why "enough about kobe"? isn't a kobe comparison the whole point of this thread? in respect to theveed (the thread starter), we should start a new thread to debate the other guys.

if the comparo was kobe vs. lebron, right here, right now - i would take kobe. if my team is already good enough to get to the playoffs.

kobe is a stone cold assassin in crunch time. with one minute to go in game 7, who would you pick to shut down your opponent's best perimeter player? who would you want taking the last shot? like jordan before him, kobe gets it done on both ends.

their all-around skills are about equal, except james is bigger and stronger (but kobe is quicker). with the defensive attention he gets, kobe could lead the league in assists, he's just too hard-headed to try (he still gets about 7-8 a game though). who gets double-teamed each time he touches the ball? not #23.

the last reason is defense. james still has a ways to go on defense. sure, he plays the passing lanes very well, and those breakaway dunks are spectacular, but will james be able to shut down pierce, redd...even iverson and wade one-on-one? the game slows down a lot in the playoffs, and the key on defense is to lock down the opponent's stars. kobe's already proven he can do that, even though he had a hard time with rip and chauncey last year.

stay tuned this season though, because lebron is improving so quickly, my entire post might be completely wrong in a few months.