Kobe Bryant Vs. LeBron James

KOBE VS LEBRON

I am tired of this argument; to me, this is a no brainer. Kobe Bryant is a better basketball player than LeBron James...that's it...case closed. Maybe a couple years down the line LeBron James will be a better ball player, but as of right now, Kobe is the best player in the league. 

Pure potential, LeBron James might go down as the greatest basketball player in the history of the game, but being the best player in the league is not based purely on potential. I am not going to puff this opinion up with a lot of stats; I will use logic and common sense. 

The most cliché statement in all of sports is "defense wins championships," but people somehow keep forgetting that fact when they compare these types of athletes. Kobe Bryant is a MUCH better defender than LeBron James, on the ball and off the ball.

Kobe makes his teammates better on the defensive end. LeBron James is improving as a defender, but Kobe has solidified himself as one of the best in the league. Take a look at his first team all defenses.

Kobe is one of the best shooters in the game. LeBron is working on that aspect of his game and improving a lot but he still cannot come close as a pure shooter to Kobe Bryant. 

Now this leads to the end of games where Kobe has been considered one of the most clutch players of all time. There is no question, I would rather have the ball in Kobe Bryant's hands at the end of a game rather than LeBron James for a couple of reasons. 

One because of the fact that Kobe is a clutch shooter and all around finisher, but also due to the fact that Kobe can make free throws down the stretch and LeBron has proven many times in his phenomenal career that he cannot. 

Both players are among the best in the league in finishing around the rim. To be fair I would even give the advantage to LeBron, but keep in mind this is very close and the argument can go both ways. Both players are great passers, I would certainly give this edge to LeBron, as he is one of the best distributors in the league.

I really do hate the argument that Kobe has a better team around him and LeBron makes the players around him better. Both players make their teammates better and you cannot handicap Kobe's achievements and talent because of the talent he has around him. 

LeBron James does have a great team around him, there is no doubt about that. People consider Michael Jordan one of the best players of all time, but people sometimes do forget that he did have Scottie Pippen, another top 50 player of all time on his team. But Jordan's achievements and talent are never scrutinized for this.

In summary, I won't be stupid and try to add up which facets each player is better at and go from there, because some factors weigh more than others. But going beyond that, I think the argument is very simple: both players are great offensive players, but Kobe dominates LeBron defensively. 

It's as simple as that!