What Year Did LeBron Become At Least as Good As Kobe?

[Cavsfansince84]

LeBron was being honest which I respect. LeBron says he’s not as good as Kobe in 2009.

LeBron says the skill set which is one of the greatest all-time is what sets them apart. But he also said he is working on improving. As a fan I saw a mental approach being the big difference. In 2011 LeBron wasn’t quite there mentally because he cared sooo much about the Heat backlash and did things like make fun of Dirk and shrink in the 2011 Finals that prevented him from being a champion in 2011. But in 2012 he had overcome that. So it’s got to be in the 2012 play-offs right when LeBron caught Kobe? Or 2013 when he did what Kobe did with back to back Finals MVPs.

I can respect what you're trying to say above but the fact remains that if you look up what was the most statistically dominant playoff run of all time its still LeBron's 09 playoff run where he was taking games over almost every night and doing things like hitting last second 3's to win games. We can try and make this as complicated as we want to but its silly to think he wasn't at least on Kobe's level when he finished second in mvp voting much less having perhaps the best non title winning playoff run of all time 3 years later on top of having a top 5-10 rs of all time in which he led his team to 66 wins and was league mvp(09). Kobe was great but some of you are just being utterly ridiculous here. Kobe's defense wasn't nearly on LeBron's level either in 09.

[Ambrose]

2008 at the latest.

[limbo]

This thread says: 'what year did LeBron became AT LEAST AS GOOD as Kobe'...

2005.

I can't see how Kobe and LeBron are in different tiers as players in 2005. Both are statistically very similar, with Kobe being a marginally better scorer and LeBron being a slightly better playmaker and a better defender (at least putting in more effort on that end). Kobe doesn't even get the 'garbage teammates' excuse, since LeBron arguably played on an even worse team.

From 2005-2008 both are playing on a very similar level overall. In 2009, Kobe arguably hits his peak due to scaling down some of his horrible shot selection, making better decisions on offense with Phil Jackson helping him and starting to care more about defense again, now that he's playing on a contender again...But LeBron just enters GOAT level impact that year so it doesn't matter. Every season from then on LeBron is playing on a higher level than Kobe ever did, except for maybe 2011 and 2015, and even then it's debatable. Oh, and maybe 2019 because it's incomplete.

[Yeggo Poleggo]

was he obviously a better player?

Kobe isn't even close to Lebron

How do you still have an account on here?

[LakerLegend]

Lol, everyone makes must be forgetting LeBrons horrific performances in the 2007 and 2011 Finals.

[LakerLegend]

Lol, everyone makes must be forgetting LeBrons horrific performances in the 2007 and 2011 Finals.

Or his performances against the Celtics on 08 and 10.

[limbo]

Lol, everyone makes must be forgetting LeBrons horrific performances in the 2007 and 2011 Finals.

Nah, we just realize that two series in a sample size of over 50 (+ all the regular season games) does not paint a picture of who a player is... Same way nobody is using Kobe's terrible series in 2006 and 2007 against an average defensive Phoenix teams to try and make a case he was worse than Rip Hamilton or something...

[LakerLegend]

Lol, everyone makes must be forgetting LeBrons horrific performances in the 2007 and 2011 Finals.

Nah, we just realize that two series in a sample size of over 50 (+ all the regular season games) does not paint a picture of who a player is... Same way nobody is using Kobe's terrible series in 2006 and 2007 against an average defensive Phoenix teams to try and make a case he was worse than Rip Hamilton or something...

So first you want to downplay how a player performs a against the best competition on the biggest stages regarding lebron then you want to call Kobe’s play against the suns terrible when it wasn’t terrible by any measure, bias is obvious.

[Pelly24]

I would say LeBron was at least as good as Kobe by the 2007 playoffs. I was 15. That game where he scored 25 straight points against the Pistons just seemed to point to some greater inner ability that only the GOATs had. Honestly, I've never seen that from Kobe where he could just beat the odds and rise to any level he needed to. MJ, LeBron and Magic are unique in that way—to me. At that point I knew he was just as good if not better. He became definitely better in my eyes the following season.

