Who is the best basketball player today, and in the past?

i think that talking pure athleticism lebron beats jordan, along with kobe. jordan and kobe i think have more similarities than lebron and jordan.

kauffman v36 wrote in post #9225208
i think that talking pure athleticism lebron beats jordan, along with kobe. jordan and kobe i think have more similarities than lebron and jordan.

Until Lebron makes his commercial comes true and actually suits up for the Browns Jordan will hold this one as well - he at least played two professional sports, though he was definitely no Bo or Deon!

Good article here on the comparison...

http://www.usatoday.co​m …2-14-kobe-vs-lebron_N.htm

MJPhotos, that article captured the essence of the comparison in its entirety i believe. and as jeff van gundy said, "id take lebron the first 3 quarters, but kobe down the stretch" i think that really shows the difference between the two. noone is going to mentally outplay kobe in this league and that is the edge few players have. well see where lebron makes it.

Kobe is the best right now. His jumper is on point. Lebron's is more 50/50 but he will get there. Many are also forgetting he is being compared to players in their adult prime. He is only 25 years old. When he gets into his 30's and if and i do mean if he can get his jumper straight he will be the greatest of all time. The amount of defensive skill that will be require to guard him will be insane. If you give him space he can shoot, if you press him he is going to run you over with ease.

Kobe may be a better scorer, but LeBron's more of a triple-double kind of guy. Think about that for a moment.

zelseman wrote in post #9219885
You obviously don't watch a lot of basketball. Rodman was a punk. He was fortunate to play for the bulls when he did, or no one would know his name.
Current: Lebron James; He is better than Kobe Bryant. Yea, I said it. He can single handedly take over any game and make an immediate impact on the outcome. On a side note, he can also smash like not many can.

Past: Michael Jordan; Do I really need to defend this point. I think he is accepted by most everyone as the best player of the past.

Ha ha ha! Are you kidding? Rodman was very well known before he came to the Bulls. The man who said Larry Bird was overrated coz he was white? The man on the team that twice stopped Jordans Bulls from going to the Finals while playing on the Bad Boys? He had won two rings before Jordan, and he was an important part of those teams! The man who had an affair with Madonna? How good he was, his impact, those are debatable. But "no one would know his name" is entirely wrong. Heck, he even managed to stay in the news after Jordan by marrying Carmen Electra.

Personal opinions : Current, between LeBron, Kobe and Wade.

All time : Bill Russell. Two NCAA Championships, Olympic Gold, 11 NBA championships in 13 years, 12 time all star, 5 time MVP. Jordan was a NCAA Champ, 2 time Olympic Gold medalist, 6 time Champ, 14 time all star and 5 time MVP. Jordan's Dream team won the Olympic Gold by an average 43.8 per game. Russell's team won by 53.5. And Russell wasn't allowed to play in the Olympics as a NBA player. Jordan was. And Russell played in the same era as Chamberlain. He of the 100 point game. Wilt might have avged 50 points that year, including his 100 point game, but that years MVP was Bill Russell.

But of course, we never got a chance to see Mike Chafter play. According to Ron Artest, the best ever http://www.youtube.com …w&feature=playe​r_embedded