Michael Jordan

Why Kobe Bryant is better than LeBron James:

Today, Kobe Bryant and LeBron James are both regarded as members of the NBA's top tier of best players. Many NBA fans often argue to which is better, thinking that it is too close to compare the two. Although LeBron James is a much more athletic player than Kobe Bryant will ever be and is an individual that possesses much more strength, speed and ability, there is still no doubt in my mind that LeBron will never be better than Kobe. Probably the biggest reason why LeBron won't reach the likes of Kobe is due to his lack of championships. LeBron has reached the finals twice in his NBA career and still hasn't claimed a single ring. Players such as Bill Russell, Magic Johnson, Tim Duncan, Michael Jordan, and Wilt Chamberlain have enhanced their legacy by the amount of championships they have obtained; something that LeBron can't relate to. LeBron is a hybrid player that appears to only arrive once in a generation. Still, his goal; like any other NBA player is to win a championship. Kobe Bryant has won five NBA championships and has made the playoffs almost every single year he has been in the league. As gifted as James is, he won't be considered as great a player as Kobe if he doesn't live up to his "King James" nickname and win a ring.

Another reason why LeBron will never be compared to Kobe Bryant is because he has a large ego. In my opinion, Kobe has tremendous self-esteem but LeBron's far exceeds that. Just look at how he handled his migration to Miami. There was an entire show to broadcast his "Decision." When he arrived in Miami, you could see his ego glowing across the court with his winks, smiles and yells at the crowd and his constant pleads with the ref on a borderline call. James has been paired with two other superstars in Dwyane Wade and Chris Bosh. It was obvious that the three of them wanted to gather in Miami and simply wanted to drag it out to gain as much publicity as they could. And who could forget LeBron's speech to his debut in Miami? Not one, not two, not three, not four, not five, not six, not seven... Who promises this? Well, Kobe Bryant sure doesn't. Although Bryant does have an extremely large amount of self-confidence and pride, he knows that hard work and determination proves to win championships. While LeBron's antics are seen during games, Kobe's approach to the game is far different. The Laker great has been described as the most competitive player on the court who desperately wants to back up his legacy with rings and not thundering dunks. Although James' dunks are impressive to say the least, championships last forever. Highlights, on the other hand, last nightly.

The next reason to why Kobe will be regarded as a better player than LeBron James is his shot. Have you seen LeBron's shot? Between him and Kobe, there is no comparison when looking at their shots. A jump shot in basketball is probably the main reason to why we watch basketball games in the first place. Just seeing the ball swish through the net makes you want to love the game forever. Well, not many would pick wanting to watch LeBron's shot over Kobe's. In addition, Kobe Bryant's range of difficulty in shots has proven to be exponentially greater than James. I can't even count how many fade away three point shots, kiss off the backboard shots and buzzer-beating shots I have seen coming off of Kobe's fingertips than LeBron's. That leads me to my next point: LeBron cannot make a shot is not a clutch player. In fact, Derek Fisher, Robert Horry and Bruce Bowen are better shooters in crunch time than James. As seen in the 2011 NBA Playoffs, LeBron had trouble making anything in the final quarter. Kobe, on the other hand, has shown to have had much more positive results. Bryant has saved his Lakers from playoff defeat more than once in his career and is perhaps the reason why he has won so many championships.

Now that I have told you the basics to why Kobe Bryant is better than LeBron, let's go to the history books. I'll start off with a few figures that illustrates just how amazing Kobe really is. First, Kobe has scored forty points in a game one hundred and twenty-two times to James' eighteen. Bryant has amassed twenty fifty-point games to LeBron's nine. Also, Kobe has scored sixty points four times in his career; something LeBron has yet to accomplish once. And let's not forget Bryant's 81-point performance against the Toronto Raptors. With this, Kobe's career high in points in a single game is 25 more points than James. That's quite a difference. Next, Kobe has averaged thirty points during his career three times and has been named NBA MVP in his career. Although LeBron is right with him in these categories, Kobe dominates LeBron in terms of how much more he had scored in these years (35.4 ppg vs. 31.4 ppg) and has been paired with far greater players than LeBron had in Cleveland. Since this is the case, Bryant has had to share his role of scoring than James. When looking at the all-star games and playoffs, Kobe destroys LeBron in every category. Kobe has won a total of four NBA All-Star MVP Awards to LeBron's two. In the playoffs, Kobe has totaled 5,280 points: third most in NBA history. LeBron doesn't even reach the top twenty-five. Although everyone considers Kobe to be an amazing offensive player, he has won eleven all-NBA Defensive Awards. LeBron has won three, despite his gifted athleticism and jumping ability. Kobe is also a recipient of fourteen All-Star appearances and thirteen all-NBA teams. LeBron is an eight-time All-Star and seven-time all-NBA player. Finally, Kobe is a two-time Final MVP. LeBron has...won zero, as we all know too well.

