Calm Down People

I must apologize to everyone who reads this blog because I have misrepresented myself.  I call myself the Sports Informer and yet I am so out of touch with the sports world that I missed the fact that LeBron James was canonized and made St. James.  

I had no idea this had occurred until today when sports writers all over North America condemned St. James for not shaking hands with the Magic after Game 6 in which the Cleveland LeBrons were knocked out of the NBA playoffs.

Yes it appears that St. James is set to be burned at the stake for his terrible acts and will no doubt be hounded mercilessly until his final breath.

If you haven't heard by now the Cleveland Cavaliers lost to the Orlando Magic Saturday night and were eliminated from the playoffs.  LeBron James skipped the traditional handshakes and instead left the arena and drove straight home not even taking the time to talk to the media.  For these actions he is being made out to be a dick or a bad person.

Today on Around the Horn and PTI he was blasted for his actions and only Michael Wilbon, who I have spoken to personally on the phone and is a great guy, defended him.  It was not just ESPN that was giving LeBron a hard time but also Sports Illustrated, TSN, theScore, and even the lowly and irrelevant Sportsnet.

I think what everyone is forgetting is that this is the first time LeBron has ever done anything like this.  The guy has been in the national spotlight since he was 16 and is by far one of the most polished athletes out there.

He is by all accounts a great teammate, he doesn't shoot himself in the leg at clubs, he doesn't make it rain at strip clubs, he doesn't drink and drive, and he doesn't get into drunken bar fights or rape women (cheap shot at Kobe...deal with it).  

He has done everything right his entire career and the first time he slips up he gets ruined by the media and made out to be some arrogant asshole.  Ok so the guy didn't go shake hands and didn't talk to the media right afterwards is that such a big deal?

In his own defense James had this to say, "It's hard for me to congratulate somebody after you just lose to them, I'm a winner. It's not being a poor sport or anything like that. If somebody beats you up, you're not going to congratulate them. That doesn't make sense to me. I'm a competitor. That's what I do. It doesn't make sense for me to go over and shake somebody's hand."

Now I am not going to sit here and defend what James did.  I think that he should have manned up and gone and shook the hands of the players he had just played against but I don't think this public outcry is necessary.  James was clearly pissed off that he wasted another year of his prime playing beside scrubs and guys who couldn't hit wide open jump shots if they were promised a BJ from Scarlet Johansson.

Another thing people are making a huge deal about in terms of LeBron is the fact that he always wears Yankees hats.  Today when James spoke to the media he had on a Yankees hat and one reporter asked him if he was wearing it because he wanted to play in New York.  What a douchebag question.

Yankees hats are popular.  People who don't like the Yankees or even baseball often wear Yankees hats because it is popular.  When I was in grade 8 everyone had a Yankees hat and they were all different colors and nobody actually like the Yankees.

LeBron has been wearing Yankees hats since he was in high school and well before he played for Cleveland so I doubt he is going to stop just because he plays for the Cavs.  Besides what hat would he wear instead?  The Indians suck and if he wore a Cabs hat he would look like a shameless self promoter.  People in sports media need to calm down and stop making a huge deal out of nothing.

Since he was 16 the media has done nothing but build up LeBron James as this great kid who was freakishly talented but really down to earth.  They all said he was a nice guy and didn't let his fame go to his head.  Now because of the whole not shaking hands thing he has apparently in one swift move besmirched his great reputation.  

I guess he is no longer St. James but just simply LeBron.

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Comparing Eras

Ever since LeBron James joined the NBA people have been trying to compare him to Michael Jordan.  There have been constant comparisons in their numbers, playing style, and even the way they act on and off the court.  With all of these comparisons comes the inevitable debate as to who is better LeBron or Jordan.  The answer?  No one will ever know.

When it comes to sports it is impossible to avoid comparing players from different eras.  Whether it be the LeBron vs Jordan debate or Ruth vs Bonds fans always want to try and debate which athlete is better.  The problem with this is that it is comparing apples to oranges and it just doesn't work.

In the case of Jordan and LeBron the two cannot be compared.  Jordan played in a league that didn't bail out players when they drove to the basket with reckless abandon and got lightly bumped.  He also didn't have to play against the kinds of athletes LeBron does.  A guy like Mikael Pietrus - who is an average to good player at best - would be considered a better athlete than 80% of the guys who played during Jordan's era.

