Michael Jordan lets us know that Kobe is a stronger basketball player than LeBron in a few different ways. I found a few articles on complex.com that shows evidence of Kobe being better, but all of those comments are qualified to argue against. According to this article that was released December 9, 2014 written by Maurice Peebles, Michael Jordan states that “five is bigger than one” even though James now has two championships, that number is still smaller than five. Maurice goes on and tells us more of what Jordan has to say, and he tells us that when you become a professional athlete the only thing that matters is the number of championships you bring home. Michael informs us that Kobe has brought home double the amount than LeBron, and he did it unselfishly. MJ thinks LeBron was selfish for leaving his home team behind and going to Miami just to win a championship. He reminds us that Kobe never had to leave his team even if they were in the dumps, because he could carry them on his back, and Kobe never had to write any apology letters to reunite with his hometown. In my opinion, hearing that Michael Jordan compares the amount of championships one has to be the best player is unfair. LeBron is a few years younger and started the league six years later than Kobe. Take a look at the stats! LeBron is mostly caught up and beats Kobe in some aspects. You also can’t compare how someone has more championships than another because it’s a team sport. Kobe didn’t win all of those championships himself. Sure, maybe his team is better than LeBrons, but that doesn’t make him personally any better than LeBron himself. In order to compare the two players, you have to narrow it down to their statics that have been recorded from the time they started in the NBA until now.
On the other side of the fence, I came across another sports writer on huffingtonpost.com named Gus Turner arguing that LeBron is better than Kobe. Gus tells us that LeBron is a better figure to look up to. He feels that is a very important role for athletes to obtain. Not only is LeBron a good role model for young children but according to Gus Turner, LeBron James helped his friend become more wealthy. That may not be an important factor but that definitely does help him become well liked. To the bigger things, during Gus Turners video clip a major fact that should stand out to most of us is how LeBron James is a very flexible player. Gus shows us that he can play anywhere on the court offensively and defensively whereas Kobe is more so the type of guy to sit back and take jumpers all day. I will give credit to Kobe and his jumper because it is incredible, but that will only take a basketball player so far. If the defense and your overall offensive skills aren’t there, you shouldn’t qualify to be the best player in the NBA. Another huge factor from Gus Turners video clip is the last thing that we see. He shows a pic of LeBron holding four MVP’s, comparing him to Kobe where he only has one MVP. Look at the math side of this, Kobe has been in the league six years longer than LeBron and LeBron has three times more MVP’s than Kobe will most likely ever have. Once again, Gus Turner makes another good point that LeBron never had his teams carry him to the championship. LeBron leaving his hometown to go to Miami made it seem like he wanted them to carry him to a championship but in reality, he just wanted to make the team stronger, and he did!
From my point of view, I’m sure it’s easy to tell that I feel LeBron is better than Kobe. I don’t have to repeat anything Gus Turner said, because I agree with it all! I would just like to add that by looking at their statistics head to head, LeBron is most definitely the better basketball player. Compare the two in championships and seasons… well of course Kobe is going to have more seasons played and most opportunities to make it to the championship, he’s older therefore he’s been in the league longer. Take a peek at the honors and awards, same thing of course Kobe is going to be ahead because he’s had a longer chance to make it to where he is at now. Comparing these two is almost unfair because Kobe has had a tremendous head start. But then we look at regular season and total stats, LeBron is either right behind Kobe or ahead of him. LeBron scores, rebounds, passes, steals and blocks more in games than Kobe (average wise). Look at their total stats. Kobe isn’t too far ahead, but consider his head start, if he played as well as LeBron did he would be doing much better. The farther these stats go down the page, the more you will realize that LeBron is a better basketball player than Kobe. Some people may so how LeBron has more youth in him, but Kobe was young once also. He just didn’t shine as bright as LeBron.
Talk about shining bright. My best friend and I finally land in Cleveland to see the sun was shining brighter than usual for a cold day. We walked off the plane, grabbed our luggage and went looking for our Chauffer. He was easy to pick out considering he was the only one wearing a bright yellow Laker’s jersey. Right at that moment I looked to my right, my best friend looked to her left and we gave each other that “we know what’s coming next” look. A new person with the same old debate was about to arise.