Kevin Durant doesn't have the scoring switch Lebron does.

[homecourtloss]

He doesn't have a "switch". LeBron's difference-maker is the fact that he is a once-in-a-lifetime PHYSICAL specimen. He is the single greatest athletic body we have ever seen in sports. His size, strength, speed, quickness, durability, endurance, etc are at 99RTG in 2K speak. Put him in a 6'6" 210 swingman body and he becomes an average All-Star swingman.

This is why MJ is still GOAT, and Kobe is GOAT Jr. Put them in his body and they likely have even more rings.

Kobe fans really need to stop sneaking Kobe into these GOAT discussions.

Well forget the GOAT discussion, but since this is a discussion of having a "scoring switch":

Lebron has 86 forty+ point games in 1,377 games (includes playoffs). So he's put up 40+ in 6.2% of his games.
Kobe had 135 forty+ point games in 1,566 games (includes playoffs). So he put up 40+ in 8.6% of his games.

Kobe had 20 games with 50-60 points. Lebron has 10.

Kobe had 5 games with 60-70 points. Lebron has 1.

Kobe has 1 game with 80+ points. Lebron has 0.

So Lebron may be the better overall player, but Kobe definitely had the "scoring switch".

Kobe also shot the ball a lot more.

Kobe: 387 games with 25+ shots (24.7% of games); 125 with 30+ (8% of games); 33 with 35+ (2.1%); 10 with 40+ shots (.64%)

Lebron : 223 games with 25+ shots (16.2% of games); 46 with 30+ (3.4% of games); 7 with 35+ (.50%); zero with 40+ shots.

Kobe could get insanely hot, but he definitely had the “take a $#*& ton of shots” switch.

Give LeBron 80 more games in which he takes 30+ shots or 26 more innwhichnhe takes 35+ shots. You don’t think he’d have a higher % of “putting up 40”?

[8on]

We’ve established that Kobe had more high scoring games. He took more shots, he scored more points. You need to do that if you’re going to switch on scoring. Miami LeBron was, prior to 2012, definitely not an innate scorer. Kobe always looked to score, even when he was 18, even when he shouldn’t have.

[Baarignani]

lmao what

yeah, because jordan and kobe were such average athletes. they totally didn't over whelm guards with their physical advantages either.

It makes a big difference when LeBron has a 60 lbs weight difference on those guys. Btw OP I really like how you phrased it, spot on, Durant just doesn't have the "gear" LeBron does. Come on how can we all be so gullible. It's so obvious why LeBron is playing his best basketball ever at age 34. I've never seen him be able to score at will like he did yesterday . Only the low IQs and fanboys can't see it.

LeBron is NOT playing his best basketball ever. His usage is back up like it was pre-Miami Heat and his defense is the worst it's even been in his career. 2012 LeBron is 3x better than this 2018 Lebron

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Oh really? LeBron plays bad defense? 2012 LeBron better than 2018 LeBron? Maybe the stats can prove your argument? Lets see...

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[8on]

Kobe could get insanely hot, but he definitely had the “take a $#*& ton of shots” switch.

Give LeBron 80 more games in which he takes 30+ shots or 26 more innwhichnhe takes 35+ shots. You don’t think he’d have a higher % of “putting up 40”?

You miss 100% of the shots you don’t take....

[lakerz12]

Well forget the GOAT discussion, but since this is a discussion of having a "scoring switch":

Lebron has 86 forty+ point games in 1,377 games (includes playoffs). So he's put up 40+ in 6.2% of his games.
Kobe had 135 forty+ point games in 1,566 games (includes playoffs). So he put up 40+ in 8.6% of his games.

Kobe had 20 games with 50-60 points. Lebron has 10.

Kobe had 5 games with 60-70 points. Lebron has 1.

Kobe has 1 game with 80+ points. Lebron has 0.

So Lebron may be the better overall player, but Kobe definitely had the "scoring switch".

Why didn't Kobe ever flip that switch in the playoffs when its needed the most then? LeBron obviously does flip it on in the playoffs and thus the 7 40 pt games in these playoffs and like 26 overall to Kobe's 12 overall in the playoffs. That's over twice as many. Also LeBron's career playoff ts% is 57.8 to Kobe's 54.1. This to me speaks of LeBron having the better switch when it matters.

Kobe had 13 games of 40+ pts in the playoffs.

Up until this year where he has to carry the offensive load, Lebron had 19. Now he has 26.

Lebron has played in 234 playoff games to Kobe's 220.

But yes, Lebron definitely has more 40+ point games in the playoffs.

Do you really want to talk about doing what it takes "when it matters" though? When it comes to Kobe v. Lebron. . .

