Kobe or Lebron?
By bingja18
@bingja18 (30)
United States
June 22, 2007 4:16pm CST
The Cleveland Cavaliers and the Los Angeles Lakers are two fairly similar teams in that they have one great player surrounded by a bunch of mediocre talent. Kobe Bryant is surrounded by young guys that may or may not become productive every night while Lebron is surrounded by a couple of guys who are less talented but work hard and a few has-beens. The Lakers have a legendary coach, arguably the best in NBA history while the Cavs have a young coach with little experience at the elite level of NBA play. The Cleveland Cavaliers were able to get to the NBA Finals this year although they were in the weaker Eastern Conference and ended up being swept by the San Antonio Spurs but I'm sure anyone would take that over being the 7th seed in the West, getting outplayed by the Phoenix Suns in 5 games, and to top it all off have your star player turn in to the modern day politician (flip-flopper) in the off-season throwing his teammates and the rest of the organization under the bus.
Anyways, my question for you all is, do you think the Lakers would have been a better team if they had Lebron James instead of Kobe this year, or do you think that the Cavs would have been better had Kobe played for them instead of Lebron?
I believe that both players are extremely talented and also believe that Kobe Bryant is a better player right now then Lebron James is but Kobe has too much baggage. He played in 4 NBA Finals by the age of 26, winning 3 of them (all in a row I might add) but couldn't get along with Shaq. Since Shaq left the Lakers have missed the playoffs once and been the seventh seed in the West losing to the Suns in the first round the last two years. Now all of a sudden Kobe Bryant wants out of LA for a better shot at winning a title.
Lebron James is only 22 years old, just barely old enough to drink alcohol and brought a team that has never in it's entire history been to the NBA Finals. He has increased the overall worth of the Cleveland Cavalier organization over $150 million in four years thanks in part to raising the Cavs tickets sales from dead last the year before he was drafted to now one of the top five in the league. Lebron delivered one of the most memorable playoff performances in recent history against the Detroit Pistons on the road in a huge game 5 of the Eastern Conference Finals. James also has been cited for how good of a teammate he is, not just with his words but with is ability and willingness to get his teammates involved during games.
In closing, although I still do believe that at this time Kobe Bryant is a better player than Lebron James, I feel that if they were to have switched spots for this last season that just concluded the Lakers would have gotten a higher seed and gotten past the first round of the NBA playoffs and the Cavs would have not made the Finals. Let me know what you think.
3 responses
@bingja18 (30)
• United States
26 Jun 07
I am not a Kobe or Lebron hater I think they are both great players, I just think while Kobe is a better player right now, the gap is narrowing and Lebron is a better teammate that can take a mediocre team further than Kobe. Kobe needs an all-star caliber player around him to advance deep into the finals.
@Psychosis (356)
• United States
30 Jun 07
Right now, Kobe is better than LeBron. Kobe has the ability to take over a game, which is something that LeBron can't do.
@bingja18 (30)
• United States
2 Jul 07
Did you not watch game 5 of the Eastern Conference Finals? Kind of a big game that Lebron scored 29 of his teams last 30 points. Everyone except for Lebron went 0-11 during that stretch. It was also on the road against one of the best defensive teams in the league in Detroit. Can you name a time Kobe has taken over a game that big?
@soccerdude (272)
• United States
22 Jun 07
Lebron James is King, thats just the way it is. Lebron seems to be the type of player that would go hard, even in a pick up game. Kobe thinks too highly of himself and will only go hard when the money is right. Professional sports players should play for the love of the game, not the money. The money and lifestyle that come with the profession should just be a bonus, not the reason they play.
Also, Lebron is a lot younger than Kobe. At his age, Kobe was definitely no Lebron. When Lebron gets older and matures more, he will be one of the best players in the league. At his tender age, he is punking defenders that have been in the league for way longer than he has. He will only continue to get better as time goes along. He might even be the next Jordan, you just never know.
Also I lost a lot of respect for Kobe after that rape scandal. Im sure that it must be hard when you are that famous, and have that much money. Girls would probably do anything to get a piece of it, but he should have been more careful. Whether or not he actually raped her, he still cheated on his girl, which is messed up. I mean go ahead and be a pimp but dont try and pimp when you have a girlfriend. I like how he bought his girl a one million dollar ring right after that scandal occured.
Lebron James is King!
Cheers!
