Prime Kobe Bryant vs. Prime LeBron James

[ThaSwagg3r]

Who was better?

I don't know when Kobe's prime was because everybody argues that his prime was in different seasons and different years while I think everyone know when LeBron's prime was ('08-'10). I'm going to go ahead and suggest that Kobe's prime was from ('02 to '09).

So who was better?

[asdf1990]

Lebron hands down.

[zay_24]

the one wit 5 rings

[Miserio]

Lebron hands down.
.-

[talkingconch]

http://media.giantbomb.com/uploads/3/34925/1235954-this_thread_again_super.jpg

Prime kobe and it's not a tough decision.

[Ronaldinho]

Kobe.


Lebron hands down.
Because he acomplished so many things...

[kaiiu]

Kobe is in another class than 'Brick James. Kobe IS the NBA while James is just a player.

Kobe= Lord of the Rings
'Brick= Smegal

[Ikill]

Kobes prime is 06-08 Lebrons is 08-10
There close but Lebrons a bit better

[SpecialQue]

This bull$hit again? Fvcking give it a rest already.

[Odinn]

2 different situations;

1. If their team full of scrubs, LeBron's numbers, impact, number of wins and playoffs would be the greater one.

2. If their team is a well-balanced stacked team, Kobe would be the greater one.

[Heavincent]

Kobe.

[AlphaWolf24]

The one averaging 29PPG 6REB 7AST during 01' playoff's at 21 F@cking years old winning MuFakin Championships....


Kobe Bean Bryant and it aint even close

[LBJDWADE63]

LeBron James and it's not even close. 2010 LeBron was a different beast.

[Heavincent]

LeBron James and it's not even close. 2010 LeBron was a different beast.

lol at saying it's not even close.

[SuperPippen]

Prime Kobe

AND IT AINT EVEN CLOSE He would mop the floor with him.

FACT


FYI, increasing the size of the font and putting it in bold doesn't lend any validity to your "argument."

And putting the word "fact" after your post doesn't actually make it any more truthful, as much as you'd like to believe it does.

To answer the OP's completely original question, prime LeBron James is better than prime Kobe Bryant, although I'd much rather have Kobe on my team.

[kaiiu]

I diidnt know beatin the Wizards and crab dribbling on evry play = better with scrubs.

The last 2 Cavs team were stacked

[LEFT4DEAD]

http://michaeljacksonanimatedgifs.com/images/portfolio/mj13.gif

[ShaqAttack3234]

Lebron just had the 3rd best season of his career(after '09 and '10), I'd say that still qualifies as his prime. Kobe's prime was long, you could argue that he entered his prime as early as 2001 or at the latest, 2003, and it lasted until '09, arguably '10, but that's when the injuries really started taking away from his level of play, though his playing the first 2 months of 2010 and the Utah/Phoenix series was every bit at his prime level. Though the 2004 and 2005 seasons weren't typically at his prime level so it's hard to say.

Lebron has been in his about 3, maybe 4 seasons if you really want to stretch it then you can start at '06, though '07 was below his typical prime level for whatever reason, so it's tough to compare over the long stretches.

As far as 1 year peak('09 Lebron vs Kobe any single season from '06-'08, the exact year is debatable) goes to Lebron, imo.

But as far as their best 3 year stretch('06-'08 Kobe vs '09-'11 Lebron), I'd pick Kobe.

[GS1905]

I'd take prime Iverson and McGrady over both of them any day.

[zay_24]

I'd take prime Iverson and McGrady over both of them any day.
The same iverson kobe held to zero points?

[Indian guy]

Lebron just had the 3rd best season of his career

That's highly debatable. I would take '08 LeBron over '11 without hesitation.


I'd say that still qualifies as his prime.

Prime to me would be a period where you can say a player is playing the best ball of his career. 10-11 LeBron is significantly inferior to his '09 and '10 self.

To answer the OP's question, you can't go wrong either way. LeBron's the more dominant statistically, but Kobe has the skill-related intangibles on his side. You're getting equal value either way.

[ShaqAttack3234]

That's highly debatable. I would take '08 LeBron over '11 without hesitation.