[Franco]

Kobe could get insanely hot, but he definitely had the “take a $#*& ton of shots” switch.

Give LeBron 80 more games in which he takes 30+ shots or 26 more innwhichnhe takes 35+ shots. You don’t think he’d have a higher % of “putting up 40”?

You miss 100% of the shots you don’t take....

OR, you know, instead of missing the shot you take... pass to the open man.

[8on]

Kobe could get insanely hot, but he definitely had the “take a $#*& ton of shots” switch.

Give LeBron 80 more games in which he takes 30+ shots or 26 more innwhichnhe takes 35+ shots. You don’t think he’d have a higher % of “putting up 40”?

You miss 100% of the shots you don’t take....

OR, you know, instead of missing the shot you take... pass to the open man.

That guy might not make it either.

[Franco]

You miss 100% of the shots you don’t take....

OR, you know, instead of missing the shot you take... pass to the open man.

That guy might not make it either.

Just as you might (and probably) won’t make it too.

So it’s hardly as simple as “you miss every a shot you don’t take”.

[8on]

OR, you know, instead of missing the shot you take... pass to the open man.

That guy might not make it either.

Just as you might (and probably) won’t make it too.

So it’s hardly as simple as “you miss every a shot you don’t take”.

My point was that I can’t give anyone credit for shots they didn’t take. I can give someone credit who took and made more shots. That’s what scoring is. The more you shoot, the more you miss, but the more you also make. Your efficiency is supposed to go down as you take more shots, and Kobe never had as much help as LeBron, so it was his responsibility.

There was a time the Lakers were starting Chris Mihm and Kwame Brown together. That’s not Kobe’s fault.

[Beffiosa]

You make some good points. The same rumors about LeBron's PED use swirled around Jordan too. You're right about Curry and his shooting but that makes him more of a mental specimen imo. And you can measure both physical specimens like LeBron and mental specimens like Curry, although the latter is too controversial to do today. But you can definitely measure the physicality of a player . Things like the NFL combine are designed for that . And LeBron has a huge advantage when it comes to that, the numbers would show it. And the biggest problem is that considering his age and some of the circumstantial evidence it's probably not natural

What are the circumstantial evidence?

-He's 6'8 275 lbs and usually the fastest guy on the court
-Just being able to hold on to all that muscle when you burn as many calories as he does is crazy
-at 34 years old he's the most physically dominant he's ever been. Almost everybody loses much of their athleticism before then. What makes him so special?
-other players and media members have dog whistled about his steroid use
-He lost a lot of muscle in the summer of 2014 when he left Miami. He put out some stupid story about going on the paleo diet in order to improve his athleticism as the excuse for the weight loss. Yet when the season starts he's less explosive and dynamic than he's ever been . He's playing under the rim
- takes a 2 week "vacation" to Miami aka the steroid capital of America and comes back as the dynamic above the rim LeBron we've always known
-his name and Rich Paul's names were on a list of a steroid clinic in Miami
- his rapid hair loss. Why do you think all of his hair transplants keep looking **** even though he's got money for the best hair transplant surgeons in the world ?

There's probably more stuff I'm leaving out but his steroid use is more like an open secret than an underground rumor these days

Since we are speaking of athleticsm and his size, I will conclude that you are speaking about PED which are anabolic in nature.
The side effect that is most common with steroid use is injuries. It's almost guaranteed. Muscle growth is the net difference between protein syntheis and the mobilization of amino acids from muscles for energy. Protein synthesis is elevated 24/7 when on anabolic steroids (Even when you are not training). This is why steroid users can get so big while taining each body part once a week. The natural athlete needs training as a trigger to stimulate protein synthesis through mtor activation. When net protein synthesis is greater than net cortisol you get hypertrohy. If your diet are in order to give you that caloric surplus Any PED that is anabolic in nature can give you rapid gains in size and strength. It comes with a cost. The tendons and nervous system never catches up. The human body's main function is to survive. The "enhanced" athlete is not affected as much by homeostasis or myostatin. They have a way of pushing the strength limit pass the inverse myotatic reflex which is a defensive mechanism against injuries. Unless Lebron is on some new coctail that that allows his CNS and tendons to develop at similar rate with his size and strength I have to put you in the same category as those who have no clue what they are talking about. Lebron has lost more athleticsm than you may think. Look at his vertical leap and quickness when he first come into the league to now. There is a video of his shoulders above the rim on Youtube. The difference with most athletes at his age is their unwillingness to commit even more to fitness. Being a license phsyical therapist for almost a decade and a former certified athletic trainer who have trained with Olympic athletes, I've come to realize that the human body is amazing. We set our own limitations.

[Franco]

That guy might not make it either.

Just as you might (and probably) won’t make it too.

