Lebron vs Kobe, two of the best players to ever grace the basketball court. If I was a coach I would love to have either one of them on my basketball team. But who is actually the better player?
Wow, talk about a tough question. That’s a hard one to answer. The reason the question is so difficult to answer is because the two of them have so much in common.
They both have exceptional talent on the basketball court, they are good leaders, and they are both very athletic. When it comes to scoring buckets it would be tough to decide who’s hands to put the ball in if Lebron and Kobe were on your team. Let’s take a look at both players and see if we can determine who we think is the better of the two.
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Kobe Bryant: The Best Closer In The Game
Kobe entered the NBA draft in 1996, and at this time there was a huge debate as to whether or not players coming straight from high school could be effective in the NBA. Kobe is the reason that the controversy ended. Kobe Bryant was chosen by the Charlotte Hornets as the 13th overall pick. Jerry West of the Lakers, was convinced that Kobe was destined for greatness and he traded Vlade Divac to the Hornets in exchange for Kobe. This obviously turned out to be a great trade.
Kobe Bryant had an immediate impact on the Laker’s team. Kobe now has four championship rings and is considered one of the best closer’s to ever play the game. His 2009 NBA championship is the one that probably means the most to him. Many people felt that Kobe only won his first three titles because of Shaquille O’neil being his teammate. Personally, I don’t feel this way. I don’t think the Lakers would have been near as good without Kobe’s help. Especially towards the end of the game. Many teams went to the “hack a Shaq” system and fouled the big man because of his poor free throw shooting. This is the time Kobe would take over and close the game out. He is never scared to take the big shot and he usually comes though when the game is on the line.
Lebron James: An All Around Great Player
When it comes to being able to play any position on the court, no one does it better than Lebron James. He can play the point, small forward, power forward, and if he wanted to with his size and power, he could probably even play as a center. Just like Kobe, Lebron stirred up enormous hype at a young age. In 2003, he went straight from high school into the NBA. He was selected by the Cleveland Cavaliers as the number one overall pick.
His great potential was obvious to everyone and he quickly became the leader of the team. What I like most about Lebron James is his all around game. He consistently has triple double games. That’s not something that you see in very many players. In fact, only Oscar Robertson and Russell Westbrook have ever averaged a triple double throughout an entire season. I think this is something that Lebron is very capable of.
Lebron doesn’t have many weaknesses in his game but he is not perfect. Personally, I would like to see Lebron drive the ball to the hole a little more. All too often I feel that Lebron James settles for the jump shot. It’s hard to fault him though, Lebron has worked hard on his outside shooting and has greatly improved over the last few years. He has become more consistent and is shooting a higher percentage, especially from the 3 point line. His post game and inside presence is much stronger than Kobe’s. This is due mainly to his strength and size advantage. It’s hard to determine who the better player is when it comes to Lebron vs Kobe. I guess we will have to wait until their careers are over to get the real answer and even then it may not be 100% conclusive.
Lebron vs Kobe: A Side By Side Comparison
| CAREER STAT | LEBRON | KOBE |
|---|---|---|
| NBA Championships | 3 | 5 |
| Points Per Game | 27.2 | 25.3 |
| Assists Per Game | 7.2 | 4.7 |
| Free Throw % | 73.9 | 83.7 |
| Steals Per Game | 1.6 | 1.5 |
| Rebounds Per Game | 7.4 | 5.3 |
| Blocks Per Game | .8 | .5 |
| Field Goal % | 50.4 | 45.4 |
| 3 Point % | 34.4 | 33.9 |
(Please note that this table is accurate and updated as of May 2018, the numbers will change because Lebron James is still playing.)
Lebron vs Kobe: So Who Would I Pick?
Well, as stated before, it is hard to go wrong with either one of these players. However, if we look strictly at the numbers, from the chart above it is pretty clear that Lebron is the better overall player. His passing ability makes everyone on the team better. He is a monster when driving to the basket and almost impossible to shut down. For this reason, I would select Lebron as being the better player.
With that said, Kobe is by far the greater competitor. He has a competitive spirit and heart like not many players do. Michael Jordan had this quality and he has 6 championships to his name. Michael Jordan himself said that he believes Kobe Bryant is a better player than Lebron James. There are a few instances when Kobe and Lebron have faced each other one on one. One example is the 2013 NBA All Star game. Kobe clearly came out as the top player in this case.
As the game was winding down during the last 6 minutes the East and West were very close in score. Each team started to play serious because they wanted to take home the victory. It was at this point that Kobe Bryant started to put full court pressure on Lebron James as he was bringing the ball up the court. Lebron kept trying to score but Kobe blocked him twice and held him to just 1 point in the last six minutes of the All Star game. It looks like Kobe was trying to prove that Michael Jordan’s comments were true.
Kobe really comes up in the clutch when the game is on the line. I would probably put the ball in Kobe’s hands over Lebron’s if the game was down to the last shot. I haven’t found any stats on this yet but I would be very curious to know which player has the most buzzer beating shots.
Kobe or Lebron Poll – King James or The Black Mamba. Tell Us What You Think…
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Lebron vs Kobe: One Thing The Have In Common
Something that Lebron and Kobe have in common is a large vertical leap. Lebron James has a 41″ vertical compared to Kobe’s 39. Thier AMAZING vertical leaps give them a big advantage over their competition. Having a big vertical leap helps them pull down rebounds, block shots, and throw down some monsterous dunks! Now I can’t promise you that I can get you to dunk like these two, but I can GUARANTEE that I can help you increase your vertical jump.
When it comes down to it, if you want to improve your vertical you MUST increase your POWER and Explosion. So how do we do this? In short, you need to combine heavy lifting with plyometric exercises. Most of your training should be focused on increasing the strength of your quads, hamstrings, and calves. However, strength is not the only factor in increasing your vertical. Simply, targeting improvements on your form alone and mastering proper techniques can increase your vertical from 2 – 4 inches! These gains can be seen almost immediately as well.
Also, there are a few commonly neglected aspects of a correct diet which allow your muscle recovery to improve dramatically, and this results in faster gains and greater injury prevention. All of these things can be seen at 40inchvertical.net.
If you are serious about increasing your vertical jump I recommend heading over there to check it out. The training and techniques that I learned from The Jump Manual helped me to improve my vertical from 31 to 43 inches in just a little over 12 weeks!