Sports have come such a long way since then and the level of competition LeBron is facing is much higher on a daily basis.  Does this mean LeBron is better?  No it simply means that two different eras exist and attempting to compare them is useless.

Staying with LeBron this year he had some crazy numbers and flirted with averaging a triple double.  This hasn't been done since Oscar Robinson achieved the incredible feat during the 1961-62 season.  Was Robinson a far better player than LeBron?  Hardly.  Robinson had the advantage of playing in a time when there were limits on how many black players each team could have.  Meaning that he played in a time where some of the best players available weren't in the league allowing him to face inferior competition and set records.

The same can be said of Babe Ruth who didn't play a single game in his major league career against a black opponent.  The Babe put up his monster stats against only white players giving him a distinct advantage.  Had he played 15 years later he may not have been the dominant force that he was and he may have turned out to be just a fat white guy.  

Baseball is the ultimate case of people comparing eras and players and the perfect example for my argument.  Name one pitcher from the 1930s, 40s, 50s, and 60s that could throw the ball 100mph.  It can't be done because no one could throw that hard back then.  It just didn't happen. These days every team has 1 guy in their bullpen who can just throw gas.  These guys would wreak havoc on the old timers and would make players like DiMaggio and Williams look ridiculous.

This problem goes far beyond just players though as people often try to compare whole decades and phases of the game.  In baseball for instance we are currently in the "steroid era."  The last 15 years of baseball has been tarnished due to the overwhelming presence of steroids and so people try and discount the numbers.  So what is the thought process here do we rob Arod of all of his home runs or just discount what Roger Clemens achieved throughout his career?  No.  You simply understand the time period and the current period of the game.  You realise that while Arod may be on juice so was everybody else practically.

In my opinion these comparisons are dumb and should cease to be mentioned.  What is wrong with Jordan being the best player of his era and LeBron being the best player of this current era?  Why must there only be 1 end all be all best player?  Continuing with this argument what makes the best basketball, baseball, or even football player?  Is it how many championships are won in a career?  If so then Dan Marino is a terrible quarterback and Robert Horry is a top 5 player all time.

People too often focus on who is better than who and don't just appreciate that there is a player even in the argument.  The fact that currently NBA fans get to watch both Kobe and LeBron is a gift that not many fans will get to witness.  Fans in the 90s only had Jordan.  Fans today have two players who are as dominant as Jordan was and as athletically gifted.  This should be enough to satisfy the fans but of course it is not.

No matter what anyone says and does people will always try to compare the past to the present. It is something that can unite both young and old fans and albeit useless it brings interesting arguments to the forefront of the conversation.  

Is LeBron better than Jordan?  Is Brady better than Montana?  No one can ever really prove one way or another and for now the debate will simply serve the purpose of conversation material for the couch, Internet, and the bar stool.

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The Power of Competition

A few weeks ago LeBron James was named the 2009 NBA MVP.  He is the 2nd youngest person to ever win the award and only the 3rd to win the award while leading his team in points, assists, rebounds, steals, and blocks.  He was clearly the best player during the regular season this year and deserved the trophy and all of the praise that comes along with it.

In his acceptance speech he thanked his teammates, coaches, God, and of course his parents but there was one person he left out, Kobe Bryant.  If not for Kobe then LeBron would not have won the award and more than likely would not have raised his game to its current level so quickly.

To understand what I am talking about you need to go back to the summer and the 2008 Olympic games in Beijing.  It was here that LeBron learned why Kobe is so dominant and where he was taught the lessons on how to be great.

Both LeBron and Kobe were on the US Mens basketball team dubbed the "Redeem Team" and both were determined to bring a gold medal back to the US.  However it turns out that Kobe was a bit more determined than LeBron as Kobe was waking up every morning at 6am to get in morning workouts before the official team practices.

LeBron soon found out about this and decided that if he was ever going to take the next step in his career and become a truly great player that he would need to follow the example being set by Bryant.  

Over the next few weeks the two would train together and Kobe's intense work ethic would rub off on LeBron and the two would eventually carry the US all the way to the gold medal.

