Who's the best basketball player who ever lived? Michael Jordan, right?
Well funny enough Michael Jordan was asked about Kobe vs. LeBron, and his response was simple: "Five is bigger than one." Of course to his credit LeBron James now has two rings, but the math still checks out. Five > two. Every time.
There's only one statistic that truly matters in professional sports, and that's Number of Championships. LeBron understands this. It's the reason why he threw his hometown and everyone who loves him there under the bus four years ago to join a Superteam in South Beach. It's the same reason why he threw South Beach under the bus five months ago to beg for forgiveness from his hometown. When a player's career is over, their greatness is always measured in championships.
To that end, Kobe Bryant is more than twice as great as LeBron James. And he didn't have to swap jerseys or write homecoming apology letters to get there.
LeBron is 29-years-old. By the time Kobe was 29, he already had a three-peat under his belt. Bron Stans always want to paint Kobe as some selfish gunner, but what they fail to understand is that (besides averaging less Shots Per Game over his career than James) The Mamba often unselfishly took a back seat to Shaquille O'Neal in order to get what truly mattered. Even after Shaq left L.A., when Kobe could've padded his career stats in search of MVPs and other individual accolades, he didn't. Instead he opted to bring complimentary talent to HIS city like a real best-player-on-the-planet does, and earned two more rings in the process.
It's that winner's mentality that separates Kobe Bryant and LeBron James. LeBron is part of a social media generation where stunting on the internet is often mistaken for success, whereas Kobe knows success is only measured by how many times you've hoisted the Larry O'Brien trophy in June. While LeBron's off making cartoons and buying parts of European soccer teams, Kobe's in the gym working on his game. Or relentlessly rehabbing a torn Achilles to come back when nobody thought he could. Or flying off to Germany for super-secret surgeries that aren't legal in the States. While LeBron is focused on protecting his brand by avoiding dunk contests and using Nike hologram technology on his scalp, Kobe is focused on getting better at his craft. THAT is what separates the two. One is unrelenting in his search for basketball success, the other in his search for public acceptance and Instagram likes.
Also, LeBron is a Cowboys/Yankees fan. Gross. Here are 10 Reasons Why Kobe is Better Than LeBron. —Maurice Peebles (@tallmaurice)
