All I got to say is Kobe won a championship the first time HE went to the Finals.

Why is this drivel even on LAist?

is there a cleavland-ist?? cuz this should definitely be posted over there =)

Here's another thing that Lebron is better than Kobe at...LOSING! Yea, getting swept in the Finals and proving his REAL self! I am "Witness" as well. A WITNESS TO AIR BALL FREE THROWS AND SHOTS, MISSED LAY UPS, BAD PASSES INCLUDING 6+t.o. PER GAME, AND MISSING CLUTCH SHOTS! We are all WITNESSES!

Why does LAist never seem to have any hardcore Lakers fans posting stories. It's usually haters (which LA admittedly has tons of) or fairweather fans.

In fact, you don't even need a real Lakers fan... all you need is an objective poster to post on the topic of the Lakers.

Top Ten Reasons Jessica Roberts shouldn't post about the NBA.

10. Kobe, KB, 24 (Yes, it's a nickname... Kobe is associated with his number... Lebron is not), Mamba, Black Mamba

9. SG. SF. It's two different positions. Welcome to Basketball 101. But I guess you think Tractor Traylor is the best player in the game.

8. All women blindly hate Kobe due to the extra-marital affair. Surprise, most professional athletes engage in extra-marital affairs. (The Vikings went on a sex cruise for Christ's sake)

7. Kobe Bryant is 28 y/o. The same age MJ was when he won his first title. But I guess MJ was on the down slope of his career... he probably only won that 1 year (1991), and did horribly the rest of his career, right?

6. Big Z. Last time I checked, teams with solid frontcourts were still dominating the NBA. If you someone says Kwame Brown or Andrew Bynum, you should watch those ESPNews commercials.

5. Since when is a headband "style"

4. People still say Kobe forced Shaq out of LA? Shaq doesn't even believe that.

3. kb24.com vs. lebronjames.com. Seriously, look for yourselves.

2. You're getting desperate when you go to stats. Ask Kevin Garnett what stats mean. Ask Allen Iverson. Ask Charles Barkley.

1. Lebron James plays in the Leastern conference. nuff said.

didnt your mother every tell you that if you dont have something nice to say, go write for a celebrity gossip blog?

Heresy.

Point by point:

10. Nicknames. Bron-Bron, King James, LBJ, The Chosen One, Video Game James. What does Kobe have? One word, and that's so been done: Cher, Madonna, Prince. One word names are old and boring.

***What about Black Mamba? Named after a deadly f***ing snake, I think that beats "Bron-Bron" any day...

9. Size. LeBron has two inches and 30 pounds on Kobe. I think James could probably take him a in fight, although Bryant strikes me as a guy who would fight dirty (see below).

***There are a lot of people who are 30+ pounds bigger then Kobe, none can beat him 1-on-1

8. Criminal charges. Rape accusations made against Kobe: 1 Rape accusations made against LeBron: 0 Need I say more?

***Rape what? That word that starts with an a, what does that mean? If I accuse LeBron of rape does that make it even?

7. Age. LeBron is only 22. He still hasn't hit his prime and has at least five more years of playing his best basketball ahead of him. Kobe is just past the peak, probably on the other side of the hill and headed for a long slide down.

***He scored 81 points in a game. Was the best scorer in the game this season, on his way down? You think?

6. Supporting casts. LeBron does it without a Phil Jackson, a Lamar Odom or a Smush Parker (OK, that second one is a joke. Kobe's supporting crew has diminished significantly in the past couple seasons).

***LeBron also does it in the Eastern conference, aka little league. For proof, see the cavs getting swept in the finals by the Spurs. More on that below.

5. Style. LeBron has that cool headband, a cool bit of facial hair and a mega-watt smile. Kobe has a permanent scowl.

***Fine, he has a cool headband. As for the smile, he is from Ohio, people smile there, a lot. It is a little unnerving.
oh and there is this http://netscape.nba.com/media/allstar2006/bryant_300_060131.jpg

4. Handling pressure. LeBron was the most hyped athlete of the last decade. He has been followed by the media since he was a teenager and called the next Jordan, the "Air Apparent." More people came to his high schools games than to local NCAA or Cavs games. And what did he do? Class act all around, never got in trouble, handled his finances and his personal life responsibly, and carried his hometown team to the NBA finals in just his fourth season. Kobe, in contrast, whines and moans, fights with his team's star, possibly forces a trade of that star to the Heat, and then starts demanding a trade of his own. Not hot.