Yet another cause to how Kobe has demonstrated to be a better player than LeBron is embedded in his loyalty. Kobe Bryant has spent all of his sixteen seasons in the NBA as a Laker. LeBron James has not. In fact, his former fans have expressed their discontent with their old superstar by burning his jerseys and booing him constantly whenever he arrives back in Cleveland. Kobe Bryant is also a much more resilient player than LeBron, playing through injuries like they are nothing. He has put up amazing stats despite broken, dislocated and sprained fingers, sprained wrists and ankles, pulled hamstrings and flus, fevers and concussions. LeBron hasn't really had many injuries, perhaps due to his amazing physique. When he has had injuries, LeBron often has had a bad attitude and blames his injury for the cause of the loss of the game or his bad performance. Don't get me wrong: LeBron is a tough player but whines and complains far too much. Kobe is a man and doesn't let injuries interfere with his attitude or determination. The game is all about business for him. Kobe has never had the amount of athleticism as LeBron. Bryant has had to work a great deal in order to achieve the results that he has accomplished over the years.

In conclusion, there are many aspects to why Kobe Bryant is better than LeBron James. Kobe, in my mind, will be regarded as one of the best shooters the game has ever seen. He is a proven player who has won five championships and has an extraordinary attitude for the game. He is currently fifth all-time in scoring and ranks in all the top categories of stats in NBA history. Although LeBron will likely pass Kobe in many areas of the game, he will never live up to the legacy that Kobe has brought to the NBA. He is perhaps the only player that rivals Michael Jordan. In a recent interview, Jordan has explained that Kobe is the one player that is even considered to be up there with "His Airness." Until LeBron wins a few championships and dominates as much as Kobe has for the last decade, it will be hard to compare the two. Just think how good Kobe would've been with LeBron's type of body. James has all the tools to be the greatest player in NBA history. Yet, we still haven't seen it. It will probably take another couple years to see just how close LeBron gets to Kobe. Even so, LeBron will have to win the next five championships just to tie with Kobe. By that time, he will be 32; almost the same age as Kobe is now. It doesn't look too good for LeBron. Don't get me wrong: LeBron is an amazing player and I am a Laker fan. Still, I am not a huge fan of Kobe but I know, along with the rest of the world, who has been proven to be a far better player. All players, coaches, reporters, analysts and even myself have made their picks. It just all points to Kobe.

Written by: PT
This is no contest- LeBron James is the better basketball player. Kobe has a better team, and thus, Lebron is far better.

Lebron James is better because he beats Kobe in pretty much everything statistically with his stats, and with his leadership. When he first came in to the NBA he was about as mature as a player as you could get. Kobe struggled when he first came into the NBA but he has come a long way since. Lebron is just a more dominating player than Kobe because I mean first of all look how big he is 6 feet 8 inches tall 250 pounds. I mean this man is built like a tank and he's so fast for his size. And he has also made the cavs so much more greater of a team in his 6 years in the NBA and now they are the number 1 team in the NBA and are in the eastern conference finals and he also is the 2008-2009 MVP, and got second for defensive player of the year award. Now Kobe may have 3 rings to hold to his name but that's because he had people to help him out. Lebron has had to do it all till now. So bottom line is I think Lebron is better than Kobe. LeBron has better Stats because he has a better team 2 help him Kobe Carries his team and in some games has no help whatsoever Kobe has a way better Shot did Lebron have a 81 point game?