I don't think so, he's not as athletic as he was in '08, but he's a much better shooter and significantly better defensively.

Lebron was shooting 71% from the line back in '08 and his jumper was very erratic. Hence his horrible play for most of the series vs Boston.


Prime to me would be a period where you can say a player is playing the best ball of his career. 10-11 LeBron is significantly inferior to his '09 and '10 self.

Fair enough. Though a 2 year prime seems pretty short, but I get where you're coming from.

[GS1905]

The same iverson kobe held to zero points?

Which game would that be?

According to this there is not a single game Iverson scored 0 points against Kobe and the Lakers in his career.

http://www.basketball-reference.com/play-index/h2h_finder.cgi?request=1&p1=bryanko01&p2=iversal01

Maybe you meant the game Kobe scored 0 points, huh?

http://www.basketball-reference.com/boxscores/199612290LAL.html

[tpols]

I'd probably take Lebron at his peak by a hair. But Kobe seemed to have a longer and better prime so far, so.. Kobe.

[Indian guy]

I don't think so, he's not as athletic as he was in '08, but he's a much better shooter and significantly better defensively.

The way I see it, if we switched '08 and '11 LeBron, I'd always see the '08 version's team doing better. His playmaking ability(ability to make something happen) was just superior back in '08. '11 LeBron, despite being more skilled, is much less....dynamic, for lack of a better word. He has to play more within his limits. '08 LeBron was everywhere on the other hand.

As far as the D's concerned, I'm telling you, LeBron played the best D of his career in the first 20-odd games of the 07-08 season. He couldn't keep up that level of effort for obvious reasons, but the difference between this LeBron and Heat-LeBron is minimal to the point of being insignificant. In general I also believe a perimeter player's impact on the game defensively is very limited. Miami's defensive ranking, for instance, remained unchanged in 10-11 compared to the prior year.


Hence his horrible play for most of the series vs Boston.

Well, it's not like '11 LeBron didn't have a horrible series too, and he was never the defensive attention of the opposition the way '08 LeBron was.

[ShaqAttack3234]

The way I see it, if we switched '08 and '11 LeBron, I'd always see the '08 version's team doing better. His playmaking ability(ability to make something happen) was just superior back in '08. '11 LeBron, despite being more skilled, is much less....dynamic, for lack of a better word. He has to play more within his limits. '08 LeBron was everywhere on the other hand.

Yeah, and his regular season was incredible, but he just wasn't skilled enough for me to take that version, too many weaknesses, imo. Still a top 2-3 player in the league in 2008, though.


As far as the D's concerned, I'm telling you, LeBron played the best D of his career in the first 20-odd games of the 07-08 season. He couldn't keep up that level of effort for obvious reasons, but the difference between this LeBron and Heat-LeBron is minimal to the point of being insignificant. In general I also believe a perimeter player's impact on the game defensively is very limited. Miami's defensive ranking, for instance, remained unchanged in 10-11 compared to the prior year.

I disagree to some extent, I think that a perimeter players defense won't be able to match an elite defensive big man in terms of impact, but I saw Lebron making a pretty big impact at that end, imo. If your team defense is average or not worth mentioning then your impact won't be that great on nights when you're not facing a big scorer even if your man defense is elite, imo, but Lebron's team defense was very good last season as well as his man defense.



Well, it's not like '11 LeBron didn't have a horrible series too, and he was never the defensive attention of the opposition the way '08 LeBron was.

Yeah, but Lebron's struggles in the finals this year were more puzzling to me when watching him play, while I can see why he struggled more in 2008 due to his skill set. I think that's the difference for me.

I guess this could be worse depending on your point of view, but I think that Lebron's struggles were more mental in the finals, especially when you consider how well he played vs the 2 best defensive teams in the ECSF and ECF(though those weren't his best series despite what some were saying).

[chips93]

id take lebron



To answer the OP's completely original question, prime LeBron James is better than prime Kobe Bryant, although I'd much rather have Kobe on my team.


care to elaborate? since its the lockout and theres nothing to discuss

[Jacks3]

LeBron for his ridiculous G.O.A.T type peak (08-10).