***Both came out of high school and became super stars. Kobe won 3 rings with Shaq despite the fighting. LeBron is getting swept in the playoffs. As a lakers fan, I am glad he is bitching and moaning, we need help if we're going to win in the west (a.k.a. the grown-ups table)

3. We Are All Witnesses. Believe it.

***Witness to the Spurs being a great team, and the Cavs being nowhere near good enough.

2. Stats. This year LeBron may have averaged a handful fewer points than Kobe, but career LeBron is at 26.7 points, 6.7 rebounds and 6.4 assists. Kobe's career 24.6, 5.2 and 4.5. Bron-Bron's got a slight edge in steals and blocks too, making him an all-around better player than Kobe.

***Kobe played on a team with Shaq in his prime, Gary Payton, Robert Horry, Derek Fisher. LeBron has played with a bunch of schlubs his whole career. When Kobe had other players, he passed the ball. Of course his career numbers are lower. Next.

1. Playoffs. It's June and LeBron is still in it. Kobe has been out on the golf course or pretending to be LeBron on Xbox for weeks.

***Let's be honest here, Kobe could take any team in the east playing with a bunch of dudes he found in a park. Apples and oranges.

Break Out LeBroom =)

i think you picked a bad nite to post this one jessica ;)

wow what a lebron fan and kobes only 28 hes just hit his prime jordan didnt even reach it till he was like 30 and lebrons game is no skill all size and athleticism I never noticed until this finals all he does is muscle his way to the hoop and only shoot when wide open. Since when is lebron known for handeling pressure hes airballed countless shots andis just plain inferior to KB24.O yeah and lebron played the wizards with out GIL played nets without a good big man and who cant get there act together and the psitons who started falling apart since the bulls series.

my bad, i said, "hows this guy allowed to write for LA" I meant, "hows this girl allowed to write for LA"

WTF is this? Next week 10 reasons NYC is better than LA? I don't visit here to read this BS.

But, aside from being offended because of geography, this post was just completely naive in so many ways:

Need you say more about a rape accusation? Hell yes you need to say more! Rape is terrible, but thank God in this country an accusation doesn't convict you.

Handling pressure? Your take on this one was downright comical. On the basketball court, Kobe is the most clutch player in the league. He demands the last shot in important games (Lebron runs from the ball sometimes) and consistently knocks down those shots, including free throws (not Lebron). You can point to a couple games for Lebron, but remember, the key word was consistently. Oh, and since your point relied a lot on off-the-court pressure, remember when Kobe was accused of rape and when he was flying back and forth between LA and Colorado for court appearances? Remember when he would hit game winning shots on those days and HANDLE THE PRESSURE?

And blaming Kobe for pushing out Shaq is so 2005. They BOTH had huge egos, it just so happens that Kobe's was a lot younger and more talented so Jerry Buss decided to let Shaq go. Haven't you read the LA Times in the last month?

Go live in Cleveland so you can "witness" from close range. And Tony, I know you hate Kobe but c'mon, this is the LAist for God's sake!!!

I am personally a Detoit fan living in LA, but Kobe pretty much shits on the whole Cleveland basketball team, including the elusive (swept in the finals) LeBron James. Get real whoever posted this. Get real.

In a column that appeared in the laist.com website on June 14th 2007 , Ms. Jessica Roberts wrote a rather groundbreaking article, outlining “ten of the thousands of reasons” why Cleveland Cavaliers’ uprising star, Lebron James, is “better than Kobe. ” It was particularly enlightening to me because I have never thought to research Kobe or Lebron’s basketball careers from a cereal box or trading cards, which strangely enough have important “stats” on them. I also forgot to read the latest issue of Vogue magazine when apparently “cool headband and a cool bit of facial hair” are this season’s must-haves. Also out of style is the one word name because it has “so been done. ” Perhaps, Ms. Roberts has a point – but since I have actually watched a game of professional basketball, I’m not buying it. Certainly, you can make a case for either side of the argument but in this rebuttal, I seek to deconstruct each of Ms. Roberts’ top ten reasons.