[LakerLegend]

I would say LeBron was at least as good as Kobe by the 2007 playoffs. I was 15. That game where he scored 25 straight points against the Pistons just seemed to point to some greater inner ability that only the GOATs had. Honestly, I've never seen that from Kobe where he could just beat the odds and rise to any level he needed to. MJ, LeBron and Magic are unique in that way—to me. At that point I knew he was just as good if not better. He became definitely better in my eyes the following season.

His performance in the 2007 Finals is far far worse than how Kobe would have performed against the Spurs. 35 percent shooting and like 4 turnovers a game.

[mademan]

I would say LeBron was at least as good as Kobe by the 2007 playoffs. I was 15. That game where he scored 25 straight points against the Pistons just seemed to point to some greater inner ability that only the GOATs had. Honestly, I've never seen that from Kobe where he could just beat the odds and rise to any level he needed to. MJ, LeBron and Magic are unique in that way—to me. At that point I knew he was just as good if not better. He became definitely better in my eyes the following season.

His performance in the 2007 Finals is far far worse than how Kobe would have performed against the Spurs. 35 percent shooting and like 4 turnovers a game.

do you think kobe was the best in the league in 06 and 07 given his playoff performances? 1st round exists and down across the board from his regular season averages.

honestly, Lebron couldve scored 0ppg against the Spurs in the 07 finals and his playoff performance in getting to the finals with that Cavs squad would still make it better than Kobe's performance.

[thebigbird]

I would say LeBron was at least as good as Kobe by the 2007 playoffs. I was 15. That game where he scored 25 straight points against the Pistons just seemed to point to some greater inner ability that only the GOATs had. Honestly, I've never seen that from Kobe where he could just beat the odds and rise to any level he needed to. MJ, LeBron and Magic are unique in that way—to me. At that point I knew he was just as good if not better. He became definitely better in my eyes the following season.

His performance in the 2007 Finals is far far worse than how Kobe would have performed against the Spurs. 35 percent shooting and like 4 turnovers a game.

This is what makes general board conversations so hard. Lebron was 22 years old and had one of the worst finals supporting casts of all time. He was running with Drew Gooden, Daniel Gibson, Sasha Pavlovic and Zydraunas in his starting lineup against Tony Parker, Tim Duncan, Bruce Bowen, Manu Ginobili, with Greg Popovic coaching. That series was a defensive struggle. The Spurs scored more than 85 points once in the series. Duncan shot 45% from the field and 62% from the line. Manu shot 37% from the field.

Anyone who uses the 2007 finals as a black mark against Lebron exposes their bias. That same year prime Kobe finished 7th in the West and lost in 5 games in the first round.

[LakerLegend]

I would say LeBron was at least as good as Kobe by the 2007 playoffs. I was 15. That game where he scored 25 straight points against the Pistons just seemed to point to some greater inner ability that only the GOATs had. Honestly, I've never seen that from Kobe where he could just beat the odds and rise to any level he needed to. MJ, LeBron and Magic are unique in that way—to me. At that point I knew he was just as good if not better. He became definitely better in my eyes the following season.

His performance in the 2007 Finals is far far worse than how Kobe would have performed against the Spurs. 35 percent shooting and like 4 turnovers a game.

do you think kobe was the best in the league in 06 and 07 given his playoff performances? 1st round exists and down across the board from his regular season averages.

honestly, Lebron couldve scored 0ppg against the Spurs in the 07 finals and his playoff performance in getting to the finals with that Cavs squad would still make it better than Kobe's performance.

Lol, this statement is so absurd it shows your not interested in any sort of genuine conversation, take the agenda elsewhere.

[LakerLegend]

I would say LeBron was at least as good as Kobe by the 2007 playoffs. I was 15. That game where he scored 25 straight points against the Pistons just seemed to point to some greater inner ability that only the GOATs had. Honestly, I've never seen that from Kobe where he could just beat the odds and rise to any level he needed to. MJ, LeBron and Magic are unique in that way—to me. At that point I knew he was just as good if not better. He became definitely better in my eyes the following season.

His performance in the 2007 Finals is far far worse than how Kobe would have performed against the Spurs. 35 percent shooting and like 4 turnovers a game.

This is what makes general board conversations so hard. Lebron was 22 years old and had one of the worst finals supporting casts of all time. He was running with Drew Gooden, Daniel Gibson, Sasha Pavlovic and Zydraunas in his starting lineup against Tony Parker, Tim Duncan, Bruce Bowen, Manu Ginobili, with Greg Popovic coaching. That series was a defensive struggle. The Spurs scored more than 85 points once in the series. Duncan shot 45% from the field and 62% from the line. Manu shot 37% from the field.