Kobe never quite reached that tier.

[Clippersfan86]

Wow people are silly to even be debating this. Let's see.... the guy who won 5 rings this decade AND put up legendary, consistent stats... or the guy with stats a tad better all around but 0 rings.

Kobe is HANDS DOWN better because in his prime he won rings, Lebron hasn't.

[chips93]

Wow people are silly to even be debating this. Let's see.... the guy who won 5 rings this decade AND put up legendary, consistent stats... or the guy with stats a tad better all around but 0 rings.

Kobe is HANDS DOWN better because in his prime he won rings, Lebron hasn't.

so billups > barkley ?

[AlphaWolf24]

so billups > barkley ?


So Wilt>MJ??...right?

[Clippersfan86]

so billups > barkley ?

Are you retarded? I'm not saying rings alone>stats. I'm saying stats only slightly less+5 rings CLEARLY overtakes the slightly better stats. Kobe has the stats to be in a comparison with Lebron PLUS the most important thing which is rings. On average over prime years (I took 4 best years from both) we are talking about 30 ppg, 5.5 rpg, 5 apg, 1.5+ spg on efficient shooting vs 30 ppg, 7.5 apg and 7.5 rpg, 1.5+ spg on efficient shooting as well. As I said Lebron has a stat edge but not a big enough of one to offset 5 freaking rings. (BTW my numbers are estimates in my head after reviewing both stat sheets, not exact calculations)

Also Lebron had a lot more freedom as the primary ballhandler for his Cavs teams and pretty much WAS the team. Kobe's had to share with some pretty damn good players in his career including Shaq and STILL put up top notch MVP numbers. Imagine if Kobe had complete free reigns in Cleveland like Lebron did and basically played Point Forward? Same type of production most likely.

I mean we saw when Kobe had no help around him the strings of 40 and 50 point games he had all while being a more dominant defender than Lebron ever was.

[SuperPippen]

id take lebron



care to elaborate? since its the lockout and theres nothing to discuss

In LeBron's prime, he was able to impact the game in more ways than Kobe could, even if Kobe was a superior scorer and and shooter. He was simply a more effective overall player.

But, as others have stated, Kobe had a pretty long prime, possesses many intangibles that LeBron does not, (leadership, poise, willingness to rise to the occasion, clutch, etc.) was a more dynamic scorer, and I just prefer Kobe as a player to LeBron, which is why I'd rather have him on my team.

[CAstill]

In LeBron's prime, he was able to impact the game in more ways than Kobe could, even if Kobe was a superior scorer and and shooter. He was simply a more effective overall player.

But, as others have stated, Kobe had a pretty long prime, possesses many intangibles that LeBron does not, (leadership, poise, willingness to rise to the occasion, clutch, etc.) was a more dynamic scorer, and I just prefer Kobe as a player to LeBron, which is why I'd rather have him on my team.

This post makes no sense. Kobe's effectiveness lead to 5 rings. Lebron's lead to 0. :confusedshrug:

[G-Funk]

Kobe by a landslide

[SuperPippen]

This post makes no sense. Kobe's effectiveness lead to 5 rings. Lebron's lead to 0. :confusedshrug:

As I've said, Kobe possesses many leadership qualities that LeBron doesn't, which is what ultimately makes the difference between the two, and explains why Kobe has been more successful throughout his career.

[CAstill]

As I've said, Kobe possesses many leadership qualities that LeBron doesn't, which is what ultimately makes the difference between the two, and explains why Kobe has been more successful throughout his career.

Yeah but you also claimed that Lebron was more impactful to the game than kobe and then you come out with this statement. I would go to say that is the definition of kobe being more impactful to the game anyway you cut it.

[magnax1]

Lebron just had the 3rd best season of his career(after '09 and '10), I'd say that still qualifies as his prime. Kobe's prime was long, you could argue that he entered his prime as early as 2001 or at the latest, 2003, and it lasted until '09, arguably '10, but that's when the injuries really started taking away from his level of play, though his playing the first 2 months of 2010 and the Utah/Phoenix series was every bit at his prime level. Though the 2004 and 2005 seasons weren't typically at his prime level so it's hard to say.