“10. Nicknames. Bron-Bron, King James, LBJ, The Chosen One, Video Game James. What does Kobe have? One word, and that's so been done: Cher, Madonna, Prince. One word names are old and boring.”

In addition to those pop stars Ms. Roberts has listed, other one word names that have also been done include: Pele, Ronaldo, Ronaldinho, Jordan, Magic, Shaq, Tiger and of course, Lebron. You see, great players do not need emphatic nicknames to glorify them; their names alone should be synonymous to their greatness as athletes. Although I like LBJ – it’s quite an original initial. Not like any president’s ever had a name like that or anything. I think Lebron’s fans are dyslexic because it should have been LRJ (Lebron Raymond James.) I like “Video Game James,” because Lebron is apparently the only player that Playstation, Xbox and Nintendo creates in their video games. It’s not like Kobe’s ever been on the cover of 4 major videogame covers or anything. In order to avoid being “old and boring,” I hope to popularize the following nicknames for Mr. Kobe Bryant – “the Cobra Kobe Bryant,” “the Word,” “Jesus’ Savior.” In all seriousness, Wikipedia listed “KB24” and “Black Mumba” as Kobe’s other nicknames. By the way, “Kobe” isn’t exactly a nick name as much as a first name.

9. Size. LeBron has two inches and 30 pounds on Kobe. I think James could probably take him a in fight, although Bryant strikes me as a guy who would fight dirty (see below).

Oh no, she didn’t! She just said that Lebron has 2 inches on Kobe! I mean, I don’t doubt these guy’s size, but I’m curious to know how Ms. Roberts manage to find out these private information. I’ve also heard that size matters but hey, who am I to judge? I hear Kobe scratches when he fights because his nails are 2 inches longer than LeBron.

8. Criminal charges. Rape accusations made against Kobe: 1 Rape accusations made against LeBron: 0 Need I say more?

Dear Ms.. Roberts, in the United States, I believe people are “innocent unless proven guilty.” And to my recollection, Mr. Bryant has not been found guilty of rape. Where the matter of accusation is concerned, I accuse you for being a traitor to the freedom of our country. Ms. Roberts: 1 Treason accusation. Bora Kem: 0. By the way, your punctuation makes it seem like “1 Rape accusations made against LeBron.” Perhaps this is intentional or perhaps, simply a Freudian slip.

7. Age. LeBron is only 22. He still hasn't hit his prime and has at least five more years of playing his best basketball ahead of him. Kobe is just past the peak, probably on the other side of the hill and headed for a long slide down.

Age. When Kobe Bryant was 22, he wore three championship rings on his fingers. Hopefully, LeBron will wear one. But Lebron will “probably” be getting better and better but will “probably” win a championship or two. But MAYBE, he will” probably” win the presidential election in 2020. Of course, this sounds absurd; as absurd as Ms. Roberts’ unfounded speculations. Personally, I’d rather a bird in hand than two in the bush.

6. Supporting casts. LeBron does it without a Phil Jackson, a Lamar Odom or a Smush Parker (OK, that second one is a joke. Kobe's supporting crew has diminished significantly in the past couple seasons).

“Lebron does it.” Does what exactly? Maybe Kobe, Phil Jackson and Lamar Odom does a broadway play that I haven’t heard about, but I am not sure what Ms. Roberts mean exactly. Does she mean that Lebron plays basketball without the “supporting casts”? Does she mean that Lebron reach the finals while playing one on five against the other eastern conference teams? Maybe, she assumes that great players make great teams but anyone who has ever played or seen a basketball game will know that basketball is a team game.

5. Style. LeBron has that cool headband, a cool bit of facial hair and a mega-watt smile. Kobe has a permanent scowl.

Okay, of all the “thousands of reasons” why LeBron is better than Kobe, this reason makes number 5 on the list?

