Kobe Bryant Or LeBron James: Who’s The Real “King” Of The NBA?

Will the real “king” please stand up? Who’s the best player in the NBA? Is it Kobe Bryant or LeBron James? LeBron has been tagged the name “King” James but which one of these 2 players holds the crown as the real king of the NBA? Is it 4-time NBA champ Kobe? Or, is it 2-time NBA MVP LeBron ?

There’s not much doubt who the top 2 current players are in the NBA. They’re in a class of their own. Dwayne Wade is probably the closest player in skills comparison but there’s no question that Kobe & LeBron are out on an island alone for being the best.

There have been arguments on both sides of the table. Some for Kobe & some for LeBron. Some really strong points for both as well. What do we use to determine who’s the best? Is it strictly stats? Is it championships? Is it MVP awards? Is it what they do for their team?

Well, I feel there’s many factors in trying to argue a case for being the best. Kobe is quite a few years older than LeBron. You really can’t argue the championship thing because Kobe has had more time to get it done. Kobe has had more time to get a lot of things done in comparison to LeBron.

You see, Kobe is 31 & LeBron is still only 25. Yeah, they both also share something in common. They both made the jump to the NBA straight out of high school. Kobe wasn’t as high a draft pick but has been an NBA star for years now. LeBron achieved almost instant success coming into the NBA. It took Kobe a little while longer to establish himself.

There’ no doubt that both of these guys are heading for Hall of Fame careers. Kobe is a lock now & LeBron, in such a short time, has already proven his status. It’s hard to believe Kobe has been playing now for 14 seasons. LeBron has now been in the NBA for 7 years. Kobe has double the amount of time in the NBA.

You really can’t compare these two in career stats either since Kobe has quite a few more years under his belt. The only stats to compare is season-by-season stats. In this area, they both have great numbers. LeBron has become a better rebounder & passer than Kobe going by the stats. Their scoring numbers are very similar. Stats alone makes them look pretty even.

Which one makes their team better? Now, this is an argument that can be hard to determine. On paper, you’d say that Kobe has the advantage due to the championships & improving stats for his fellow teammates. On the other hand, LeBron doesn’t have an NBA championship but obviously makes his teammates better. You have basically a SF-PF in LeBron that averages more in assist than a lot of point guards in the NBA. That just doesn’t sound right but it’s true.

LeBron ranked 6th overall in assist this past NBA season. Only 5 point guards were better than him in assist. That’s hard to believe. You had Kobe’s rebounding & passing numbers dip slightly this past season but still has him team in the NBA finals. LeBron didn’t take his team to that next level. He had a couple subpar games against the Celtics & everybody wants to know what happened?

I honestly don’t have an opinion to who’s the best. What I do know is we have two stars that are in totally different class than their competitors. If I had to pick one then Kobe may have the slight advantage due to his team accomplishments. Then again, LeBron doesn’t have the time of service in the NBA like Kobe. 7 years seems like long enough but this guy still has many years left ahead of him to chase an NBA championship.

Summary

Who’s the king? Who has the authority to stake their claim as NBA’s best? Is it Kobe or is it LeBron? Is it the stats or the team accomplishments? Is it the amount of stats you can put up year after year? Is it how much better you can make your teammates? Well, it could be all of the above but one day in the future we still may be debating & asking “Which one was the best during this time”? Thanks for reading & have a great day!

Tags: Kobe, Kobe Bryant, LeBron, LeBron James, NBA MVP