Lebron has been in his about 3, maybe 4 seasons if you really want to stretch it then you can start at '06, though '07 was below his typical prime level for whatever reason, so it's tough to compare over the long stretches.

As far as 1 year peak('09 Lebron vs Kobe any single season from '06-'08, the exact year is debatable) goes to Lebron, imo.

But as far as their best 3 year stretch('06-'08 Kobe vs '09-'11 Lebron), I'd pick Kobe.
I'd actually say that 010 Kobe before the injury was his best year since 07. His post game was just unstoppable the first two months, and he was averaging something like 30-5-5 on 49%, and he really pushed that team through without Pau.
Anyway, I kind of feel the opposite way. 06 vs 10, I'd say I'd take Kobe pretty easily. 06-08 vs 09-11 it's pretty close. Really choosing Lebron's best season is awfully dificult. 09 and 10 was pretty much the same, except 10 he had to carry a large load when Mo went down and he played PG. Then 11, his stats went down a bit, but he played like a top 5 defender in the league compared to maybe a top 5ish defender at his position.

[All Net]

I'd actually say that 010 Kobe before the injury was his best year since 07. His post game was just unstoppable the first two months, and he was averaging something like 30-5-5 on 49%, and he really pushed that team through without Pau.
Anyway, I kind of feel the opposite way. 06 vs 10, I'd say I'd take Kobe pretty easily. 06-08 vs 09-11 it's pretty close. Really choosing Lebron's best season is awfully dificult. 09 and 10 was pretty much the same, except 10 he had to carry a large load when Mo went down and he played PG. Then 11, his stats went down a bit, but he played like a top 5 defender in the league compared to maybe a top 5ish defender at his position.

Indeed, people think it's just age which has brought Kobe back in terms of stats and impact but it's injures and the issue with his knee has hurt him badly.

[ShaqAttack3234]

I'd actually say that 010 Kobe before the injury was his best year since 07. His post game was just unstoppable the first two months, and he was averaging something like 30-5-5 on 49%, and he really pushed that team through without Pau.

Well, I don't think he was playing better in early '10 than he did in '08 for several reasons.

2008 was Kobe's best defensive season since the 3peat, imo, and his absolute peak in terms of game management and making his teammates better. Plus, he was a lot quicker and more athletic that year compared to 2010 and he was significantly better on long 2s and 3s(this part of his game has gradually fallen off as he's lost some elevation and he kept injuring his fingers on his shooting hand). I really think that 2008 Kobe coulkd have average at least 32-33 ppg, if not more had he wanted to. And what he did in the first 3 rounds of the playoffs really makes that season even more phenomenal.

He was playing some of the best offensive basketball of his career though in 2010, for different reasons than his incredible volume scoring and streak scoring in 2006, second half of 2007 and midseason 2003, but very impressive because he seemed so unstoppable and consistent in the post.


Really choosing Lebron's best season is awfully dificult. 09 and 10 was pretty much the same, except 10 he had to carry a large load when Mo went down and he played PG. Then 11, his stats went down a bit, but he played like a top 5 defender in the league compared to maybe a top 5ish defender at his position.

As far as what he was capable of and his regular season, 2009 and 2010 are pretty much interchangeable to me. Both unbelievable and historically great(I can't name 10 other players who have played at that level), but the difference for me is that Lebron's play in the 2009 playoffs was so good and that it helps that season's ranking, imo while he was disappointing in those final 3 games vs Boston and that hurts his ranking. Despite him being every bit as capable of a player in 2010(if not slightly more) and his 2010 regular season being every bit as good(if not better), the playoffs makes it easy for me to choose 2009 as his peak.



Indeed, people think it's just age which has brought Kobe back in terms of stats and impact but it's injures and the issue with his knee has hurt him badly.

No doubt about it.

Here is how he started in 2009-2010 before the injuries started becoming a big problem.

