Kobe Bryant vs. LeBron James

For the past few years, there's been a big debate about who's better: Kobe Bryant or LeBron James?

For argument sake, let's statistically break it down:

Kobe Bryant – Age 25
37.6 MPG .438 FG% .327 3P% .852 FT% 5.5 RPG 5.5 APG 1.7 SPG .4BPG24.0 PPG
Team mates: Karl Malone, Shaq O'Neal, Gary Payton, Devean George
HOF Count: (4) Malone, O'Neal, Payton, Bryant

LeBron James – Age 25
38.5 MPG .502 FG% .348 3P% .769 FT% 7.20 RPG 8.0 APG 1.5 SPG 1.1 BPG 29.4 PPG
Team mates: Shaq O'Neal, J.J. Hickson, Anthony Parker, Mo Williams
HOF Count: (2) O'Neal, James

Analysis: At age 25, Kobe Bryant's Lakers made it to the NBA Finals, but came up short, losing to the Pistons. He was surrounded by three future Hall of Fame players, not including himself. In contrast, LeBron James' Cavs currently have the best record in the NBA and only has one future hall of fame player on the team, not including himself. Bryant averaged about a minute less of playing time at age 25, but only holds two statistical category advantages over James: free throw percentage and steals per game.

Now, let's take a look at this season.

Kobe Bryant – Age 31
38.4 MPG .462 FG% .314 3P% .828 FT% 5.4 RPG 4.7 APG 1.7 SPG 0.3 BPG 28.2 PPG
Lakers record against the Cavs: (0-2) .000
Lakers record on the road: (13-8) .619
Lakers overall record: (36-11) .766

LeBron James – Age 25
38.5 MPG .502 FG% .348 3P% .769 FT% 7.20 RPG 8.0 APG 1.5 SPG 1.1 BPG 29.4 PPG
Cavs record against the Lakers: (2-0) .1000
Cavs record on the road: (19-8) .667
Cavs overall record: (37-11) .676

Analysis: Currently, LeBron James leads Kobe Bryant in every statistical category, except free throw percentage and steals per game (barely), while both are playing the same amount of minutes per game. LeBron's team also holds a better record than the Lakers and also have beat the Lakers head to head twice this season.

Edge: LeBron James
While Kobe Bryant has more rings than LeBron James, that doesn't prove that he's the better overall player today. Three of the four rings Kobe has were won with the likes of Shaq. Kobe has always been surrounded by great players. LeBron makes his team mates better and is more of a complete player than Bryant. LeBron still has many years to play in this league, in which he will earn his fair share of rings, so let's not hold ring count against him. King James is the best basketball player on the planet over Kobe Bryant.