Whether at the barber shop, where you work, and just hangin' with your boys (or your girls; lets not forget about the ladies who talk sports); the debate about who is the best player on the planet rages on with seemingly no end in sight. I myself find it hard to make a decision. I flip flop on who the better player is more than John Kerry flipped during his presidential campaign. Tonight, two of the top three players will square off once again in a matchup I always look forward to. Dwayne Wade certainly has an argument about whether he is the best but lets look at who is better between Bean and Bron by breaking each player down from a strength and weakness standpoint before we make our final decision; a final decision that Im sure will create more debate.
Let's start with Lebron James.
Strengths: Lebron James' strength lies in his strength. He is such a physically imposing player that it is impossible to prevent him from getting into the paint. And the bad news for the NBA is that he now plays like he is the biggest, baddest, strongest player out there where in the past I believe he sometimes didn't always use his distinct physical advantages. He now plays with a controlled anger that some said was missing in the past. He does an outstanding job of using his body and weight to clear space when penetrating in the lane. Defenders tend to try to take a step back off of Lebron James, however, instead of settling for the jump shot he uses the given space to get a head of steam which often times results in him getting to the basket and either drawing the foul or finishing at the rim. When he does decide to shoot the jump shot, he tends to prefer going to his left when taking jump shots off the dribble. He has corrected the tendency he used to have in leaning back on his jump shots and now has much more balance on his shot which has helped his accuracy. Further more, his court vision is out of this world which makes defending Lebron so tough. He is not only a willing passer but a great one. Defensively is where he had made his biggest strides. He is a lock down defender...period. And anyone telling you otherwise has not seen him play this year. He has become a shot blocker and a guy willing to lead his team not only offensively but defensively. Lebron is an excellent rebounder from the small forward position; being able to rebound both outside of his area and in traffic. Again, his strength and mass combined with his explosive ability allows for him to be effective.
Weaknesses: There are only 2 clear weaknesses I see with Lebron James. The first being that despite his improvements he is still a very poor shooter from the perimeter. According to 82.games.com, Lebron James shoots 38.8% on 2 point jump shots and 29% on 3-point field goals. So while he is an improved shooter, you live with him taking shots outside of the paint where he makes 72% of his shots inside and has a NBA leading 47 and-1 baskets. Secondly, he is an improved free-throw shooter, but he still tends to miss them when they count.
Now let's look at Kobe Bryant:
Strengths: Kobe Bryant, nor anyone who has ever played this game, is as physically imposing as Lebron James but Kobe is much more the player who dominates off of skill (this isn't to suggest Lebron does not have skill). Kobe Bryant has some outstanding footwork and picking up on his tendencies are extremely difficult as he seems to be able to take advantage of whatever the defense gives him. He has step through moves in the post, he turns over each shoulder in the post to score, finishes with either hand, and can score from the perimeter off of the catch and shoot or off the dribble going either left or right equally well. He has now improved his willingness to pass the ball which has upped his efficiency. Defensively, he will take on the other teams best offensive player and do a great job of pressuring the ball and forcing offensive players into areas where they are uncomfortable. Rebounding wise he is a very good rebounder as a shooting guard getting around 5 rebounds per game. And what is an assessment of Kobe Bryant without discussing the many big shots that he takes and makes? Simply stated, Kobe Bryant has always played the game with a fearlessness of never being afraid to fail. He wants to dominate every second he is out on the court and he competes very hard every night.
Weaknesses: It used to be that the big criticism of Kobe was that he didn't make his teammates better. I detest that phrase but I will let that simmer for now. Nevertheless, that can no longer be said about him as the Lakers made it to the Finals last year primarily because Kobe combined his scoring prowess with an ability to trust his teammates. You can still get Kobe to get into those "Im trying to prove a point" moments which can hurt his team. Those moments are less and less frequent as he has continued to mature. Defensively when playing against guards he does not respect, he floats and can lack focus.
Conclusion:
So who is better? I think it has become status quo to say that Kobe Bryant is the best player in the game. And I think those who state that case have a great argument. But in my humble opinion, I believe it is Lebron who has surpassed Kobe Bryant and should now be the considered the better player. He is much more dominant as a complete player. He rebounds, scores, assist, and now he defends and dare I say he defends at a higher level than Kobe Bryant. If you ask me to say who is the better shooter or who I would go to in the clutch? I would say Kobe Bryant but the game is so much more than who is a better jump shooter and who can score better in the clutch. Honestly, you can't go wrong no matter who you take. But Im sure the debate will rage on.
I been sayig this for two years now... dudes snapped on me when I said i'll take the King over Kobe in my BSO Inaugural article http://blacksportsonline.com/index/2008/03/kobe-vs-lebron-ill-take-the-ki.html... I think over the past two years it's becoming more clearer than Lebron is the game premier wing player by a bit. again it's all opinion but it's hard to be better than him right now.
Hey man the Government Experiment has taken over the league at the tender age of 24 and there's nothing anyone can do about it. Good point about Lebron's playmaking... it took Kobe most of his career to stop the selfishness, but if things go wrong the old Kobe peeks his head out sometimes
This whole debate about LeBron and Kobe is getting pretty tired. This is not the first time that the NBA has had more than one dominate player at the same time (Elgin Balylor, Wilt the Stilt, Bill Russell, Magic, Bird, Jordan, Kobe, LeBron, Shaq, Akeem the Dreeam, Walt Frazier, Clyde Drexel etc....).
My personal preference is Kobe Bryant. Kobe has the rings, the MVP, the Gold Medal etc. While LeBron has some of these successes to his credit, until he wins the big one, he is still the future, and Kobe is the truth.
Hey have you seen Lebron's Rings? Me neither
the debate will go on and on, of course. and both are easily the best 2 in the game right now.
but it's still too hard to tell. lebron is the younger, more hungrier and more motivated right now, which gives him a lot. but mamba is the vet. let's see how lebron is playing after 12 years.
just posted another article about kobe and lebron, but entirely different, feel free to check it out.
http://blacksportsonline.com/index/2009/01/the-best-players-in-the-world.html#more
So what happened to Lebron tonight. How you let a three fingered man score nine in the fourth is beyond me. Kobe takes it until his hand gets amputated I guess.
yoooo are u fucking stupid cornelius lebron dosent have the same instinct as kobe he is willing paser true but he dosent have dat sense to know wen he needs to take over. kobe knows when to be a playmaker n when to be a scorer but lebron is in kobe shadow u damn idiot
SmxYvi
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