Anyone who uses the 2007 finals as a black mark against Lebron exposes their bias. That same year prime Kobe finished 7th in the West and lost in 5 games in the first round.

Lol, if you’re good enough to take your team to the finals regardless of how terrible the conference isn’t with people saying your already an all time great and the best player in the league then yes we can hold it against you. Can’t have your cake and eat it too with lebron. Look what magic did at 20 years old in the Finals

[thebigbird]

His performance in the 2007 Finals is far far worse than how Kobe would have performed against the Spurs. 35 percent shooting and like 4 turnovers a game.

This is what makes general board conversations so hard. Lebron was 22 years old and had one of the worst finals supporting casts of all time. He was running with Drew Gooden, Daniel Gibson, Sasha Pavlovic and Zydraunas in his starting lineup against Tony Parker, Tim Duncan, Bruce Bowen, Manu Ginobili, with Greg Popovic coaching. That series was a defensive struggle. The Spurs scored more than 85 points once in the series. Duncan shot 45% from the field and 62% from the line. Manu shot 37% from the field.

Anyone who uses the 2007 finals as a black mark against Lebron exposes their bias. That same year prime Kobe finished 7th in the West and lost in 5 games in the first round.

Lol, if you’re good enough to take your team to the finals regardless of how terrible the conference isn’t with people saying your already an all time great and the best player in the league then yes we can hold it against you. Can’t have your cake and eat it too with lebron. Look what magic did at 20 years old in the Finals

"Look at what Magic did at 20 years old in the Finals."

You should probably just go back to posting the Lebron steroids pictures. Magic at 20 was playing with prime Kareem. He played 5 of the 6 finals games and averaged 33/14 and 5 blocks per game in that series. Great comparison to lebron and the team he had!

[HMFFL]

yeah 2007.

I feel like Kobe's "swagger", image and playing for the LA Lakers has benefited him more than any other player in history. Players always mention him right below Jordan and most casual fans think the same. It's kinda crazy to me seeing how Jordan and LeBron imo have such a wide gap between themselves and Kobe but the image is he's in the conversation for GOAT. Kobe was always very mindful of his image and I think it has served his legacy very well.

Lebron has been more mindful of his image and has a fantastic team around him to make it happen. Kobe had to repair his after one major situation and became a better husband after. I don't believe playing for LA has benefited Kobe more than any other player in history. If anything, it's higher expectations to live up to, and he did it his entire career.

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[chitownsalesmen]

spring 2005.

[lakerz12]

Well LeBron felt Kobe was the best player in the world in 2009...but what does he know?

Watch on YouTube

Hes obviously being kind/humble that's a bad argument

So you think he's lying? You think he doesn't actually believe Kobe is the best player in the NBA at the time, even though that's what he says?

Hmm...seems more like his opinion doesn't line up with yours so you're just creating ways to dismiss it.

[Pelly24]

I would say LeBron was at least as good as Kobe by the 2007 playoffs. I was 15. That game where he scored 25 straight points against the Pistons just seemed to point to some greater inner ability that only the GOATs had. Honestly, I've never seen that from Kobe where he could just beat the odds and rise to any level he needed to. MJ, LeBron and Magic are unique in that way—to me. At that point I knew he was just as good if not better. He became definitely better in my eyes the following season.

His performance in the 2007 Finals is far far worse than how Kobe would have performed against the Spurs. 35 percent shooting and like 4 turnovers a game.

I'm not sure Kobe makes it past the first round in this situation lebron was in, and also I still remember Kobe's series against the Pistons in 2004. Not as though he hadn't had awful playoff series.

[Dnt hate]

Well LeBron felt Kobe was the best player in the world in 2009...but what does he know?

Watch on YouTube

Hes obviously being kind/humble that's a bad argument

So you think he's lying? You think he doesn't actually believe Kobe is the best player in the NBA at the time, even though that's what he says?

Hmm...seems more like his opinion doesn't line up with yours so you're just creating ways to dismiss it.

He thought about it and gave a diplomatic answer it's not hard to see man, your name tells me your clearly blinded and biased