It's been a long time since the debate of Kobe vs. LeBron has been raised, being that Kobe just won his fifth title and LeBron has become everyone's least favorite person behind Tiger Woods and President Hosni Mubarak for going to the Miami Heat. Well, new evidence has come to light to show us once again that yes, LeBron is better than Kobe.
No, the new evidence is not the Lakers' recent struggles nor LeBron's unbelievable season thus far (the man is averaging 26.1 PPG, 7.2 RPG and 7.3 APG) nor the fact that he is the only non point guard in the top 25 in APG this year (he ranks 13th), even though he's a forward. OK, maybe it is a little bit about those things, but the best evidence that shows how good LeBron really is, is the fact that the Cavaliers have lost 25 straight games, more than 30% of their NBA season and the longest losing streak in NBA history.
Woah, woah, woah, hold the phone. Let's pause for questions. Do I mean the same Cavaliers that went 61-21 last year and 66-16 the year before that (both of which were the best records in basketball their respective seasons)? Those Cavs? Yes, that is exactly the team I am talking about.
What is the difference from last year then? Well, there is no more Zydrunas Ilgauskas, whose softness down low must be truly missed. Then there's Shaquille O'Neal, whose immobility and old age must be heartbreaking for the Cavaliers not to have this season (I'm sorry, I still love you Shaq). Maybe it's Mike Brown? You mean the guy the Cavs paid to sit on the bench and watch LeBron? Even if these guys did have some positive impact, which they did, it is obvious that 99.9999...% of the problem is the absence of LeBron.
It can be argued that the Cavs are extremely bad this year because LeBron did not give them enough time to go out and get free agents. The first response to this is that LeBron made his announcement only a week into free agency, and the second response is that even if the big stars had still been around, they probably would not find the idea of going to a Cleveland-less LeBron very enticing. Most of the stars got max contracts from either their own team or other teams in big cities, so why would any big star have gone to Cleveland?
So how can one player have that big of an impact? Because great players like LeBron - and dare I say MJ in the same sentence as any other player - are not only themselves great, but they make everyone else around them great, and therefore make the team as a whole great. That is exactly what LeBron did in Cleveland, but he never won any titles; well it is now clear that the reason for that was, LeBron was surrounded by the worst supporting cast known to man while he was on the Cavs. Yet, unlike Kobe Bryant ever did on his own, LeBron was able to constantly win with such a bad team in the regular season.
So let's get to Kobe. As we all know, Mr. Bryant has a more than impressive resume; 5 NBA titles, 13 time All-Star and one MVP award all make him one of the best players of all-time. But, the first bone to pick with those stats, is that all of those titles were won with an All-Star supporting cast. When Kobe won the first three of his titles, he was a sidekick to Shaq (who won all three Finals MVP awards in the three-peat and one MVP in the first of those years). Then, tensions between Shaq and Kobe became unbearable, and when it was clear one of them had to go, the Lakers smartly gave the boot to Shaq, who was exiting his prime, and gave the team to Kobe, who was entering his.
So how'd Kobe do as the ringleader? The first year without Shaq, the Lakers did not even reach the playoffs, going 34-48. The next two years the team barely managed to make it over .500, losing in the first round of the playoffs in both years.
So under Kobe, in what was the prime of his career both age and stat-wise, the Lakers were a mediocre team. The Western Conference during that time was extremely good, but the talent in the Eastern Conference over the past few years that LeBron had to face has been almost just as talented.
Then in 2007, the Lakers started winning. Does that mean that Kobe became a better leader? No, the wins started coming because the Lakers acquired Pau Gasol, Trevor Ariza and Derek Fisher. Surely, it is impressive on Kobe's part that he won the last two titles and has made the finals the last three years, but the facts show that he can only win when surrounded by a huge amount of talent.
Kobe is an outstanding and clutch player; his ability to make seemingly any jump shot on the court astounds me. But he is not in the top tier of greatness. Those spots are reserved for the MJs, the Magics, the Birds, the Wilts, the Kareems, the Russells and the LeBrons of the world (in no particular order), guys that can win and make their teammates better no matter how bad those teammates are. Being a great player is not just about excelling on your own, it is about helping everyone around you excel and leading your entire team to victory.
The James-less Cavaliers who only lost 21 games all of last year with LeBron, have lost 25 straight without him; that is not opinion, those are the cold hard facts, do with them what you wish.
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