Los Angeles Lakers: Four reasons why LeBron is better than Kobe

4. The rings argument simply does not suffice

The biggest trump card in every single sports debate is the rings argument. No matter what is said, what is brought up, many assume that you can simply bring up how many championships belong to an individual or a team to settle the debate.

For every other sport other than basketball, that ring typically applies to franchises. The New York Yankees are regarded as baseball’s most pristine franchise with 27 rings and the Pittsburgh Steelers are still the NFL’s supreme.

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In the NBA, though, that argument is never brought up between two franchises; instead, it is brought into focus when discussing individual legacies. When it comes to Kobe and LeBron, those five rings dangle over LeBron’s head.

There are several reasons why this argument does not suffice. First, LeBron is still playing and is still the best basketball player on the planet. He could very easily win two rings in LA to tie Kobe, making the argument completely irrelevant.

Second of all, the quality of competition that Kobe faced was not as high as LeBron and when it was, he was the second-best player on the team.

Say what you will about the Kobe-Shaq dynamic but Shaq was in his prime and the most dominant player in the league. He was the MVP in 2000 and the Finals MVP for all three rings, he obviously was the guy for LA.

LeBron has never been the second-best player on his team and has never had a center like Shaq to rely on. Yes, he had Dwyane Wade and Chris Bosh and then Kyrie Irving and Kevin Love; Shaq was as good, if not better, than those duos combined on both teams. Plus, it’s not like they had a bad supporting cast, either.

When Kobe was the alpha he was rewarded some easy Finals matchups. He played an Orlando Magic team that was a feel-good story that never really stood a chance. Then the Lakers played the Boston Celtics, who were two years removed from the prime big three.

Granted, those teams did beat LeBron’s Cavaliers and I will give them that. However, LeBron’s Cavaliers were just as bad as Kobe’s worst Laker teams; LeBron still made them contenders.

If it was not for the Golden State Warriors, who are arguably the greatest team all-time in pure talent, LeBron James would have at least five NBA Championships.

I will give Kobe Fans the 2011 NBA Finals, that was a total choke job by LeBron and the Heat against the Dallas Mavericks. However, aside from that, Kobe simply had an easier road than LeBron has had to win championships.