The debate between NBA stars Kobe Bryant and Lebron James seems to be one that sparks both controversy and excitement amongst NBA enthusiast. While Bryant is most likely on the down slope of his prime, James seems to be entering the peak of his making this debate one that has rarely been seen in the NBA. Here is my take on what many have stamped, "The Great Debate".
The argument for Bryant is led by 3 championships, a few scoring titles, an Olympic gold metal and his intensity in big moments throughout this years playoffs. Bryant is a versatile player that can play the point guard and facilitate his teams offense. He can also dominate outside the paint with his keen ability for great shot selections or take the opposing team's best defensive player completely out of his game. Bryant's alias says it all, "the black mamba," a highly venomous southern African mamba dreaded because of its quickness and readiness to bite. In this years playoff many have noticed an intensity that is not seen in many players. When Bryant sees blood he attacks and penetrates with precision and quickness that rivals an aggressive great white shark.
Bryant, however, won his 3 championships rings with a Hall of Fame coach, Phil Jackson, and arguably the best center ever, Shaquille O'Neal. For this reason many see his three championship rings as null in void arguing that he wasn't the leader on the Lakers team that 3- peated. During the 2002-2003 season though, Kobe led the Lakers in points, rebounds, and assist averaging a ridiculous 30 ppg, 6.9 rpg and 5.9 asp while O'Neal led the team in blocks. Bryant's legacy is cemented, however, without a championship this year many will leave him out of the best player ever conversation.
The argument for James is equally scary. James is a man beast in the form of a 6'8 250 pound monster at small forward. James ability to play the Forward position like an over sized guard also gives him versatility like Bryant. King James reigns supreme over the NBA as a poster child for the new era of young electrifying players. His ability to penetrate through defenses like a lion infiltrates through a heard of buffalo is what makes James so difficult to stop. James took a cast of sub par players and squeezed out 66 wins in the 2008-2009 season.
However, many believe that James continuously takes bad shots and sometimes has trouble facilitating the offense like Bryant. It seems though that Bryant was surrounded by better players throughout his career until this year and the argument for which had the better coach isn't even a whisper. James continues to elevate his game in a way that due to age is much harder for Kobe to do. So let's do a little NBA mathematics to conclude this argument: (Each will be given 1 point for a statistical win since 2003 season).
Best PPG year: Bryant- 35.4 James- 31.4 edge: Bryant
Best SPG year: Bryant- 1.84 James- 2.21 edge: James
Best APG year: Bryant- 6.0 James- 7.2 edge: James
Best BPG year: Bryant- .80 James- 1.15 edge: James
Best 3P% year: Bryant- .361 James- .351 edge: Bryant
Best FT% year: Bryant- .868 James- .780 edge: Bryant
Best RPG year: Bryant- 6.3 James- 7.9 edge: James
Best FG% year: Bryant- .467 James- .489 edge: James
Best AFG% year: Bryant-.503 James- .530 edge: James
Best PPS year: Bryant- 1.38 James- 1.43 edge: James
NBA Championships: Bryant-3 James- 0 edge: Bryant
Lebron scored 7 points overall while Kobe scored 4 but in this league championships matter. Jordan won 6, Bryant won 3 and James has won zero. Let's face it King James will need to win a championship first to even get in the conversation until then many still consider Bryant the best player in the league. As to my answer to "The Great Debate," you chose first and I'll take the leftovers.
Sports Blogger. A. E. Kikes
For more information on "The Great Debate" visit http://www.espn.go.com/nba/
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3 comments:
good stuff... let the rings speak.
I totally agree, everyone will be biest so thats where a lot of lebron is better than kobe. A lot of kobe hatred comes from his sexual rape harassment case. Lebron being 6 8 is 280 and has a killer crossover people love. So lebron is def my favorite but kobe is by far the better player and light years ahead.
your take on both players is absolutely genius!!! U hit the nail on the head...statistically Lebron is the better player but Kobe has the experience and the rings...James has plenty of time to get a ring(s)! GO CAVALIERS!
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