Kobe vs LeBron

[Hector]

YouTube - MVPs - Kobe LeBron (Mrs. Lewis)

[goldenryan]

kobe might make it to the finals but lebron won't. it's too bad cause i wanted to see a cavs-nuggets finals.

[toys2cool]

Lebron is the better over all player,but Kobe's offense is the best in the NBA

[Evel KMego]

When it's said and done Kobe and Lebron will both be seen as only having Jordan as a superior. They'll be in that top eschelon. Maybe held in slightly higher regard than Magic and Bird. I would like to see Lebron get a championship, but can Cleveland get at least one other above average player to help the guy out? Geez!!!!

[Hector]

When it's said and done Kobe and Lebron will both be seen as only having Jordan as a superior. They'll be in that top eschelon. Maybe held in slightly higher regard than Magic and Bird. I would like to see Lebron get a championship, but can Cleveland get at least one other above average player to help the guy out? Geez!!!!

I disagree.

Magic and Bird changed the NBA.

[toys2cool]

When it's said and done Kobe and Lebron will both be seen as only having Jordan as a superior. They'll be in that top eschelon. Maybe held in slightly higher regard than Magic and Bird. I would like to see Lebron get a championship, but can Cleveland get at least one other above average player to help the guy out? Geez!!!!

their skill level is already way beyond Bird's, Magic was to good of a passer so his style is hard to compare.

Bird would be a scrub in todays NBA

[saildog]

their skill level is already way beyond Bird's, Magic was to good of a passer so his style is hard to compare.

Bird would be a scrub in todays NBA

Oh, please elaborate because I'd love to hear it.

I'd say 24.3 ppg is pretty dang good, in any era, much less in one that was rife with players considered to be "the best" and not as diluted by expansion.

Now, if by scrub you mean "not getting a lot of endorsements", I'll give you that. Kobe and LeBron are both nice looking dudes and Larry Bird, well let's just say he could play ball.

"Marla Hooch....what a hitter!"

[Hector]

their skill level is already way beyond Bird's, Magic was to good of a passer so his style is hard to compare.

Bird would be a scrub in todays NBA

I'm sorry Damien...I love you and all...but that's the dumbest post you have ever written...ever...by far.

As far as winning...and pure shooter...Bird smokes both Kobe and LeBron silly.

[toys2cool]

yes he was great in the era he played in,but look at what an athlete Magic was.Bird was nowhere near as athletic as him.In todays NBA Magic would still be a bad *** but not Bird.You think he could cover LeBron,Kobe or D-Wade? if you do then you really don't watch the NBA or know much about it. It's not just me,most NBA analyst's will tell you the exact same thing.

Yes he was a great shooter,but look at the basketball players from the early 80's and look at them now.

It's like putting Shaq to play in the 60's or 70's,he would've averaged 60 a game back then.Name me one center who could've stopped Shaq? and please don't say Bill Russell or Kareem....Maybe Wilt Chamberlain...and I doubt it

[TEXASFETT]

If you Shaq played back in the days he would have more than a 100+ points and lots of broken glass backboards.Every era is gonna have its greats for there times.So now the big thing is Kobe and Lebron and tired of hearing about them but there damn good!

[Hector]

yes he was great in the era he played in,but look at what an athlete Magic was.Bird was nowhere near as athletic as him.In todays NBA Magic would still be a bad *** but not Bird.You think he could cover LeBron,Kobe or D-Wade? if you do then you really don't watch the NBA or know much about it. It's not just me,most NBA analyst's will tell you the exact same thing.

Yes he was a great shooter,but look at the basketball players from the early 80's and look at them now.

It's like putting Shaq to play in the 60's or 70's,he would've averaged 60 a game back then.Name me one center who could've stopped Shaq? and please don't say Bill Russell or Kareem....Maybe Wilt Chamberlain...and I doubt it

But that's the thing bro...Bird was never a great athlete, he could barely jump and was stiff as a board...but look what he did on the court...and competing against the likes of Moses Malone, Magic, James Worthy, Patrick Ewing, D J, early Jordan, etc...Bird was fantastic given his physical limitations.

You just proved my point.

Bird would've been a superstar in any era.

[Hector]

It's like putting Shaq to play in the 60's or 70's,he would've averaged 60 a game back then.Name me one center who could've stopped Shaq? and please don't say Bill Russell or Kareem....Maybe Wilt Chamberlain...and I doubt it

Oh...your argument just went down the drain, lol.

Kareem would've scored 100 points against Shaq...come on now, lol.

No way on this Earth would Shaq be able to stop Kareem's skyhook...please bro.

This is not football...it's basketball for Christ's sake.

[saildog]

You absolutely can't take someone from today, with the benefits they have, compare them to someone back then, and not account for those benefits. You simply can't know how Shaq now would have been in the 60's, if he had to come up in the system they did.

Okay, Bird, back then, might be a scrub today. Would a scrub today be a Hall of Famer? They don't just pin that on a dude because he played in the league. Bird had a toughness and a clutch mentality that, if he were coming up today, would have made him good, now. God knows, physically, he matched up then and there is absolutely no reason to believe he couldn't match up now.

I don't see anyone saying THIS is the "Golden Age" of the NBA. You can name three bad-A's in today's ball....care to guess how many bad-A's Bird had to play against in his career? Magic/Bird comes to mind......but, there was also Bird/ Dr. J and that was Biiiiiiiiittttttttttteeeeeeeerrrrr. People who didn't watch ball back then don't have a clue about that match-up, but it was amazing!

We can play the subjective game, but who played against who and what they did against those stars is not subjective.

If we play it subjectively, I'll grant that Bird (then) would not be a Superstar today. By that standard, neither would most of the Hall of Fame. But, Larry Bird THEN would not be a scrub today. To believe otherwise, means you didn't watch much NBA (back then) or know much about it (back then).

[saildog]

This article helps to put some things in perspective. For the record, I don't think any of the players mentioned in this thread are not worthy players or future "the best evers", only that you just can not compare today to back then.

It's all but impossible to compare athletes from different eras, of course. When Wilt Chamberlain landed in Philadelphia in 1959, the NBA had eight teams; when Shaq arrived in Orlando in '92, there were 27 teams.

SI.com - Writers - Jack McCallum: Ranking the greatest NBA players of all time is no easy task - Wednesday November 12, 2003 6:33PM

[toys2cool]

But that's the thing bro...Bird was never a great athlete, he could barely jump and was stiff as a board...but look what he did on the court...and competing against the likes of Moses Malone, Magic, James Worthy, Patrick Ewing, D J, early Jordan, etc...Bird was fantastic given his physical limitations.

You just proved my point.

Bird would've been a superstar in any era.

yeah that's why Jordan use to put up 50+ on his *** in the Garden all the time