So it’s hardly as simple as “you miss every a shot you don’t take”.

My point was that I can’t give anyone credit for shots they didn’t take. I can give someone credit who took and made more shots. That’s what scoring is. The more you shoot, the more you miss, but the more you also make. Your efficiency is supposed to go down as you take more shots, and Kobe never had as much help as LeBron, so it was his responsibility.

There was a time the Lakers were starting Chris Mihm and Kwame Brown together. That’s not Kobe’s fault.

You’d have a point if Kobe took 10 more shots per game while he had no help his whole career.

He was playing with peak Shaq and his efficiency still wasn’t on LeBron’s level.

[Cavsfansince84]

Kobe had 13 games of 40+ pts in the playoffs.

Up until this year where he has to carry the offensive load, Lebron had 19. Now he has 26.

Lebron has played in 234 playoff games to Kobe's 220.

But yes, Lebron definitely has more 40+ point games in the playoffs.

Do you really want to talk about doing what it takes "when it matters" though? When it comes to Kobe v. Lebron. . .

Do I really want to talk about what it takes when it matters though? um, dude, say w/e you want to if you feel its relevant to the discussion. I'm a big boy, I can handle it. I just said LeBron had 7 during this current playoffs so obviously that means he had 19 before this season started. Was there some arbitrary cut off that I should be acknowledging that starts when a player turns 33 or something? LeBron when it matters most has been a better scorer than Kobe. Its not really arguable imo.

[Roddy B for 3]

That guy might not make it either.

Just as you might (and probably) won’t make it too.

So it’s hardly as simple as “you miss every a shot you don’t take”.

My point was that I can’t give anyone credit for shots they didn’t take. I can give someone credit who took and made more shots. That’s what scoring is. The more you shoot, the more you miss, but the more you also make. Your efficiency is supposed to go down as you take more shots, and Kobe never had as much help as LeBron, so it was his responsibility.

There was a time the Lakers were starting Chris Mihm and Kwame Brown together. That’s not Kobe’s fault.

Because it's not Kobe's fault a MvP center was traded for Caron Butler and Lamar Odom.

[8on]

Just as you might (and probably) won’t make it too.

So it’s hardly as simple as “you miss every a shot you don’t take”.

My point was that I can’t give anyone credit for shots they didn’t take. I can give someone credit who took and made more shots. That’s what scoring is. The more you shoot, the more you miss, but the more you also make. Your efficiency is supposed to go down as you take more shots, and Kobe never had as much help as LeBron, so it was his responsibility.

There was a time the Lakers were starting Chris Mihm and Kwame Brown together. That’s not Kobe’s fault.

You’d have a point if Kobe took 10 more shots per game while he had no help his whole career.

He was playing with peak Shaq and his efficiency still wasn’t on LeBron’s level.

there was a 3 1/2 year stretch where the second best player, by a long shot, was LO. Shaq got hurt in ‘97, ‘98 and ‘99 and was out of shape for most of their time together. Then Kobe had Pau Gasol, which isn’t the same as having Scottie or Wade. Bynum wasn’t very productive until 2011. There was a cameo by Metta Ron World Panda and a young Trevor Ariza. Big deal. Celtics had three of the six best players of that generation. Dwight was ridiculous in 2009. Kobe beat them both. There was an expectation that Kobe would and could drop 50. The only other guy that that could be said about was MJ, and perhaps Wilt and Jerry West as well.

Even Lakers Pau Gasol wasn’t going to lead your team in points in a playoff series. Kobe always had to be that dude, except for 2000. Even in 2001 and 2002, Kobe led the team in points in half of those playoff series.

[Roddy B for 3]

My point was that I can’t give anyone credit for shots they didn’t take. I can give someone credit who took and made more shots. That’s what scoring is. The more you shoot, the more you miss, but the more you also make. Your efficiency is supposed to go down as you take more shots, and Kobe never had as much help as LeBron, so it was his responsibility.

There was a time the Lakers were starting Chris Mihm and Kwame Brown together. That’s not Kobe’s fault.

You’d have a point if Kobe took 10 more shots per game while he had no help his whole career.

He was playing with peak Shaq and his efficiency still wasn’t on LeBron’s level.

there was a 3 1/2 year stretch where the second best player, by a long shot, was LO. Shaq got hurt in ‘97, ‘98 and ‘99 and was out of shape for most of their time together. Then Kobe had Pau Gasol, which isn’t the same as having Scottie or Wade. Bynum wasn’t very productive until 2011. There was a cameo by Metta Ron World Panda and a young Trevor Ariza. Big deal. Celtics had three of the six best players of that generation. Dwight was ridiculous in 2009. Kobe beat them both. There was an expectation that Kobe would and could drop 50. The only other guy that that could be said about was MJ, and perhaps Wilt and Jerry West as well.

