So who is the better player? Kobe or LeBron? That seems to be the million dollar question on everyone’s mind right now. Last season the NBA got a huge lift when the greatest rivals in the history of NBA Basketball met in the Finals with the Boston Celtics dominating Kobe and the Lakers by winning their NBA best 17th world title.
The NBA could be in store for another big playoff boost if Kobe’s Lakers face off against LeBron’s Cavs in the 2009 Finals as both players are the two best on the planet and both are the faces of the NBA as well.
Regardless of which team comes out on top or which player hoist the Larry O’Brien Trophy the league itself will be the big winner if both land in the final series of the season. Kobe has yet to win a title in the post Shaq era and LeBron is constantly being rumored to be leaving Cleveland next summer for the Big Apple to save the struggling Knicks in the world’s largest media market.
All would agree that each player is great but there is some debate on which player can lead their team to the title. Kobe seemingly has the best supporting cast with his team of veteran leaders and a coach that has won nine NBA Titles in his hip pocket while LeBron is clearly the only All-Star caliber player on his team that is consistent each and every night and can take over a game.
Kobe has three titles to his credit but his critics still think that he will have trouble winning a title this season. LeBron has been to the Finals once and got swept by the Spurs in four games and he has something to prove on the games greatest stage as well.
Kobe has shed his public image of not being a team player after his run-in in Vail that cost him a ton of sponsorships. But his ability to be the best player in the game today has helped him overcome that now minor setback.
LeBron is the face of the NBA right now with commercial after commercial featuring the young talented #23 fromOhio in every market in the world. So who will win? Will the Lakers be derailed on their way to the Finals and if so what team will be the most likely to hand the Lakers an upset loss? Spurs, Nuggets or the young and up and coming Blazers of Portland or Yao and the Rockets?
If the Lakers are knocked off I’ll say that the Blazers will be the ones to upset the Purple and Gold. The Lakers have not won in Portland in four years and they have lost eight straight at the Rose Garden as well.
And are the Cavs a shoe in to make it to the finals after winning forty games at home this season? Can the C’s or Magic sneak up on Cleveland? I guess it really does not matter because the fans of the sport are the winners here.
Kobe has plenty of gas left in the tank but to go to the Finals again this season and not win it could start to take its toll on #24 and get into his head a little. LeBron has a ton of time and is a teammate or two away from winning several titles in a row but can he carry his team to the title?
I’ll give the nod to the Lakers over the Cavs in six games in the NBA Finals and if these two don’t meet in the last series of the season then the 2009 NBA post season will be one filled with some big upsets.
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