive instincts....Also Lebrons back to the basket game is very solid... the only thing Lebron lacks at this point of his career is a jumpshot, that is the only thing stopping him from being a 38ppg a night person.. I do agree with you Kobe is a more versatile scorer.. probably the most versatile scorer that has ever picked up a basketball... but Lebron has still been a more efficent scorer then Kobe has the last 2 years.

Let me say that LeBron has gotten a lot better defensively over the years, but even still, his defensive game is still predicated on his physical attributes more so then his actual skill. As is most of his game. And no his post game isn't solid; the only reason he even has a post game is again because of his freakish size and strength, not because he has an unlimited amount of moves. I wouldn't be saying that he lacks skills in the post game if it didn't matter. For example, look at how LeBron and Kobe take the ball to the basket, Kobe uses a lot more of his skill to get to rim, but even if LeBron doesn't have the skills that Kobe has, it doesn't matter because he is just as effective or perhaps more so without any of those moves. The same cannot be said about his post game. LeBron is nowhere near as affective as Kobe is from the low post spot. I keep on waiting for LeBron to take on the title as the best player of the league, but is this LeBron really any different then last years Lebron or from 2 years ago. Until he does this, he won't have the title of the best in the league.

[magic1fan]

i answered your question,but since it's not the answer you are looking for you refuse to accept it. right now kobe is a better scorer than lebron. a better defender,just as good a passer,and just as good ball handler. a better freethrow and three point shooter. lebron get's to the basket better,but other than that he has nothing on kobe. kobe's post up game is better. kobe's footwork is better. guys around kobe actually flourish,unlike guys around lebron.

[ahwi_quacoe]

Kobe became the best guard and arguably player in the league in one of the most talented eras of Guards/ players the NBA has ever seen. Ray Allen , Reggie Miller, Vince Carter, Tracy Mcgrady, Allen Iverson, Stephon Marbury, Kevin Garnet Paul Pierce.........

All these guys are still the elite players in the league but are all on the downside of their careers.... ..

Who are Lebron's contemporaries ? Dwayne Wade, Bosh, Carmelo , Deron Williams, Chris Paul..........
these guys wouldn't have been superstars in the late nineties .
Lebron has no one to even challenge him in the NBA amongst his age group matching his athleticism and youth. Just like Magic versus MJ ................

In a couple of years the NBA is going to suck royally, becuase the only person winning titles will be Lebron and there won't even be a team close to competing with him once all the 90's era players retire.

[ReaListik]

Kobe became the best guard and arguably player in the league in one of the most talented eras of Guards/ players the NBA has ever seen. Ray Allen , Reggie Miller, Vince Carter, Tracy Mcgrady, Allen Iverson, Stephon Marbury, Kevin Garnet Paul Pierce.........

All these guys are still the elite players in the league but are all on the downside of their careers.... ..

Who are Lebron's contemporaries ? Dwayne Wade, Bosh, Carmelo , Deron Williams, Chris Paul..........
these guys wouldn't have been superstars in the late nineties .
Lebron has no one to even challenge him in the NBA amongst his age group matching his athleticism and youth. Just like Magic versus MJ ................

In a couple of years the NBA is going to suck royally, becuase the only person winning titles will be Lebron and there won't even be a team close to competing with him once all the 90's era players retire.

I think that Magic's team when facing MJ was at the end of their run in the '80s and Kareem had already been retired. To me, this Lakers team is the start of the next era for Kobe and since this team is pretty much all around the same age span, they're going to be competing for titles for years to come which is why Mitch said they made the Gasol trade to win not only now, but also in the future. When MJ was Kobe's age now, he had just finished winning the 3rd straight title against the Suns in '93. MJ won his last title in Chicago in '98 at 35 years old, and was still considered to be the best in the league. I think that Bulls team could have won one more time against San Antonio in '99 had that team plus Phil Jackson stayed intact. By that standard, if you were to look at Kobe, he's got at least 5 more years to go of serious contention. Thanks to the training staff and pacing of this season where the starters barely have to play in the 4th quarter if ever, it looks like that's going to happen.

It would be a different story if the 3-peat Lakers from the early part of this decade had stayed together this whole time, because then this would be the end of an era and you would see a Shaq(Kareem) retiring pretty soon. Another thing to keep in mind is that Kobe was considered the baby on that team coming right out of high school and was nowhere near the age of the other players, certainly not Shaq, and that's a big reason for why back then he didn't relate with the other team mates. When Magic came in as a rookie, he had already spent time in college.

By the time Kobe's done, LeBron will be around the age Kobe is now and will be able to have the same opportunity, but that's at least 5 years from now. When using the MJ and Magic comparison, I think it's more appropriate to apply it to when Magic was in the 1984-1985 season, when the NBA was right in the heat of the Lakers and Celtics rivalry and MJ was a relatively new face out of North Carolina, rather than the 1990-1991 season.