Kobe pre-injuries
29.9 ppg, 5.6 rpg, 4.6 apg, 2 spg, 48.2%, 84.9 FT%, 34 games

Kobe post-injuries
24.4 ppg, 5.2 rpg, 5.4 apg, 1.2 spg, 43.1 FG%, 77.6 FT%, 39 games

The difference is huge, and it even reflects in his FT%. And almost an equal sample size of games as well.

[Indian guy]

I disagree to some extent, I think that a perimeter players defense won't be able to match an elite defensive big man in terms of impact, but I saw Lebron making a pretty big impact at that end, imo.

IMO, unless you're comparing a great defender to a poor one, defense should NEVER be the tipping point between 2 perimeter players. They simply do not have a significant enough impact on the game, and are easily replaceable. MJ's the best perimeter defender I've ever seen, but Chicago didn't a miss a beat without him in '94 and '95. LeBron supposedly had his best defensive season as a Heat, yet Miami's defensive ranking was unchanged from the prior year. Whatever defensive edge '11 LeBron has over his '08 self, it just isn't significant enough to materialize on the basketball court.

This battle basically boils down to '11 LeBron's superior skill or '08 LeBron's far superior athleticism. I'll take '08. Simply a much better playmaker.


Yeah, but Lebron's struggles in the finals this year were more puzzling to me when watching him play

I don't know if '11 LeBron would've fared any better against the '08 Celtics. Especially with that cast.

[knightfall88]

better offensive player - Kobe
better defensive player - Kobe

Lebron can take his "rebound" and "assist" edge to a team that cares

[magnax1]

Well, I don't think he was playing better in early '10 than he did in '08 for several reasons.

2008 was Kobe's best defensive season since the 3peat, imo, and his absolute peak in terms of game management and making his teammates better. Plus, he was a lot quicker and more athletic that year compared to 2010 and he was significantly better on long 2s and 3s(this part of his game has gradually fallen off as he's lost some elevation and he kept injuring his fingers on his shooting hand). I really think that 2008 Kobe coulkd have average at least 32-33 ppg, if not more had he wanted to. And what he did in the first 3 rounds of the playoffs really makes that season even more phenomenal.
I don't really disagree that much. He definitely didn't have the same jumper, and his three point shot sucked, but he made up for it with a beastly post game. I wouldn't say he was any worse in 08, but not really any better either.




As far as what he was capable of and his regular season, 2009 and 2010 are pretty much interchangeable to me. Both unbelievable and historically great(I can't name 10 other players who have played at that level), but the difference for me is that Lebron's play in the 2009 playoffs was so good and that it helps that season's ranking, imo while he was disappointing in those final 3 games vs Boston and that hurts his ranking. Despite him being every bit as capable of a player in 2010(if not slightly more) and his 2010 regular season being every bit as good(if not better), the playoffs makes it easy for me to choose 2009 as his peak.
Well honestly, I have a hard time believing that his 09 playoffs were more then a hotstreak anymore. I mean, as you said he was every bit as capable of a player in 10, and 09 is basically the only year ever that he hasn't had an 08 Celtics/11 Mavs type series in his career. It just seems like an anomaly to me when I look back on it. That's also the biggest thing that really separates Kobe and Lebron to me. I don't really remember Kobe having a series in 06-08 where he just didn't play like a top 5 player.

[Indian guy]

and 09 is basically the only year ever that he hasn't had an 08 Celtics/11 Mavs type series in his career.

LeBron's 3 truly bad series' are '07 Finals, '08 ECS and '11 Finals. So I wouldn't call '09 an anomaly. He had fairly solid series' in '06 and '10.


I don't really remember Kobe having a series in 06-08 where he just didn't play like a top 5 player.

He only played 1 series in '06 and '07, against the mighty Suns D. So let's just focus on '08, where he did have one awful series.

