LeBron James and Kobe Bryant have always been subject to comparisons ever since ‘King James’ burst onto the NBA scene in 2003. Even today, they are adversaries in the GOAT debate against Michael Jordan. So Gilbert Arenas prompted a debate when he shared on his show, Gil’s Arena, a hypothetical pick-up basketball scenario, where he picked LBJ over the Bean.
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“Who am I gonna pick on my team first? If we went to the park and we don’t know anybody and we just know these two it’s like…Imma go with LeBron cause no matter what we got on here we’re gonna win with it… I’d rather take my chances with [LeBron], he probably gonna get us to the promised land. We might win this game, and that was the difference.”
Many former NBA players have voiced their support for Kobe throughout the years, promoting the Black Mamba to be more skilled and more dominant than LeBron. For Arenas, a former All-Star who competed against both legends, it’s a more complicated question. Gil shared that he expected more from Kobe after Shaq left Los Angeles, but LeBron continued to keep pace with him every step of the way.
“As a basketball player, if I just say… who made it look better? Obviously, Kob [Bryant], right? The bag is crazy, like the work ethic is crazy.”
“[But] when Kob was supposed to be the king at the top of the hill, right, 2004-2005 season… Shaq just left, he was behind Shaq the whole time and it was his time to be all-world. Lebron James was challenging him in that moment in time, and he was only 21,” Arenas said on The Pivot Podcast.
The former Washington Wizard continued to explain why he favors LeBron’s all-around winning abilities over Bryant’s individual prowess. While Kobe was scoring in droves and carrying a disastrous Lakers roster in his prime, the much younger James was producing at the same level while also spearheading a terrible Cavs team to the NBA Finals in 2007.
Arenas emphasized LeBron’s superior ability to lead lesser teams to greatness and said that that puts him ahead of Kobe for him.
“Out of the 19 games you [Kobe] played, the kid [LeBron] is 16-3 against you, and you’re supposed to be the dude, right?” Arenas added.
The three-time All-Star concluded that Kobe in his prime couldn’t blow a young LBJ out of the water, they were actually competing against each other. So that alone puts LeBron ahead.
Arenas has made his stance clear on the LeBron versus Kobe debate before as well, which doesn’t come as much of as a surprise considering the praise he has dished to James in the past.
Gilbert Arenas has voiced immense praise for LeBron before
Last season, Arenas shared how LeBron has perfected his game throughout his lengthy NBA career.
“Smart, so smart that he plays to his strengths and never his weaknesses. That’s what LeBron mastered. I’m just gonna stick with what I’m great at, I’m gonna perfect it. I’m gonna get smarter, wiser,” Arenas spoke about James on Podcast P with Paul George.
LeBron James has taken down countless All-Stars on his path to being one of basketball’s greatest legends, but it seems even his strongest opponents can’t help themselves from applauding his superhuman efforts over the last 20 years.
