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Better NBA Player
Tequilla
Member Posts: 19,931
"Scientific" poll for some other people ... field isn't an option as a result (hardy har har
Better NBA Player 12 votes
Wilt Chamberlain
16%
2 votes
Bill Russell
75%
![[Deleted User]](https://wb.vanillicon.com/b14605887e2b6b59902271a0095c9265_100.png)
9 votes
Magic Johnson
8%
![[Deleted User]](https://wa.vanillicon.com/ab3ef27cf756112fbe3f0b415d93875c_100.png)
1 vote
Comments
Mike
Russell
Magic
Bird
Kareem
Wilt
Oscar
Kobe
Duncan
LeBron
I really have no idea where to rank LeBron right now. I feel like he ends up a lot higher on this list but if his career ended today I'm not sure I could put him ahead of anyone else listed.
Lebron has more MVP's, higher PER, higher PPG, higher RPG, higher APG, better FG %, better 3 pt FG% too.
Kobe has him beat on rings but was robin for three of them.
The case for Kobe:
Five more all star games
Four more all NBA teams
Seven more all NBA defensive teams
Four more rings
One more ring as the alpha dog
Kobe's three rings as best player came with worst supporting casts than LeBron's two rings as best player
If we're selecting the best guy at their peak I take LeBron. If we're selecting the guy with the best career I don't think it's that close right now, LeBron still needs at least two more excellent seasons to pass him IMO.
Love to see your top 10.
DNC makes some good points.
I think Larry Bird made a very good distinction about the two when he said that LeBron would be more fun to play with but Kobe is who you'd want if you want to win championships. I don't think LeBron wants to be great or has the killer instinct like Kobe does.
Normally when they go head to head, Kobe has ended up making the bigger plays and in the 2008 Olympics was the defaulted go to player. Even in the 2012 Olympics, you could argue that LeBron took a back seat in those games to Kevin Durant.
OTOH, you never would have won a game after blowing in Kobe's ear. I'd rather have peak Kobe if I had to win one game though even though Lebron's a better player.
I don't think it's a knock on Lebron to say he doesn't have Kobe's killer instinct though. Kobe is probably the second most competitive player to ever play the game.
See below:
So DNC why have Bird so high? He's only played like 65 more career games than Lebron.
Kobe gets the better of him? Lebron has a commanding HTH W-L advantage over Kobe and Durant.
Please stop spewing bullshit with no facts behind them.
Robert Swift
Manut Bol
Kwame Brown
Jason Collins
Scott Brooks
Lebron James
Nick Van Exel
Greg Oden
Why is Bird valued so high? Beginning in his first year of '79-'80, Bird's teams reached at minimum the conference finals in 8 of his first 9 years in the league.
A common "discrediting" I've heard of Bird was that he played for Boston, played with all of these great players, and that he more or less walked into success. Not so. They won a title in '75-'76. The next year they won 44 games. In '77-'78, the Celtics won 32 games. In '78-'79, they won 29 games.
And if you look at the list of players in the East that he had to go through to get deep into the playoffs every year? It's a who's who list of players to have ever played the game. The Eastern Conference in the 80s was far and away the more difficult of the two conferences.
Here we go, the case for Bird:
12 time all star, best player on arguably the second greatest team of all time, 3 rings, two time member of 50-40-90 club, 9 time first team All NBA (Lebron has 7), best white guy ever, etc.
Still waiting for you to nut up and poast your own rankings.
Obviously most of this is fueled by the whole Lebron v Kobe debate which to me is just as fucking stupid. Lebron fans need to stop comparing everything Lebron does to Kobe if they are going to start making MJ comparisons... it just doesn't make any sense esp now with Bryant out of his prime.
Michael Jordan
Adam Morrison
Robert Swift
Manut Bol
Kwame Brown
Jason Collins
Scott Brooks
Lebron James
Nick Van Exel
Greg Ostertag
Greg Oden
Bryant Reeves
Kevin Durant
Cal
Also do you not know how to count ? Kobe won two rings only as the alpha dog(same as Lebron) and has 5 rings. Lebron has led his team to the Finals as an alpha dog 5 times while Kobe has just 3.
BTW, if you want to talk longevity then why is Magic or Bird so high?
Lebron has played 11 seasons, 842 games, 153 playoff games and counting.
Magic played 12 full seasons, 906 games, 190 playoff games
Bird played 13 full seasons(one year he only played 6 games so really only 12 seasons), 897 games, 164 playoff games.
Bill Russell played 13 full seasons, 963 games, 165 playoff games
Michael Jordan played 15 seasons(really only 12 as 2 were with Wizards then that half year) played 1072 games, 179 playoff games.
Just find it weird you use Lebron's lack of time in the game against him when he's not that far off seasons wise or games played to your top four.
Magic won 5 rings. There's no way he's not ahead of Lebron. You even have him ahead of Lebron yourself.
Russell won 11 rings. He could have played just 11 seasons and he'd be forever ahead of Lebron based on that alone.
Bird I already analyzed the difference.
"Just find it weird you use Lebron's lack of time in the game against him when he's not that far off seasons wise or games played to your top four."
These are the greatest players of all time, in many ways it's going to be a matter of degree. A couple of seasons matters. Like I said, Bron's probably two excellent seasons away from passing some of these guys up. When it comes to the Kobe comparison specifically I think 15 All NBAs and the second most points scored of all time carries more value than Lebrons 9 and higher per game production. You disagree, which is fine. Ultimately I will almost assuredly have Lebron ahead of Kobe. I don't think his career has been better yet.