Kobe was more skilled than lebron though but lebron has more impact If u swapped bodies u would see one average player and one Demi god
Kobe's still well within top 10 or so all time, we don't need to slam one legend to prop up another one. 33600+ career points! Steve Nash is more skilled than LeBron probably, but LeBron is a better basketball player. The issue isn't one particular element of what makes a player, like their respective "skill" or technique... it's the efficacy of the whole package.
But to answer your question LeBron has better instincts as a help defender than Kobe. He's got better court vision than Kobe, and certainly over the course of his career he is a better and more willing passer than Kobe. And none of those are due to his physical advantages.
It's like saying Brandon Jennings is a more skilled player than George Hill. This, while technically true, is also completely meaningless, because Hill is a much more efficient shooter, a better facilitator and more willing passer with better decision-making, and a more effective overall player. What use is nebulous "skill" if it doesn't translate to being a better player? This isn't street ball or freestyle.
I think Lebron and Shaq are exceptions to the rule. You almost never see athletes built in such unique way that they can dominate their sport. It's amazing how agile Shaq was for his size and how quick Lebron is for his. But I totally agree with your argument about skills vs whole package. As an example, there are ton of tennis players who were more skilled than Jim Courrier, yet he won 4 Grand Slams and Goran Ivanisevic won one.
Better defensively, better court vision, better passing, team building, rebounding, 3 point percentage, efficiency, effective field goal percentage, less reliant on jumpers. Kobe was arguably more talented offensively than MJ too, but that doesn't say a lot about who was the better player.
I don't even like the guy. He's not that much fun to watch. He's got an ugly jumper that he can't rely on midrange - he finally developed some semblance of a post game - and he doesn't have ice water in his veins like some other greats. But I'm also picking him first over probably everyone not named Mike for Basketball Mount Everest.
Bird I guess is in contention. I put a lot of others before him. The old guys like Russell and Wilt and Oscar, I don't know how to judge them against the modern era and I didn't watch them so I leave that to others to decide. Really I'm just talking about my lifetime as a fan. Kareem is in contention, but still I missed his early years and thus don't have a great idea of how he stacks up on the whole from having watched him closely.
Kareem is a legend, but Nowitzki had an unstoppable shot too and he took a rag tag team to the Finals and beat a super team. I also didn't see him in his Milwaukee days, but his LA days? Didn't scream top 3 player to me, although I'm sure some basketball historians might disagree. Shaq was one of the most unstoppable forces I've seen play but his devotion to his craft lags way behind guys like Jordan and Kobe even. My mount rushmore is probably MJ, Magic, LBJ too - that 4th spot is tough. I'd love to put Duncan there - longevity and consistency, multiple titles, best power forward ever, made others better - but I'd probably lean towards Wilt, although I never saw him play.
You don't have to remove it, but i use it for context. For example. Larry Bird averaged 10 rebounds a game over his career. LeBron doesnt average up to 8. Larry is not very athletic and played im a time without small ball and a much more physical game. I guess all these NBA players are crazy too. http://bleacherreport.com/articles/...and-kobe-bryant-to-take-last-shot-over-lebron https://www.si.com/nba/point-forward/2013/02/15/michael-jordan-kobe-bryant-lebron-james http://m.espn.com/general/blogs/blogpost?blogname=4152896&id=12996326&src=desktop And many more Just a minor disagree here. That Dallas team was not a rag tsg team. They were a 50 to 60 win team consistently for at keast 5 years. Starting with Don Nelson. They won at least 50 games, 11 straight seasons
With all due respect to Thomas, I think this trade takes Cleveland out of any serious consideration of beating the Warriors.