Fast forward to the start of the 2009 NBA season and LeBron still waking up everyday at 6am to get in those early morning workouts and make himself a better player.  It clearly worked as this year the NBA saw one of the most dominant seasons in league history as LeBron was possessed and led his Cleveland Cavaliers to a 66-16 record (40-2 at home). 

While LeBron has always been a gifted athlete and a great competitor it can be argued that to reach that next level he needed someone to challenege him.  Having to practice against the likes of Joe Smith and Wally Szczerbiak wasn't going to allow him to do that.  LeBron needed someone to challenge him and say, "people may say you're the next Jordan but you aren't on my level yet."  This is basically what Kobe did.  By getting up early and working harder than everybody else Bryant basically called out LeBron daring him to try and keep up and get to that next level.  

This form of competition not only helps Kobe and LeBron, D Wade can also be included in this discussion as well, but helps the league.  The league has always done well when there are rivalries to create buzz.  For instance the NBA enjoyed its greatest level of success during the Magic vs. Bird era as whenever those two played it was a national event.  A rivalry composed of two of the most dominant players of the generation.  Now the NBA has Kobe and LeBron to promote the game and to create debate.

This is what the NBA was missing during "Jordan era" when Michael Jordan dominated the game and had no one to challenge him and make him better.  The league would try to position guys like Clyde Drexler and Charles Barkley to be his rival but MJ would ruin them.  He was unmatched on the court almost his entire career and it leaves me wondering what could have been if either Kobe or LeBron was born 10 years earlier.

As for the present LeBron is the new MVP and has Kobe to thank for it.  He would have reached his current level of skill on his own but without Kobe as an example and an influence it would not have come nearly as soon. LeBron may win many more MVP awards but if he wants to get better as a player he will need someone to challenge him.  It is far too easy to reach a plateau and then have no real reason to go any further.  It is what happened to Jordan and what hopefully doesn't happen to LeBron.

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NCAA vs NBA

March Madness is one of the greatest tournaments and sporting events of the year as it is exciting and gives fans a better look at the future of the NBA.  With that being said though the NBA is much better to watch than NCAA basketball, even the tournament games.  I'm not saying NBA playoff games I am talking about any NBA game during the season is better than any NCAA game whether it be during March Madness or not.  There are a few exceptions, Duke vs UNC and the NCAA Championship game, but for the rest of the games it does not even come close to comparing.

Now one thing I do love about the NCAA is that the players truly care about whether they win or lose.  They don't play for money and it shows when young guys like Blake Griffin dive into the stands for a loose ball and when guys cry during games that they lose.  Imagine seeing Allen Iverson cry on the bench if his team got knocked out of the playoffs?  Doesn't happen.

This however does not take away from the overall much inferior play in the NCAA.  Watching March Madness has reminded just how bad some of these college players are.  Not only can 98% of guards and forwards not drive the line but with the exception of Thabeet, Blair, and Hansbrough none of the big men can finish around the basket.

Too many NCAA teams rely too heavily on the 3 ball and instead of creating open looks by driving the lane and kicking out or simply beating someone off the dribble teams simply work the ball around the perimeter and then toss up a prayer with the clock winding down.  A few times over the weekend I would see a team jack up a 3, miss, get the offensive rebound, then jack up another 3 ball within 2 seconds of getting the ball.  God forbid you run some sort of offense.

If a player did that in the NBA he would be benched for the rest of the game, unless of course he is Zac Randolph who is just unconscious and shoots from everywhere on the floor with little or no consequence.  Teams in the NBA run offensive plays that they work on all week in practice and then utilize in games to score points.  This leads me to wonder what teams in the NCAA do all week.  Practice jump shots from half court for 90 minutes a day?

Another reason I prefer the NBA is because at the NBA level a fan can really get attached to a team and a player.  For instance if you are a Lakers fan then lucky for you Kobe Bryant is on your team and has been there for years now.  He will more than likely end his career there and you can always look back at how he made the Lakers great.  In the NCAA players go for 1 or 2 years and then leave.  Players like Tyler Hansbrough and Lavance Fields who are 4 year players are the exception.  This makes getting attached to a team more difficult as when you look back at the history of your team it is a long list of people you only have fleeting memories of.

