Who is the best player in the NBA?

By: Jake Goldberg and Kevin Duffy

Posted: 1/22/09

Lebron James is the best basketball player in the known world. He is an unstoppable super-human that can get to the rim any time he pleases, and somehow makes an average team look great. Put him on the Lakers and they would never lose. Bryant Bryant is good but he will never be enough to make a team a champion. James defies description. There has never been, nor will there ever be another James.

Kobe Bryant is the best basketball player on the planet right now and quite frankly, it's not even close. He scored 81 points in a single game, and if he wanted to, he could score 35 points per game (in 2005-2006 he scored 35.4 per contest). Kobe's numbers have dipped a bit because he has a stronger supporting cast than he did in previous years, but don't be fooled, Bryant is one of the most prolific basketball players if not the most prolific of all-time.

Jake Goldberg - Lebron James is the best player in basketball. Comparisons can only be drawn to the King. Kobe Bryant is great, but he is not James, who is superior in most areas of the game.

Kevin Duffy - James is a highlight reel player. It is true, there is not a person walking the planet with his athleticism. He is in a class by himself. But we are not arguing about the best athlete - we are arguing about the best basketball player. Bryant is the most skilled player in the game and very well may be the most skilled offensive player to ever play.

Jake - A few years ago, I would agree, but not now with James leading the Cavaliers to a 20-0 home record. He is second in the league in points per game and to date no one has figured out a way to stop him from driving to the hoop.

Kevin - Did you even see the game this week? Bryant torched James in the second half with a bad shoulder and injured finger. James couldn't figure out a way to stop Bryant from doing anything. The man can score from anywhere on the court against anyone. He's truly amazing.

Jake - James still had better stats in that game: more points, boards and steals. The difference in that game was that Zydrunas Ilgauskas (Big Z) and Delonte West were hurt for the Cavaliers. If James played on the Lakers, he might never lose; they are loaded with talent compared to the Cavaliers.

Kevin - James' supporting cast is as good as Bryant's. Mo Williams is one of the most underrated guards in the NBA and West and Wally Szcerzbiak benefit greatly from James' ability to drive and kick. Bryant has shooters around him as well, but the major difference between the two is that when the game is on the line, Bryant will bury a jump shot or knock down free throws and James won't.

Jake - I have to disagree. James is much better with his free throws, and the thing is, you don't know what he is going to do next. James has proven in playoff games the past couple of years that he can kick it out for the win. Daniel Gibson and West can attest to that. Bryant is going to shot a jumper every time. Also didn't James take the Celtics to a close game 7 in the playoffs, while Bryant couldn't force it to 7?

Kevin - Bryant won't just jump shoot every time. He is the most prolific scorer of all-time; he is not just a pure jump-shooter. He can attack the basket, knock down 3s and pull-up from anywhere on the court and bury difficult jump shots. There is no such thing as a bad shot for Bryant - he is that good. When it is all said and done, he will go down as the best player of all-time, Jordan and James included.

Jake - Wow. It is strange because James is leading every single statistical category over Bryant besides Free throw percentage and three point percentage. I do mean every category. He is a better defender than Bryant and can guard almost any player on the court, from point guards to power forwards. James is a freak and the scary thing is he is only 24.

Kevin -The scarier thing is that James is still a sub-par shooter. There are ways to take him out of a game offensively. There are ZERO ways to contain Bryant. I think I've established that already. Oh yeah, how about a little thing called winning? Bryant has three rings and he is certainly not done. I would be shocked if James won more than one or two championships in his career.

Jake - How about that big thing called Shaquille O'Niel, the most dominate big man ever. I think that had a little something to do with the championship thing. Bryant hasn't won without him. James brought a bad Cavaliers team to the Finals a few years ago and almost beat the eventual champions last year. James is also shooting a better field goal percentage this year, as I stated before, so Bryant must be a really sub-par shooter

Kevin - James is taking lay-ups. There are ways to stop him with good help defense and double-teaming. As I have stated before, there is no way to stop Bryant. And as for O'Niel, sure, he had a lot to do with those titles, but he wouldn't have won them without Bryant. No one can win a championship on their own - not Jordan, not Bryant, and not even the King himself. It's not Bryant's fault that he happened to play with another great player.