LeBron James vs Kobe Bryant: A Complete Comparison

Conclusion

Dallas Mavericks v Los Angeles Lakers

So, who is the greater player? The overwhelming answer is LeBron James, whose story is still being written.

LeBron has fewer rings, but has faced greater challenges and showed more individual brilliance in his three than Kobe did in his five. Basketball is a team game, after all, and Kobe can't receive pure praise for all his rings if LeBron has to shoulder all of the blame for his Finals losses. Shaq's presence as a part of Kobe's first three championships isn't something to personally hold against Kobe, but the fact is pretty clear that Kobe wasn't the alpha on that team; Kobe missed the playoffs after Shaq left for Miami and didn't make it out of the first round the next two seasons.

Kobe's legendary scoring ability and all-round game make him comparable to Michael Jordan, just not as talented or accomplished. LeBron's size and generational passing ability paired with his scoring and team-first approach make him like a version of Magic Johnson with 30-foot range, an unstoppable mid-range fadeaway, and an even better ability to finish at the rim.

While both players had incidents and narratives that threatened to hurt their careers, they both moved on and improved their flaws. Kobe was always improving his passing and became a double-digit assist guy after his body starter failing him later in his career. He heard the criticism about not being able to win without Shaq, and he went out and won two more rings. LeBron was labelled as not clutch, and unable to win a championship after the 2012 Finals loss to Dallas, but he proved the doubters wrong and now has three rings. As for not being clutch, that narrative has been dead for a long time - LeBron has nailed five game-winning buzzer beaters in the playoffs alone, and he hit two just last playoffs.

The general consensus now is that LeBron James is better than every basketball player who ever lived and is not named Michael Jordan. Kobe, however, sits slightly lower down the list below other legends such as Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, Magic Johnson and Larry Bird. It's hard to disagree with this consensus opinion based on the facts. Bill Simmons, author of The Book of Basketball and editor in chief of The Ringer - ranks Kobe eighth in his all-time rankings from the 2009 book, while a fifth-year LeBron already ranks 20th.

It's hard to split two of the all-time greats when their list of achievements and highlights reach the length of Kobe and LeBron's. All things considered, though, LeBron officially overtook Kobe when he defeated the Warriors for his third championship in 2016 and he hasn't looked back since, he's only kept climbing that list on his way to MJ at the summit he may never reach.

Now that you've read this comparison, do yourself a favour and watch some YouTube highlights of these legends. Who do you give the edge to?