Lastly there are the crowds.  While crowds at the perennial Duke vs UNC game are always crazy they set the benchmark and no rivalries even come close.  Fans go because it is free but their passion and love of their team is more often than not alcohol induced.  Look at the first two rounds of March Madness.  There were empty seats as far as the eye could see and the crowds never seem to get into the games too much.  Compare that to the NBA where every night at the ACC the crowd goes crazy or at the Cavs games where people are constantly on their feet for LeBron James.  Some schools in the NCAA have amazing crowds that are legendary but they are few and far between.  The NBA overall has a much stronger fan base that doesn't go to the games cause their free and to get wasted.

While the NBA has been somewhat tarnished over these past few years as more and more players don't care about winning but only making money it is still a game that is far superior to the college game.  The players are better and fans can form a stronger attachment to their team through these players who are the face of a franchise.  The average crowd is there to watch great basketball and are much more into the game than the average college crowd. 

Really if you need to settle any sort of debate just ask this question.  Would you rather watch Blake Griffen (best NCAA player in the country) play the best game of his life or watch any regular game with Kobe, LeBron, or Dwyane Wade?  The answer I hope is obvious.

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MVP Toss Up

As of today there are only 14 games left in the NBA regular season and in my opinion 5 players have separated themselves from the pack in terms of being in the running for the MVP award. Dwight Howard, Dwyane Wade, LeBron James, Kobe Bryant and Chris Paul has established themselves as the 5 best players in the NBA and all have legitimate chances at being named the MVP.  Let's break down their resumes and see who should win it:

Dwight Howard

Team Record: 49-18 and 3rd in the Eastern Conference

Personal Stats: 21 PPG 14 RPG 2.9 BPG

Why He Should Win: Howard has 52 double-doubles, including seven of at least 20 points and 20 rebounds. He tops the NBA in rebounding and shot-blocking, and his defensive presence drives the Magic: Orlando ranks in the top 10 in seven defensive categories, is 35-7 when it holds teams under 100 points and 17-0 when foes shoot less than 40 percent.

He is the most dominant center in basketball and a fierce down low.  He can single handily win games and is still only 23 years old.

Why He Won't Win: Like it or not Dwight Howard's game isn't "sexy" enough.  He doesn't have amazing dunks and he doesn't hit game winning shots form half court.  We already saw him get robbed of one award this year Slam Dunk Contest (Nate Robinson had 1 good dunk) so clearly the deck is stacked against Howard.

Chris Paul

Team Record: 41-25

Personal Stats: 21 PPG 11 APG 5 RPG

Why He Should Win:  Paul leads the league in assists (11.0), steals (2.8) and triple-doubles (six), and has had four games of at least 25 points and 15 assists. Paul -- whose Hornets aren't likely to match last season's 56-26 record -- is also setting career bests in scoring (21.9) and shooting (50.2 percent). 

He is the best point guard in the league hands down.  Sorry Deron Williams fans but it is true.  At the young age of 23 he has earned the respect of everyone on his team and he is a floor general.  No one cuts through the lane easier than Chris Paul and he makes everyone around him better.

Why He Won't Win: Dwyane Wade is scoring more points.  Kobe and LeBron's teams have better records. While Chirs Paul is amazing he is often overlooked in the MVP sense as his numbers never seem to match the magic of Kobe and LeBron.  He also fails at being able to make the highlight reel as he does not throw down vicious one-handed dunks from the free throw line consistently like LBJ.

Kobe Bryant

Team Record: 53-14

Personal Stats: 28 PPG 5.4 RPG 4.9 APG

Why He Should Win: Eleven players have won multiple MVP awards, and many believe Bryant -- whose Lakers have turned the Western Conference race into a runaway (nine-game lead over San Antonio with 16 games to go) -- should be the 12th. He has led L.A. to the league's best road record (23-9), including the 6-0 trek from Jan. 30 through Feb. 8 that included victories at Boston and at Cleveland. Bryant averaged 32.8 points on the trip.

Kobe is the best player on the best team and has his team playing amazing around him as they try to play on his level.  He is a proficient scorer and owns the highlight reels.

Why He Won't Win:  All he does is score.  If you look at his number his only impressive stats are his PPG which is indicative of the way Kobe plays.  He makes others better around him due to their effort to be on his level but other than that his only value to the team is his scoring ability.

