LeBron James plans to change jersey number...

[Steelboy84]

I think D-Wade got screwed out of the MVP last year. He should have gotten it.

[MACH1]

Originally Posted by Nadroj 20

True that really only matters in the playoffs, arguing better players and talent is better then that, not trying to tick you off or anything just saying I like LBJ better, i have stood 10 feet away from him! lol and hes from my homestate!!! But all that aside IMO he is the best player in the NBA.

Tell me that after he scores 81 in a game.

[xfl2001fan]

Originally Posted by MACH1

Tell me that after he scores 81 in a game.

There's more to basketball than just scoring.

To go back through the history of these posts:

One poster compares Lebron in his 5th/6th season to Kobe in his 5th/6th season...and the counter argument to that is to compare Lebron last year to Kobe last year (despite the 5+ year difference in the NBA).

Kobe has played with better teammates.

Larry Hughes was a bust of a signing.
Boozer was a talented bonehead.
Shaq is waaay past his prime...as is Z.
Delonte is now a headcase (and last year, he was the Cavs best player not named Lebron).
Mo Williams disappeared in the playoffs (not just Orlando). No matter how good he was last season, he didn't come close to matching that performance when it counted.
Parker/Moon are on the wrong side of 30...and had already shown decline when they were brought in.
Ben Wallace is a former DPoY...but he hardly played like it last year...even when he was healthy. His defense was not good enough to make up for his lack of an offensive game.
Varejao is a pretty decent and very active player, but hardly on the same level as Pau Gasol, who is a true All-Star caliber player.

Kobe plays with better talent, period.

If Kobe and Lebron were removed from the Lakers (this year and last)

Bynum (when healthy) is better than Shaq or Z.
Gasol is better than any Cavs Big. It's not even close.
Lamar Odom is better than any Cavs bench player. Better than some of our starters too.
Ariza is not better than West...but West is undersized and Orlando was able to exploit that matchup. Artest is better than West.
Fisher is not better than Williams, but in the playoffs, Fisher stepped up, Mo hid.

If Bynum is out, starting lineups would look sth like:

Gasol
Odom
Artest
Brown/Vujacic
Fisher/Farmar

vs

Shaq
Varejao (or even Hickson, since he seems to be getting the starts lately)
Moon
Parker
Williams

Who here really believes that Cleveland would win with that lineup? Williams barely made the All-Star Roster...after a couple of other guys were injured and couldn't play in the game...which lets you know what the rest of the league really believes of him.

I'd take Lebron who (despite playing with Lottery team level of talent) has always tried to include his teammates...always looked to make the smart basketball play (drive to the hoop and kick it out to the wide open shooters). As opposed to the guy who scores 81. Kobe is a great player, just doesn't play my preferred style of basketball. Kobe has always had better talent than Lebron...especially in his championship years. Unless of course you believe the team above would really make any noise in the playoffs.

[Nadroj 20]

Originally Posted by MACH1

Tell me that after he scores 81 in a game.

Your right because of that one preformance kobe is the BEST (sarcasm smily)

Michael Jordan never even did that

Want to know why LBJ may never score 81 points in a game?

LBJ: 25 triple doubles in 481 career reg. season games

Kobe: 16 Triple doubles in 957 career reg season games

LBJ does more then just shoot it every time (which when kobe scored 81 he didnt like his team and he did shoot all the time)
He is a more willing passer now, but LBJ is a better passer.

[KeiselPower99]

Jordan was great but the NBA shouldnt retire it. It should be done out of respect by the players. Kinda like 12 58 and 75 are not officially retired by the Steelers but are no longer in circulation.

[SteelersinCA]

I see my succeeded to all you haters!!

This thread reminds me of one about 7-8 months ago. Warms the heart in preparation for the holiday season!!

[revefsreleets]

Aha...lured back in again.

Not me.

No on retiring #23 unless you retire Bird and Magic's #'s too...

[xfl2001fan]

Originally Posted by revefsreleets

Aha...lured back in again.

Not me.

No on retiring #23 unless you retire Bird and Magic's #'s too...

And that would set up a whole mess of confusion as well. Probably the biggest difference in the whole Bird/Magic era to the MJ era is that MJ didn't have his Bird/Magic to compete against. There just wasn't anybody there that he could compete against individually. Then, there was this void after MJ left that couldn't be filled by one or two people. It took Kobe a couple of years to get going...and the Jordan "Image" was so huge, that nobody could live up to it. At least now, there's the Kobe/Lebron thing. Wade (if he remains healthy this year) will be back in that picture and Howard is another young player with huge upside. CP3 is considered an elite player...and Melo appears to be moving up the charts now that Denver is looking relevant.

MJ just played in an era (essentially) alone...and while some of that did have to do with his own greatness, I think that if Kobe/Lebron had come into the league when MJ did...there'd be less talk about retiring his number...because he would have legit competition for being the #1 player in his era.

[revefsreleets]

I said Bird/Magic because the league was foundering at the time and their rivalry (coming out of college and continuing throughout their NBA careers) did much to revive interest in the league.