First Take host Skip Bayless, offered his commentary on retiring Lakers star Kobe Bryant and Lebron James
It must be stated that Skip Bayless and Stephen A. Smith are two of the most obstinate men in reporting. They could get riled up arguing over whether the letter “Y” should actually be considered a vowel, or why their favorite color is better than everyone else’s.
That said, taking advice from former UCLA assistant coach, Kerry Keating, if you take the time to, “Listen to what saying, not how saying it,” at least in this instance, their commentary becomes much more bearable.
The only thing Kobe does better than Lebron is make free throws
If you still find the video unwatchable, and I don’t blame you, the short conversation is as follows: Skip Bayless believes Lebron James is better than Kobe Bryant in nearly every aspect of the game, except free throw shooting.
"The only thing Kobe does better than LeBron is make free throws." - @RealSkipBayless. https://t.co/0ib9Zae94b
— NBA on ESPN (@ESPNNBA) December 1, 2015
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“Lebron is the better all around basketball player than Kobe Bryant. Lebron is classically unselfish, right there with Magic as the all time greatest teammate to have. Lebron does more things better than Kobe does.”
Bayless proceeded to reduce Kobe’s legacy down to only being important for hitting clutch shots.
“If I need a basket scored late, I would want Kobe with the ball in his hands, but that doesn’t happen often enough that I would take Kobe over Lebron.”
Further, Skip said,
"So when I look at LeBron’s numbers, his career numbers across the board are better. Little better scoring, quite a bit better rebounding, much better in assists, a little better in steals. The only thing Kobe does better than Lebron is make free throws"
Ironically, for a person who is so intent on comparing numbers, Bayless forgot to mention “winning rings” as something that Kobe does better than LeBron.
Taking a look at the scoreboard, James’ record in the Finals is 2-of-6 while Bryant, on the contrary, has been to seven NBA Finals and taken home five of them.
This was of course with the help of one of the most dominant big men in NBA history, in Shaquille O’Neal, but if that argument is going to be made, it can also be argued that without Shaq, Kobe’s stats might have been even better.
Stephen A. Smith rebuts with a similar sentiment:
"I don’t have him above Kobe, because he doesn’t have five rings… And not only that, at the end of Lebron’s career he could end up there, but it took Lebron a little while to get to this level. Kobe was at this level for a long sustained period of time . . .I know Lebron is a better complete player, you understand who does more things, but if you’re talking about one game to deliver the goods, Kobe in his prime and Lebron, I got to roll with Kobe because he’s the Black Mamba and he’s got five rings to validate it"
Smith’s statements about Lebron taking longer than Kobe to get to his prime are highly questionable, but that is a debate for another time.
Next: Lebron James Shows Love and Respect for Kobe
Where do Kobe Bryant and Lebron James rank in your Top 10 players of all time? Let us know in the comments below!