Also winning back to back MVPs is no tall order so I think Kobe is a going to come up short here.

Dwyane Wade

Team Record: 36-30

Personal Stats: 30 PPG 8 APG 5 RPG

Why He Should Win: It might be easier to list the things Wade hasn't done for the Heat: A Miami player other than him has led the team in scoring only eight times in 66 games, and someone not named Dwyane has led in assists just 15 times. Since the All-Star break, Wade -- who hasn't missed a game, playing more already than in three of his first five seasons -- has gotten stronger, averaging 35.8 points, 5.8 rebounds, 9.9 assists, 2.8 steals and 1.4 blocks, while shooting 54.2 percent.

Wade does it all and he he does everything right and he does it with style.  His play has energized Miami and they are now the 5th seed in the East.  If they can string together some wins late they may be able to host a 1st round playoff series.

Why He Won't Win:  He plays for the Miami Heat.  His team is not good enough to merit him winning the award in the eyes of the voters.  Yes he scores but in the end it is not enough to get past the fact that he heads a mediocre Eastern Conference team.

LeBron James

Team Record: 54-13

Personal Stats: 28 PPG 7 RBP 7 APG

Why He Should Win: It's one thing for a player to be "all-everything'' for an also-ran, but James takes it to new levels of individual and team success. He leads the Cavs in points, rebounds, assists, steals and blocks, and has them on pace to win 66 games. The other three players since 1973 to lead in all those categories helped their clubs win considerably less often -- Boston's Dave Cowens in 1977-78 (32 victories), Chicago's Scottie Pippen in 1994-95 (47) and Minnesota's Kevin Garnett in 2002-03 (51).

LeBron is an all around player who can do everything.  He is exciting to watch and every game he seems to get better.  He puts his team on his shoulders and carries them with him.  Even after bringing in players like Mo Williams to help LeBron score he can still do it all.  Also it needs to be mentioned many of the Cavs games feature LBJ on the bench in the 4th quarter as his team is often ahead by enough that he can rest.

Why He Won't Win: No conceivable argument.  He does everything well on a 1st place team.  It seems destined that this will be his year.

Honorable Mentions

Dirk Nowitzki, Tim Duncan, Deron Williams, Brandon Roy, and Chauncey Billups

My Pick

If I was given a vote in the MVP my vote would go to Dwight Howard.  Howard is a beast of a player and he owns teams in the paint.  This is where playoff games are won, on the glass.  His numbers or ridiculous and he has led the Magic to the 2nd seed in the Eastern Conference.  I feel like he should win the award but I know he won't.  

Random Youtube Video:

Kobe or Lebron?

With the 2008 Summer Olympics fast approaching new stories are being written everyday about the US Olympic team and their attempt to end their eight year drought. I personally don’t understand how they don’t wipe the floor with everyone considering they have the best players in the world but I digress. So with all of the best players in the world basically on one team the only real question isn’t are they going to win, its who is their best player? Some might say its Kobe Bryant while others believe it is Lebron James. A vote or two might even go to Dwight Howard aka Superman but I think the majority of people are picking Kobe or Lebron. So what I am going to attempt to do is break down who is the better player and try and end, or start a brand new, debate about who is really the best player?

Feel free to trash my opinion but only after you have read my arguments. Don’t read the first sentence of the next paragraph and then skip to the bottom and start hating and calling me an idiot and all that nonsense. Read, form an opinion, and then respond. I do welcome all insults though.

With that being said I firmly believe that the best player on team US and in the entire world is Kobe Bryant and this is why:

Let’s get of the simple stuff out of the way. Yes Kobe Bryant is 29 and is 6 years older than Lebron James, who is 23, so I am not going to focus on stats like points in a career since Kobe clearly has the advantage. However they don’t play the same position as Kobe is a shooting guard and Lebron is a small forward so keep that in mind. Now let’s get down to the real comparison.

Stats

............MPG--FG%--3P%---FT%-RPG-APG-PPG

Kobe----36.5--.453--.340--.839--5.3--4.6--25.0
Lebron--41.1--.467--.324--.728--6.9--6.6--27.3

Now looking at these numbers people are already starting to second guess my choice but it needs to be noted that in the first 2 years of his NBA career Kobe Bryant was not a starter and averaged well under 30 minutes per game. This is why his numbers are a bit skewed and why Lebron looks to trump him. However saying that some of these stats are very telling and need to be explained a bit.