[pauk]

lol.... we havent even seen the full extent of Lebrons prime yet......... :oldlol:

and to answer your question anyways...... first of all... how far up kobes age do you consider was his prime before he decreased? so far lebron has played 8 seasons.... so lets do it fair and compare their 8 seasons both in CAREER and THEM AS PLAYERS THEMSELVES (talent, skill, stats, productions, domination and so on)

talent-skill-productions-domination? LEBRON AND ITS NOT EVEN CLOSE.....

career? LEBRON AND ITS NOT EVEN CLOSE....

lebron has played 8 seasons so far.... take a look where Kobe was at his first 8 seasons...........

http://www.insidehoops.com/forum/showthread.php?p=6311783#post6311783

[Inactive]

So Wilt>MJ??...right?That's at least debatable. Take rules, pacing, and post season performances into account. Then figure out how you want to weigh perceived intangible qualities, level of competition in respective eras, etc. Much more interesting than saying "Player x better, because of <insert unquantifiable, or arbitrary reason>, and anyone who disagrees is stupid".

[knightfall88]

He only played 1 series in '06 and '07, against the mighty Suns D. So let's look just focus on '08, where he did have an awful series.

Where in 08 did he have a bad series? He destroyed the nuggets, jazz and spurs in a year where almost every Western conference team had claim to be the best team in the West, did that without their starting center and with Gasol only recently added to the roster. Then he got hammered in the finals by the Celtics team of Pierce, Garnett, Allen at their absolute prime together.

I ask this often, when has lebron beaten a 50+ team? I ask this every post season during his peak, he has just abusing teams that are an absolute joke like most of the bottom 5 in the east were at the time. I mean watching the losses, he had slim chance of beating Orlando or Boston in those years so its not like he lost it in a few plays, he was absolutely dominated by those teams despite what the result says and the stats he put up. And you might want to bring up the detroit team he destroyed, they were on the way out and really they were only where they were because they were in the east.

[magnax1]

LeBron's 3 truly bad series' are '07 Finals, '08 ECS and '11 Finals. So I wouldn't call '09 an anomaly. He had fairly solid series' in '06 and '10.



He only played 1 series in '06 and '07, against the mighty Suns D. So let's just focus on '08, where he did have one awful series.
He did not have an awful series on the same scale of Lebron's 2 series vs Boston, Mavs in 11, Spurs in 07, and to a lesser extent vs the pistons in 07. I know you could say Lebron's series vs Boston in 10 wasn't that bad, but the stats don't tell the story. Especially in that last game which ends up looking dominant on paper, but nobody would say it was even an average game for him.

[ShaqAttack3234]

IMO, unless you're comparing a great defender to a poor one, defense should NEVER be the tipping point between 2 perimeter players. They simply do not have a significant enough impact on the game, and are easily replaceable. MJ's the best perimeter defender I've ever seen, but Chicago didn't a miss a beat without him in '94 and '95. LeBron supposedly had his best defensive season as a Heat, yet Miami's defensive ranking was unchanged from the prior year. So whatever defensive edge '11 LeBron has over his '08 self, it just isn't significant to materialize on the basketball court.

Well, Miami's defensive rating did improve a bit, though the difference isn't that big going from a 104.1 defensive rating in 2010(6th best) to 103.5(5th best). But they also lost Jermaine O'Neal who had a solid season in 2010 with Miami.

Defense isn't the only tipping point either for me. Like I said, I prefer his skills in 2011 a lot as well.


I don't know if '11 LeBron would've fared any better against the '08 Celtics. Especially with that cast.

I have a hard time seeing him shooting that poorly.

He shot unbelievably poorly outside of games 5 and 7, and I was shocked at how poorly he played in the first 2 games at the time(I never imagined he'd play that poorly after such a dominant season).

Game 1- 12/9/9, 10 TO, 2/18 FG, 0/6 3P, 8/10 FT
Game 2- 21/5/6, 7 TO, 6/24 FG, 0/4 3P, 9/13 FT
Game 3- 21/5/8, 2 TO, 5/16 FG, 3/5 3P, 8/12 FT
Game 4- 21/6/13, 4 TO, 7/20 FG, 2/5 3P, 5/8 FT
Game 5- 35/3/5, 4 TO, 12/25 FG, 0/5 3P, 11/13 FT
Game 6- 32/12/6, 8 TO, 9/23 FG, 1/3 3P, 13/15 FT
Game 7- 45/5/6, 2 TO, 14/29 FG, 3/11 3P, 14/19 FT

He did get better as the series went on and to his credit really came to play in game 7 and gave his team a chance to win that game. In fact, during the game, I was really starting to believe that he'd shock me again like he did the previous year vs Detroit.

