• The Kobe Bryant vs. LeBron James debate continues
** Update: The NBA has reviewed and analyzed the game film and decided to take LeBron’s triple double away. The whole things seems pretty unprecedented but don’t quote me on it. I’ll call it the asterisk rebound. Yahoo’s BDL Blog has video of the rebound up and you can decide for yourself. **
What up everybody, my name is Will R. and I’ll be contributing some sports analysis and thoughts here on YouBeenBlinded.Com. Quick background: I’m a lifelong sports fan with my biggest pleasure being the NBA and I live in Los Angeles. The curveball is that I’m a Clippers fan with very little love for the more popular team across the hall. I’ve written and conducted interviews for rap websites, magazines and newspapers and look forward to being a part of the YouBeenBlinded team.
With that out of the way, I got to get in on the big water cooler discussion of the young season and drop some context to the fervor around some of the recent happenings in the NBA. We all know people tend to overrate things that happen now, the whole ‘what have you done for me lately’ type of thinking where the most recent amazing performance is inevitably called the greatest ever.
This last Super Bowl is a prime example of that and now two of basketball’s biggest stars have started their own hurricane of hype. Anytime the question of Kobe vs. LeBron comes up, there’s bound to be fireworks and both parties have done their best to resolve the argument in the last week. But despite the glamour that comes with a ton of points, Kobe came up on the short end in this particular contest.
You should know the story by now, Kobe went into New York’s famed Madison Square Garden and dropped 61. Yup, he broke Jordan’s “Double Nickel” record – the 13-year visitor’s scoring mark and eclipsed Bernard King’s 1984 60-point performance to claim ownership of the all-time MSG scoring throne. The Internet went crazy and Lakers fans everywhere immediately took it as clear proof that Kobe was a step above everyone else. Then LeBron went out two nights later and came out with a cool 52 point, 10* rebound and 11 assist game at the Garden. It even came with its own nifty nickname, courtesy of The Knicks Blog – the “Nickle Double.”
Think about it, he just got a 50 point triple double*. That hadn’t been done in 34 years and has been accomplished only seven times in NBA history by only five players. Cleary 61 is huge, but it just doesn’t pack the same overall punch.
Before anyone tries to label me a “hater,” let me say that Kobe put on a great show and finishing with 60+ points is a big deal every time anyone does it. I’m just not about to join the hyperbole bandwagon and call it outright better than Jordan’s 55 or even better than LeBron’s game.
There’s a lot more involved in labeling someone the greatest at MSG than just their final point totals and right now is the perfect time to make those distinctions clear. Just like with any performance, judging a basketball player’s feats against others requires looking at how it was done, the degree of difficulty and the final outcome of each game. When you do that in comparing Kobe and LeBron’s MSG exploits, one game stands out as much more complete and impressive than the other.
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How it was done:
Kobe’s big game came at the expense of some class (he kept shooting and shooting during what was essentially garbage time with a double digit 4th quarter lead) and it was clear from the minute Phil Jackson put him back in the game that Kobe was intent on breaking the scoring record at any cost. He had an awesome game out of necessity during the first three quarters in a close game, but his 15 points in the final period weren’t vital towards his team’s win and the outcome was never in any real danger. It was almost seven minutes of pure, unadulterated stat-padding.
LeBron clearly entered the game knowing the expectations and he gets a slap on his wrist for chasing down that last second rebound to secure the triple double but his night wasn’t anywhere near as blatant a chase for personal notoriety as Kobe’s last 12 minutes. He kept his teammates involved, played tough defense and made sure to secure rebounds and deny the Knicks any extra possessions off the offensive glass.
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Degree of difficulty:
This one is pretty cut and dry. While scoring 61 in the NBA is not easy by any means, it isn’t that much harder than putting up 52. Make a few more free throws and have a couple of shots roll the right way and you have the extra nine points, but there’s a tremendous difference between grabbing 10* rebounds, dishing out 11 assists to account for at least another 25 + points for your team and dropping a paltry zero rebounds and only three helpers.
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Final outcome:
Both LeBron and Kobe lead their teams to wins so they get equal credit for that. Put the player’s names aside for a second and just look at the final numbers.
Line 1: 61 points, 0 rebounds and 3 assists in 37 minutes. 31 shots, 20 free throws and a 9-point win.
Line 2: 52 points, 10* rebounds and 11 assists in 44 minutes. 33 shots, 19 free throws and a 5-point win.
Some will argue that Kobe was better because he scored more with less shot attempts and less minutes played, but that angle loses steam when you realize that Kobe’s shot total almost equaled his minutes. Shooting almost once a minute isn’t exactly the best way to keep your team in a great flow and doesn’t dispel the whole selfish image tag.
When you combine the fact that LeBron took only two more shots in seven more minutes with his superior assist, defense and rebound totals it becomes evident that his game was better all around. The conversation of who is the better overall player may not stop with those two historic nights in New York, but the best in the building argument just took a king-sized lean toward the other number 23.
- Will
To Will R.
You are clearly a hater. The only reason why you don’t appreciate Kobes 61 points is because you know that he is the dam (truth). Lebron did have a remarkable game come on now but the way Kobe Bryant executed his 61 points was far better than Lebron trying to do what Kobe did two nights ago. Kobe is a true NBA game closer. Kobe closes games in a fashionable and spectacular manner. I mean the crowd of NEW YORK chanted, “MVP…MVP…MVP” to a Los Angeles idol. Lebron did not get the same respect as Kobe. Even ESPN Analysts agreed that they would take Kobes 61 before Lebron 52 and change. Just remember the customers are always right, and the fans at the Madison Square Garden Shouted what they knew was right, MVP..MVP..MVP, The black mamba, “mama there goes that man!” KB24!!
Kobe scored 61points an lebron scored 52points with a thriple double. They both were lagendry performances by two of the best players in the nba. I gotta give it to kobe. His points was more sharper. He shot from all angals of the floor. He had a anpressive dunk. He shot well at the free throw line. An he wasnt playing for his self. He was playing for his team. When u are a superstar an the best in the world you have to take over games to win. Even when yo team is not helping. An i like how he closed out the game. Even at the last minut when he made both free throws. Thats why hes the best closer in the game. Plus he had 9 more points then lebron come on now. 61points come on now. Its not eazy to do. Kobes 61 points is better then michael jordan 55points so kobe wins dis dabate.