We’re now on the half way-point of the 2008-2009 NBA season and so far we have been entertained by a lot of outstanding performances by the league’s best players and teams, but for now I wanna focus on NBA’s top 2 best players and MVP candidates, these are Cavalier’s LeBron “King” James and Laker’s Kobe “Mr. 81” Bryant.
Let’s compare the 2 shall we.
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Kobe Bryant
Los Angeles Lakers
Position:Â G
Height:Â 6-6 Weight:Â 205
High School: Lower Merion HS (PA)
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2008-09 Statistics |
PPG |
27.6 |
RPG |
5.5 |
APG |
5.0 |
SPG |
1.3 |
BPG |
0.4 |
FG% |
0.471 |
FT% |
0.872 |
3P% |
0.359 |
MPG |
36.5 |
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LeBron James
Cleveland Cavaliers
Position:Â F
Height:Â 6-8 Weight:Â 250
High School: St. Vincent-St. Mary HS (OH)
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2008-09 Statistics |
PPG |
28.9 |
RPG |
7.4 |
APG |
7.1 |
SPG |
1.8 |
BPG |
1.2 |
FG% |
0.493 |
FT% |
0.772 |
3P% |
0.317 |
MPG |
37.6 |
What you see above are the current season stats of each player. As what you see, there is no doubt that James has a tiny edge on Bryant when it comes to stats. Now let’s compare their impacts to their respective teams. Let’s start with Bryant, Kobe gives intensity and leadership to the Laker’s, the 12 year veteran not only drops enormous points but also acts as a facilitator and a big boost of confidence for his teammates. He has that “Killer Instinct” and competitive attitude that makes him hard to be defended, there is no question why he is the reigning Season MVP. Now that we’re done with Bryant let’s talk about King James, Lebron from the very start of this season has been outstanding and very competitive, he drops big time points while also grabbing huge number of rebounds, he also finds his open teammates well. LeBron is clearly the reason why Cleveland’s winning ball games, he might not yet be on the level that Bryant has today, but the attitude he’s showing every night helps his team much.
Clearly both players are on a race of their own, physically James is blessed with big body that is as hard as a rock and is as quick as a formula 1 car, meanwhile Bryant physically don’t have that kind of body that Jame’s has. As he is getting older we cannot expect that he’ll be as good as Jame’s physically for the age factor might come to play. Besides the Age Factor, Bryant’s still plays well and shows no sign of aging, hell! he even plays with a broken pinky finger.
All in all, both players have entertained us since the start of the season, from Bryant’s MSG record breaking 61 points then James tops it out with 52 points and a triple double in the same court.
Now the big question is who’s the Man?
As of now, I have to say Kobe Bryant is the Man. The reigning MVP showed everyone that he can outclass the best of the best players in the NBA, he proved it when he led Lakers to victory versus the defending champs and arch rivals Celtics, he also facilitated Lakers on ending the 23 Home Game Winning Streak of Jame’s Cavaliers team.
With all these accomplishments he is having this season there is no doubt that Kobe is still the Best! But “Mr. 81” don’t be so confident, because King James is gaining and getting closer on snatching from you the Season MVP Award.
-Vincent S. Banguis II