Even Lakers Pau Gasol wasn’t going to lead your team in points in a playoff series. Kobe always had to be that dude, except for 2000. Even in 2001 and 2002, Kobe led the team in points in half of those playoff series.

[Roddy B for 3]

My point was that I can’t give anyone credit for shots they didn’t take. I can give someone credit who took and made more shots. That’s what scoring is. The more you shoot, the more you miss, but the more you also make. Your efficiency is supposed to go down as you take more shots, and Kobe never had as much help as LeBron, so it was his responsibility.

There was a time the Lakers were starting Chris Mihm and Kwame Brown together. That’s not Kobe’s fault.

You’d have a point if Kobe took 10 more shots per game while he had no help his whole career.

He was playing with peak Shaq and his efficiency still wasn’t on LeBron’s level.

there was a 3 1/2 year stretch where the second best player, by a long shot, was LO. Shaq got hurt in ‘97, ‘98 and ‘99 and was out of shape for most of their time together. Then Kobe had Pau Gasol, which isn’t the same as having Scottie or Wade. Bynum wasn’t very productive until 2011. There was a cameo by Metta Ron World Panda and a young Trevor Ariza. Big deal. Celtics had three of the six best players of that generation. Dwight was ridiculous in 2009. Kobe beat them both. There was an expectation that Kobe would and could drop 50. The only other guy that that could be said about was MJ, and perhaps Wilt and Jerry West as well.

Even Lakers Pau Gasol wasn’t going to lead your team in points in a playoff series. Kobe always had to be that dude, except for 2000. Even in 2001 and 2002, Kobe led the team in points in half of those playoff series.

Poor Kobe he went 3.5 years without a HOF big man.

[KingFox]

If Durant were a great ball handler and had great footwork like Kobe, it would be over for EVERYONE. Unfortunately he's pretty trash in that department in terms of trying to create for himself or others. Yuck

[Franco]

My point was that I can’t give anyone credit for shots they didn’t take. I can give someone credit who took and made more shots. That’s what scoring is. The more you shoot, the more you miss, but the more you also make. Your efficiency is supposed to go down as you take more shots, and Kobe never had as much help as LeBron, so it was his responsibility.

There was a time the Lakers were starting Chris Mihm and Kwame Brown together. That’s not Kobe’s fault.

You’d have a point if Kobe took 10 more shots per game while he had no help his whole career.

He was playing with peak Shaq and his efficiency still wasn’t on LeBron’s level.

there was a 3 1/2 year stretch where the second best player, by a long shot, was LO. Shaq got hurt in ‘97, ‘98 and ‘99 and was out of shape for most of their time together.

And still was one of the most dominant players of all time that brought a lot of attention away from Kobe.

Then Kobe had Pau Gasol, which isn’t the same as having Scottie or Wade. Bynum wasn’t very productive until 2011.

Considering Gasol’s production during their 6 (7?) years together, his value was just as big as Wade’s in Miami’s run.

There was a cameo by Metta Ron World Panda and a young Trevor Ariza. Big deal.

And peak Odom.

And downplaying Metta is just asinine, he was extremely important to those Lakers squads. Hell, he hit the dagger in 2010 in game 7.

Celtics had three of the six best players of that generation.

Duncan
Dirk
Nash
Kobe
LeBron
Wade
Garnett

Not in any particular order. I love Allen and Pierce as much as the next guy, but they’re in no discussion for top 6 players in any generation.

Dwight was ridiculous in 2009.

He had a terrible series against the Lakers (compared to against the Cavs), and overall the Lakers were simply the better team.

Kobe beat them both.

Yeah he did, and all the credit in the world to him.

There was an expectation that Kobe would and could drop 50. The only other guy that that could be said about was MJ, and perhaps Wilt and Jerry West as well.

Kobe has exactly 1 playoff game where’s he scored 50 points, against the Suns in 2006, in a game (and series) that they lost.

So I don’t know what you’r talking about.

Even Lakers Pau Gasol wasn’t going to lead your team in points in a playoff series. Kobe always had to be that dude, except for 2000. Even in 2001 and 2002, Kobe led the team in points in half of those playoff series.

If he was an 8th seed or something, he probably would. Obviously he wouldn’t playing with Kobe, as great as Pau was he isn’t on Kobe’s level.

And Shaq was the 1st option during the 3-peat, that’s not really debatable.

[bmurph128]

Its pretty crazy because KD is definitely the more gifted scorer. It has to be a mentality thing.

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[Dupp]

KD got benched in the biggest game of the season so his team could get back in the game... there’s no comparison to Lebron.