4. Handling pressure. LeBron was the most hyped athlete of the last decade. He has been followed by the media since he was a teenager and called the next Jordan, the "Air Apparent." More people came to his high schools games than to local NCAA or Cavs games. And what did he do? Class act all around, never got in trouble, handled his finances and his personal life responsibly, and carried his hometown team to the NBA finals in just his fourth season. Kobe, in contrast, whines and moans, fights with his team's star, possibly forces a trade of that star to the Heat, and then starts demanding a trade of his own. Not hot.

Roberts finally makes a legitimate point, yet not without some faulty assumptions along the way. “Lebron was the most hyped athlete of the last decade… and called the next Jordan.” I almost fainted upon hearing this statement. At least in the world outside of Cleveland, many people would beg to differ. (Remember that the rest of the world does not really care about basketball and Ronaldinho causes quite a stir in the world of sports, even in America.) In the arena of basketball, MOST basketball critics would probably agree that Kobe is the most hyped basketball players of the last decade and more frequently compared to the great Jordan himself. Even Jordan acknowledges Bryant’s skills. Winning championships will define a player’s greatness and leadership - Karl Malone, for example, never wins a title and thus, became oblivious despite his dominance on the court. Kobe Bryant’s high school career was a highlight because he became the youngest player ever to play the game and also because he dated R&B pop sensation, Brandy Norwood. Kobe was the thirteenth pick overall in the NBA draft and soon proved that he belonged in the league – along with Kevin Garnett, Kobe paves the way for other high school stars that wish to enter straight into the NBA. Because the league trusts high school stars to perform well in the NBA, this may have explained why the Cleveland Cavaliers manage to snatch one of its hometown heroes. I believe it is more incidental than intentional that Lebron ends up in Cleveland. Roberts added, “more people came to his high schools games than to local NCAA or Cavs games.” Roberts certainly has never stepped foot in a Cleveland Cavalier game, much less any NCAA March Madness game (Indiana or Cincinnati games just to name a few local games.)

3. We Are All Witnesses. Believe it.

Again, I fail to see what the hell Roberts is trying to say. I think in many ways, Lebron is a great player but is this saying anything about his performance relative to Kobe? Do we not witness Kobe’s dazzling feat within the last decade? Is she referring to the way Nike, as a corporation, is effective in constructing an idealized image of a basketball player by comparing him to a religious entity?

2. Stats. This year LeBron may have averaged a handful fewer points than Kobe, but career LeBron is at 26.7 points, 6.7 rebounds and 6.4 assists. Kobe's career 24.6, 5.2 and 4.5. Bron-Bron's got a slight edge in steals and blocks too, making him an all-around better player than Kobe.

That’s it – Roberts’ won the argument. Case closed. Except not really. If you like stats, be your own judge.

KOBE:

• 3-time NBA Champion: 2000, 2001, 2002
• 2-time Scoring Champion: 2006, 2007
• 9-time NBA All-Star: 1998, 2000, 2001, 2002, 2003, 2004, 2005, 2006, 2007
• Has started in each of his appearances
• 9 consecutive appearances (No All-Star game in 1999 due to league-wide lock-out)
• 2-time NBA All-Star Game MVP: 2002, 2007
• 9-time All-NBA Selection:
• First Team: 2002, 2003, 2004, 2006, 2007
• Second Team: 2000, 2001
• Third Team: 1999, 2005
• 7-time All-Defensive Selection:
• First Team: 2000, 2003, 2004, 2006, 2007
• Second Team: 2001, 2002
• NBA All-Rookie Second Team: 1997
• NBA All-Star Slam Dunk Champion: 1997
• NBA regular season leader in:
• points: 2003 (2,461), 2006 (2,832, 7th in NBA history), 2007 (2,430)
• points per game: 2006 (35.4, 9th in NBA history), 2007 (31.6)
• field goals attempted: 2006 (2,173), 2007 (1,757)
• field goals made: 2003 (868), 2006 (978), 2007 (813)
• free throws attempted: 2007 (768)
• free throws made: 2006 (696), 2007 (667)
• 2nd most points in a Game: 81 (January 22, 2006 vs. the Toronto Raptors)

LEBRON:

• 2007 NBA Eastern Conference Champions with the Cavaliers
• NBA All-Rookie First Team: 2004
• NBA All-Star Game MVP: 2006
• 3-time NBA All-Star: 2005, 2006, 2007
• 3-time All-NBA:
o First Team: 2006
o Second Team: 2005, 2007
• Bronze medal with Team USA, 2004 Olympics in Athens, Greece.
• Bronze medal with Team USA, 2006 FIBA World Championships.
• 1-time NBA Finals Appearance: 2007

1. Playoffs. It's June and LeBron is still in it. Kobe has been out on the golf course or pretending to be LeBron on Xbox for weeks.

