Scorers: Kobe Bryant vs. Lebron James

TheChosen618 · Post #1 » by **TheChosen618** » Mon Jul 22, 2013 1:15 am

As scorers, who do you think was better at their peak/prime?

I think it's pretty clear that Lebron had a better overall peak and if one doesn't think so then they are pretty hopeless, but lets just compare them as scorers here.

Post #2 » by **TheOUTLAW** » Mon Jul 22, 2013 1:18 am

Kobe is likely a slightly better scorer. He's a better shooter especially if he could be convinced to only take good shots.

Mr MoJo Risin · Post #3 » by **Mr MoJo Risin** » Mon Jul 22, 2013 1:18 am

I'm going with Kobe easily

81 points in a game
62 in 3 quarters.
65 in a game
4 games in a row over 50 points
3 point record 12 in 1 game.
crazy 40 point streak rampage

ThatsWhatIShved · Post #4 » by **ThatsWhatIShved** » Mon Jul 22, 2013 1:24 am

Kobe against handchecking: 22ppg on 55 TS%

Prime Kobe against handchecking: 27ppg on 55 TS%

Lebron against handchecking: 18ppg on 53 TS%

Don't see how this is a contest. Only area Lebron has an advantage is cherry picking fast break layups/dunks

RayBan-Sematra · Post #5 » by **RayBan-Sematra** » Mon Jul 22, 2013 1:35 am

Mr MoJo wrote:81 points in a game
62 in 3 quarters.
65 in a game
4 games in a row over 50 points
3 point record 12 in 1 game.
crazy 40 point streak rampage

Impressive stuff but one must take into account that many of these games took place during 06 where guarding perimeter players was practically disallowed and in most of these games Kobe was facing fodder sub -.500 teams.

While that stuff is not irrelevant when it comes to judging how good a scorer a player is I am more interested in how he scores during the playoffs especially against tough defensive teams and against quality teams.

Not Bias · Post #6 » by **Not Bias** » Mon Jul 22, 2013 1:51 am

I'm going Kobe on this one, but Lebron is the better all-around player

whitehops · Post #7 » by **whitehops** » Mon Jul 22, 2013 2:00 am

can't wait to hear how kobe's fadeaways make him a better scorer.

Kobe Bean · Post #8 » by **Kobe Bean** » Mon Jul 22, 2013 2:23 am

RayBan-Sematra wrote:
Mr MoJo wrote:81 points in a game
62 in 3 quarters.
65 in a game
4 games in a row over 50 points
3 point record 12 in 1 game.
crazy 40 point streak rampage

Impressive stuff but one must take into account that many of these games took place during 06 where guarding perimeter players was practically disallowed and in most of these games Kobe was facing fodder sub -.500 teams.

While that stuff is not irrelevant when it comes to judging how good a scorer a player is I am more interested in how he scores during the playoffs especially against tough defensive teams and against quality teams.

Kobe was shooting 20+ jumpers a game that year. The rules benefited slashers like AI (who coincidentally saw his efficiency rise as he was able to get to the rim more often again, which is why Peak AI with no handcheck sounds so scary), Wade, Arenas etc

Plus just watch the highlights of those games lol. He was shooting whatever shot he wanted to, drilling jumpers I the face of a billion defenders, over double teams etc. It's not like he was getting layups

BattleTested · Post #9 » by **BattleTested** » Mon Jul 22, 2013 2:24 am

ThatsWhatIShved wrote:Kobe against handchecking: 22ppg on 55 TS%

Prime Kobe against handchecking: 27ppg on 55 TS%

Lebron against handchecking: 18ppg on 53 TS%

Don't see how this is a contest. Only area Lebron has an advantage is cherry picking fast break layups/dunks

Lebron played one season in the NBA when hand checking era. He averaged- 21 PPG on 49% TS. He was also a freaking teenager though. Where are you getting your numbers from?

ThatsWhatIShved · Post #10 » by **ThatsWhatIShved** » Mon Jul 22, 2013 2:25 am

BattleTested wrote:
ThatsWhatIShved wrote:Kobe against handchecking: 22ppg on 55 TS%

Prime Kobe against handchecking: 27ppg on 55 TS%

Lebron against handchecking: 18ppg on 53 TS%

Don't see how this is a contest. Only area Lebron has an advantage is cherry picking fast break layups/dunks

Lebron played one season in the NBA when hand checking era. He averaged- 21 PPG on 49% TS. He was also a freaking teenager though. Where are you getting your numbers from?

NBA + International play

HornetJail · Post #11 » by **HornetJail** » Mon Jul 22, 2013 2:52 am

If Kobe had Lebron's shot selection, he'd be the better scorer, as he has more scoring ability, but every game he takes 3-4 shots he definitely should pass up. Of course he even makes some of those, but I'm going with Lebron's 57%/40%/75% this season over Kobe's much poorer percentages.

The two years where Kobe led the league in scoring, he averaged 35.4ppg and 31.6ppg on 27.2 and 22.8 shots per game. Those shooting numbers, particularly the earlier one (05-06) are just really crazy numbers. If Lebron took that many shots he'd be up around 40ppg, no joke. His efficiency wins it.

BattleTested · Post #12 » by **BattleTested** » Mon Jul 22, 2013 2:53 am

ThatsWhatIShved wrote:
BattleTested wrote:
ThatsWhatIShved wrote:Kobe against handchecking: 22ppg on 55 TS%

Prime Kobe against handchecking: 27ppg on 55 TS%

Lebron against handchecking: 18ppg on 53 TS%

Don't see how this is a contest. Only area Lebron has an advantage is cherry picking fast break layups/dunks

Lebron played one season in the NBA when hand checking era. He averaged- 21 PPG on 49% TS. He was also a freaking teenager though. Where are you getting your numbers from?