I'll concede that there's a case for '08 Lebron over '11 Lebron, especially when you consider that his team was 0-7 without him and 45-30 with him. I actually find it kind of underrated in that regard when people always talk about Wade in '09, Kobe in '06 and '07 and T-Mac in '03 carrying bad teams. People forget about the early season holdouts from Varejao and Pavlovic as well as the midseason adjustment period due to the trades(Hughes really was terrible by that point as well and Gooden had to play way more minutes early than you'd want him to).

[Inactive]

I ask this often, when has lebron beaten a 50+ team? I ask this every post season during his peak, he has just abusing teams that are an absolute joke like most of the bottom 5 in the east were at the time. I mean watching the losses, he had slim chance of beating Orlando or Boston in those years so its not like he lost it in a few plays, he was absolutely dominated by those teams despite what the result says and the stats he put up. And you might want to bring up the detroit team he destroyed, they were on the way out and really they were only where they were because they were in the east.What? That series was extremely close. 3-4 plays, or calls in the entire series could've tipped it one way, or the other. In game 1 ORL won by 1, game 2 CLE won by 1(Lebron's 3 point buzzer beater), game 4 ORL won by 2. ORL only won game 3, and 6 convincingly, and CLE only won game 5 convincingly.

[Indian guy]

He did not have an awful series on the same scale of Lebron's 2 series vs Boston, Mavs in 11, Spurs in 07, and to a lesser extent vs the pistons in 07.

I thought we were only comparing prime-to-prime? You can't pick all of LeBron's bad series' and compare 'em to Kobe's 3 best years. If we take both players' 3 best years, then they both have only 1 bad series.


I know you could say Lebron's series vs Boston in 10 wasn't that bad

That series only gets a bad name because of 1 game(which suddenly became 3 games because Dan Gilbert yapped). It's completely overblown. In reality, he was actually more productive than Kobe was against Boston in the Finals.

[All Net]

No doubt about it.

Here is how he started in 2009-2010 before the injuries started becoming a big problem.

Kobe pre-injuries
29.9 ppg, 5.6 rpg, 4.6 apg, 2 spg, 48.2%, 84.9 FT%, 34 games

Kobe post-injuries
24.4 ppg, 5.2 rpg, 5.4 apg, 1.2 spg, 43.1 FG%, 77.6 FT%, 39 games

The difference is huge, and it even reflects in his FT%. And almost an equal sample size of games as well.

Good to see actually see the stats as good proof.

Was that scrub from the Wolves I think that caused it.

[magnax1]

I thought we were only comparing prime-to-prime? You can't pick all of LeBron's bad series' and compare 'em to Kobe's 3 best years. If we take both players' 3 best years, then they both have only 1 bad series.
I was just pointing out how consistently it happened through out his career.



That series only gets a bad name because of 1 game(which suddenly became 3 games because Dan Gilbert yapped). It's completely overblown. In reality, he was actually more productive than Kobe was against Boston in the Finals.
It did not suddenly become three games. Since game 4 people have always talked about how he suddenly just stopped playing well in the 10 Boston series. Though a lot of people thought game 4 was a fluke until he took a dump in game 5. In reality, he was definitely not as good as Kobe against Boston. Statistically you could say he was, but in reality he just didn't make an impact after the third game.

[knightfall88]

What? That series was extremely close. 3-4 plays, or calls in the entire series could've tipped it one way, or the other. In game 1 ORL won by 1, game 2 CLE won by 1(Lebron's 3 point buzzer beater), game 4 ORL won by 2. ORL only won game 3, and 6 convincingly, and CLE only won game 5 convincingly.

Well I saw it differently. I saw Orlando dominating Cleveland in every facet of the game and with Lebron's superstar treatment keeping them looking close. But really Orlando was a superior team in every way.

