Kobe Bryant gave the San Antonio Spurs a gentlemen’s sweep, whereas LeBron James’ Cavs were the ones swept in the 2007 Finals.
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The debates between NBA greats will never stop. The Mount Rushmore of NBA players, as folks call it will constantly change. For now, the attention is firmly on two players, Kobe Bryant and LeBron James.
The two athletes have been transcendent for the sport. Only Michael Jordan can eclipse them in terms of popularity. So when a team comes around and sweeps LeBron James’ Cleveland Cavaliers, it is big news.
The year is 2007 and the San Antonio Spurs have been dominant. They meet Cleveland Cavaliers in the NBA Finals, led by a young 23-year-old LeBron James.
The task at hand is simple enough and the star power on the San Antonio Roster is enough to brush aside the young king. Tim Duncan imparts some wisdom to LeBron, even thanking him for the title.
Duncan might have heralded the forthcoming of LeBron James, but he still had to defend his title in 2008. The Spurs team, while formidable met their match in another superstar, Kobe Bryant.
Kobe gave the Spurs a gentlemen’s sweep meanwhile they gave LeBron James a proper sweep!
While LeBron James didn’t have the star-studded roster required to beat the Spurs, neither did Kobe. The only outstanding name on Bryant’s team was Pau Gasol.
This curious statistic shows us that LeBron and Kobe’s supporting cast put up nearly identical numbers against the spurs. So the case is to be made for Bryant being better than LeBron.
Another important thing of note is that both the superstars faced the Celtics and the Magic over the course of the next two years, LeBron lost to both whereas Kobe beat them both to win his 4th and 5th championships.
LeBron may have been in his early 20s at the time, but it is still a good debate. Was Kobe that much better than him during his prime or has LeBron’s key to success always been his longevity?
One title separates them both, let’s see if LBJ can get his hands on the 5th one and reignite the debate.