Kobe finally makes it out to Augusta, GA to practice his swings after spending 4 Junes playing in the finals in the last 10 years.
Also, Ms. Roberts, knock on wood.

what are u smoking man....

Lebron is no where near kobe... NO WHERE....the next MJ?! hah! he jus got swept in the FINALS!...

Kobe has three rings = Lebron has zero
Kobe was practicing with the 76'ers in high school = Lebron wasn't
Kobe scored 81 vs. Toronto = Lebron's career high was set vs Toronto also. It was 56
Kobe is a 2-time Scoring Champion = Lebron is a 0-time Scoring Champion
Kobe is a 9-time NBA All-Star = Lebron is a 3-time NBA All-Star
Kobe has started in each of his appearances = Lebron probably did
Kobe made it 9 years in a row = Lebron, probably 3
Kobe is a 2-time NBA All-Star Game MVP = Lebron is a 1-time NBA All-Star Game MVP
Kobe is a 9-time All-NBA Selection = Lebron is a 3-time All-NBA Selection
Kobe made All-NBA First Team 5 times = Lebron made it 1 out of 3 times
Kobe is a 7-time All-Defensive Selection = Lebron is a 0-time All Defensive Selection
Kobe is a 1-time NBA All-Star Slam Dunk Champion = Lebron is not
Kobe is the youngest player to get 19,000 points = Lebron is still on 8,000
Kobe is the youngest player to start an NBA game = Lebron is not
Kobe is the youngest player to start an NBA All-Star Game = Lebron is not
Kobe is the youngest NBA All-Star Slam Dunk champion = Lebron is not
Kobe has tied the record for most three-pointers, one game: 12 = Lebron, no
Kobe scored 55 points in one half = Lebron's career high in points is 56
Kobe scored 30 points in a quarter = Lebron has not
Kobe has 4 games in a row scoring over 50 points = Lebron has not
Kobe has has won 4 NBA Photo of the Year Awards = Lebron, probably 0

Thats probably HALF of the reasons Kobe is better, I don't feel like putting the rest.

Translation of the name of Lebron's latest Baby:

Bryce - Bryant
Maximus - is Bigger/Better than
James - James

Hmmnnnnnnnnnnn!!!

El BJ can suck it...

lol please tell me this post is out of sarcasm? usually i am very good at finding that out, but this time its a little hard. if not then would you mind getting off lebrons jock already?, i dont blame you, after all he made the Finals out of EAST, big dealio. reading your post, and as a woman, i can see why guys say that sports are for men, ladies aint got jack to do wit it, i dun wanna give a feminist lecture or anything, but thanks alot for cosigning with them. =] & btw,lebron over KOBE? SERIOUSLY?? that ogre looking, nails chewing choker over, tall, dark & handsome, always looking fresh, better than the best, droppin` 81 without taking a rest lol tht sounded corny but you get the point. i can go on abt KOBE being the best player, but most of the ppl already did tht for me, so one more thing KOBE got over lebroom is his looks, now you can change ur game, name and whtever u want but u is gonna still stay ugly nah mean? lol, & that global icon ish, lmfao, larry hughes might go a whole season without a turnover, kwame brown might go a whole season without not catching the ball, isiah thomas might not again get yet another useless guard to play for the knicks & not go over the cap, shaq might lose tremendous amount of weight, but lebron being a GLOBAL ICON, again LMFAO!!

hey retard that wrote this, the only thing that matters bout bball is bball. not nicknames and all that other shit. Cut kobe some slack,have you eva made a mistake? kobes were just dam public, and people blame himofr thins that aint his fault. Plus wth the stats, take away kobes first three years his averages are like identical to mj's. so shut the hell up, n think about shit b4 u rite it