[Boston C's]

2 different situations;

1. If their team full of scrubs, LeBron's numbers, impact, number of wins and playoffs would be the greater one.

2. If their team is a well-balanced stacked team, Kobe would be the greater one.

I agree with this

[Boston C's]

Which game would that be?

According to this there is not a single game Iverson scored 0 points against Kobe and the Lakers in his career.

http://www.basketball-reference.com/play-index/h2h_finder.cgi?request=1&p1=bryanko01&p2=iversal01

Maybe you meant the game Kobe scored 0 points, huh?

http://www.basketball-reference.com/boxscores/199612290LAL.html

Zay just got owned :oldlol:

[amfirst]

Kobe for for sures. LeBron sucked big time against the Spurs. A team Kobe would usually destroy.

Prob is that Kobe's prime was spent with a bunch of nobodies. LeBron at least had rebounders, defenders, and shooters to punish the defense. Kobe didn't have this in his prime and pretty much had to carry the offensive load.

LeBron got a glimpse of what Kobe went through when his team mates got shut down by the Spurs. He couldn't carry the offensive load like Kobe.

[Inactive]

Well I saw it differently. I saw Orlando dominating Cleveland in every facet of the game and with Lebron's superstar treatment keeping them looking close. But really Orlando was a superior team in every way.I guess that should tell you, that your perceptions, and/or memories aren't very reliable. The fact is, that 3 out of six games came down to a single possession. Doesn't get much closer than that.

[Friday]

I'd take prime Iverson and McGrady over both of them any day.
:facepalm

[Asukal]

Lebron's prime is not over yet, he is only 26.

That said, taking Lebron's current best and Kobe's I'd still take Kobe over Lebron for now. Kobe has more options offensively than Lebron, Lebron has more athleticism but Kobe in his prime is also very athletic. Its a close call but I give it to Kobe. :rockon:

[LBJ 23]

Lebron's prime is not over yet, he is only 26.

That said, taking Lebron's current best and Kobe's I'd still take Kobe over Lebron for now. Kobe has more options offensively than Lebron, Lebron has more athleticism but Kobe in his prime is also very athletic. Its a close call but I give it to Kobe. :rockon:


Kobe has more options offensively to score. Yes. But Lebron has more options offensively to pass/make right play.

[knightfall88]

Yes. But Lebron has more options offensively to pass/make right play.

thats a load of crap. It is only because he can't score that he keeps passing.

[LBJ 23]

thats a load of crap. It is only because he can't score that he keeps passing.



ok.....

[Papaya Petee]

LeBron's 2 MVP seasons are better then any season Kobe ever had.

/thread

[RazorBaLade]

Kobe has more options offensively to score. Yes. But Lebron has more options offensively to pass/make right play.

Doesn't it all come down to scoring though? If u pass and the other guy scores its still points. Kobe has more ways to score, lebron has less ways for himself to score but creates more opportunities for other worse players to score?

I mean if thats what the difference is, then cp3 is honestly one of the goats. He can make scrubs look amazing, but I feel his team would do much better if it was him that shot more.

Its too complicated to actually count this perfectly, I mean you gotta think turnovers , how many times they pass for an open shot, how many times for a contest, whats the shooting % of those off kobes passes, how about lebrons passes and on and on. So we just gotta look at what we can easily see:

In their primes and best seasons, kobe produces more points for your team than lebron on a nightly basis and on a "give me one game, what can you do" basis. what were their best stats like 35 and 5 for kobe and 28 and 7 for bron?

My opinion I guess though.

[RazorBaLade]

LeBron's 2 MVP seasons are better then any season Kobe ever had.

/thread

dat trolling

[Duncan21formvp]

Kobe won because he went to a winning organization. Lakers had 11 titles and 24 finals appearances before Kobe ever stepped foot for the Laker franchise.

[Vertical-24]

2001-2009 Kobe >>> 2007-2010 LeBron

And its actually pretty close :confusedshrug:

[amfirst]

thats a load of crap. It is only because he can't score that he keeps passing.

:applause:

He passes when he's afraid to hurt his stats. See Heats vs. Dallas.

[All Net]

I think this thread needs to die and not be brought up for at least another 5 years

Thats when this comparison might have legs.