NBA + International play

You really judge NBA players by what they do against inferior competition as a part of what is essentially an all star team? Might as well throw their high school and college careers into the mix too.

RayBan-Sematra · Post #13 » by **RayBan-Sematra** » Mon Jul 22, 2013 2:57 am

Kobe Bean wrote:It's not like he was getting layups

Well... yeah he was.
Not to say he wasn't also drilling countless jumpers but he also drew a huge number of free throws and got took many close range shots.

For example in his 63 pt games against the Mavs he took 25+ ft's I think.

Even when he was shooting defenders had to give him more space then usual because of the rules.

That is his 2006 shot chart.
As you see the hottest zone is right around the basket.
He also took a ton of right wing 3's.

LikeABosh · Post #14 » by **LikeABosh** » Mon Jul 22, 2013 3:06 am

I still have yet to see an argument for Kobe that didn't include his 81 point game or handchecking. Neither is relevant to the discussion if we're looking at the entirety of their careers

Lebron scores more on a higher FG%, has a higher 3 pt. percentage, has a higher percentage at the rim, draws more fouls/FT's. Kobe is a better FT shooter, better mid range shooter (up until Lebron's recent improvement), and turns it over less

With the exception of 3 pt shooting, all of those stats still apply in the playoffs

I'm interested to see if anyone is up to comparing them year-by-year and seeing how they fared against elite defenses. I'd do it myself if I wasn't sold on Lebron, but I just don't see an argument for Kobe

LakerLegend · Post #15 » by **LakerLegend** » Mon Jul 22, 2013 3:14 am

LeBron still looks utterly pedestrian whenever he comes across a team with a solid defensive big which exposes the weaknesses he still has.

His offensive game still needs much refining beyond what he relies on his athleticism for. Imagine if the Spurs had prime Duncan and Bowen instead of a middle aged duncan and a barely out of the womb leonard? If he wasn't on a stacked team loaded with shooters and spacing in a weak conference with layups and open jumpers all over he would get exposed more regularly.

LikeABosh · Post #16 » by **LikeABosh** » Mon Jul 22, 2013 3:33 am

Lakerfan17 wrote:LeBron still looks utterly pedestrian whenever he comes across a team with a solid defensive big which exposes the weaknesses he still has.

Are we discussing aestheticism? Because if not, it really doesn't matter how his game looks. Lebron has had some of his best series against solid defensive bigs

Lakerfan17 wrote:If he wasn't on a stacked team loaded with shooters and spacing in a weak conference with layups and open jumpers all over he would get exposed more regularly.

Again, he's put up big numbers whether he was on a stacked team or not. You'd add a lot more value to your argument if you elaborated on this.

Mr MoJo Risin · Post #17 » by **Mr MoJo Risin** » Mon Jul 22, 2013 4:01 am

but the reason Kobe scored 81 and 62 points in 3 quarters, is because defenses were showing extra attention to shaq

Reservoirdawgs · Post #18 » by **Reservoirdawgs** » Mon Jul 22, 2013 4:02 am

Lebron easily. He has career averages of .575 TS% and .524 eFG%. To put that in perspective, Kobe's career HIGH for TS% is .580...aka, only .005 more than Lebron's career AVERAGE, and his career high of .504 for eFG% is .020% lower than Lebron's career Average (for comparison's sake, Kobe's career averages are .555 TS% and .487 eFG%).

If we look at PPG numbers, Kobe's career FG% is .454. His 3P% is .336 on 3.9 3PA. Lebron's career FG% is .490. His 3P% is .337 on 4.0 3PA.

Both are great scorers, but Kobe's poor shot selection brings him down, at least when compared to Lebron.

Colbinii · Post #19 » by **Colbinii** » Mon Jul 22, 2013 5:08 am

Lakerfan17 wrote:LeBron still looks utterly pedestrian whenever he comes across a team with a solid defensive big which exposes the weaknesses he still has.

Really?
Lebron James looked pedestrian against the Spurs and Pacers? These two teams have two of the top 5 defensive centers in the league, and Lebron put up a "pedestrian" 27/9/6/2/1 on 48 FG%, 40 3P%, 79 FT% with 2.7 TO.

Man, if those are pedestrians numbers, I would love to see what some non-pedestrian numbers look like.

Rasho_libre · Post #20 » by **Rasho_libre** » Mon Jul 22, 2013 5:11 am

Colbinii wrote:
Lakerfan17 wrote:LeBron still looks utterly pedestrian whenever he comes across a team with a solid defensive big which exposes the weaknesses he still has.

Really?
Lebron James looked pedestrian against the Spurs and Pacers? These two teams have two of the top 5 defensive centers in the league, and Lebron put up a "pedestrian" 27/9/6/2/1 on 48 FG%, 40 3P%, 79 FT% with 2.7 TO.

Man, if those are pedestrians numbers, I would love to see what some non-pedestrian numbers look like.

Non pedestrian is putting up 38-8-8 against peak Howard, or like what he did against Detroit. Hell he even had a better series against Kobe Against the celtics and kg. man kids are dumb these days.

I still can't comprehend how to this day a guy is capable of shooting 28 times PER GAME!!! For 82 games

better scorer?