Lebron James IS the Cleveland Cavaliers. Without Lebron the Cavs would be the worst team in basketball and relegated to joke status along with the Los Angeles Clippers. They pass him the ball almost every trip down the floor and even though he plays Small Forward he basically plays point guard. With more minutes come more chances to score points, get rebounds, and get steals it’s as simple as that.

This is one of the reasons that he has better career numbers than Kobe, but it is not the only one. Until recently Kobe was never a 1 man show, and to be fair he still isn’t today with players like Pau Gasol and Lamar Odom, but for 8 years it was Kobe and Shaq who dominated and SHARED the ball and the spotlight. It was an actual team and not one guy doing everything like Lebron and the Cavs. Kobe very easily could have averaged over 30 PPG, like he did when Shaq left, but he did what all good teammates do and passed the ball and put the team above himself. The best player Lebron has ever played beside is Larry Hughes, who is not exactly in the same league as Shaquille O’neal, which explains why he is always shooting and doing everything himself.

But enough with the simple stats. Its time to focus on something more important than just the simple numbers that people use to try and prove who is better. The best way to prove someone is better is by looking at trophies, records and honors.

Trophies, Records and Honors

Kobe Bryant has been named the NBA Most Valuable Player (MVP) and Lebron hasn’t. Kobe has 3 championships and Lebron has 0. Kobe has been named to the All-NBA- Defensive team 8 times and Lebron has been named 0. Yes Lebron is on pace to score the most points ever but basketball is a team game and requires defense. Also we have been over why he scores so many points so let’s not dwell on that. Lebron may have more Cavalier records than Kobe has Lakers records but honestly which is more impressive? Kobe Bryant is a much all around better player who has accomplished more as a basketball player than Lebron James has as a purely offensive threat.

Kobe
* 3-time NBA champion: 2000, 2001, 2002
* NBA Most Valuable Player: 2008
* 2-time scoring champion: 2006, 2007
* 10-time NBA All-Star: 1998, 2000, 2001, 2002, 2003, 2004, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2008
* Has started in each of his appearances
* 10 consecutive appearances (No All-Star game in 1999 due to lock-out)
* 2-time NBA All-Star Game MVP: 2002, 2007
* 10-time All-NBA Selection:
* First Team: 2002, 2003, 2004, 2006, 2007, 2008
* Second Team: 2000, 2001
* Third Team: 1999, 2005
* 8-time All-Defensive Selection:
* First Team: 2000, 2003, 2004, 2006, 2007, 2008
* Second Team: 2001, 2002
* NBA All-Rookie Second Team: 1997
* NBA Slam Dunk Contest champion: 1997
* NBA regular season leader in:
* points: 2003, 2006, 2007, 2008
* points per game: 2006, 2007
* field goals attempted: 2006, 2007, 2008
* field goals made: 2003, 2006, 2007
* free throws attempted: 2006, 2007
* free throws made: 2006, 2007
* 2nd most points in a Game: 81
* Gold Medal with Team USA

NBA Records

Kobe Bryant holds four and shares five NBA records:
* Most three-point field goals made, one game: 12
* Most three-point field goals made, one half: 8
* Most consecutive three-point field goals made, one game: 9
* Most free throws made, one quarter: 14
* Most free throws attempted, one quarter: 16
* Youngest player to score 15,000 points: 27 Years, 136 days
* Youngest player to score 20,000 points: 29 years, 122 days old
* Youngest Slam Dunk champion: 18 years, 175 days
* Youngest player to be named to the NBA All-Defensive Team
* Youngest player to start a game: 18 Years, 158 days

Lakers Franchise Records

Kobe Bryant holds or shares 30 Los Angeles Lakers franchise records

Lebron

* 2-time NBA All-Star Game MVP: 2006, 2008
* NBA Rookie of the Year: 2004
* 4-time NBA All-Star: 2005, 2006, 2007, 2008
* 4-time All-NBA: 2005, 2006, 2007, 2008
* NBA regular season leader, points per game: 2008
* NBA regular season leader, field goals made: 2005, 2008.
* NBA regular season leader, minutes played: 2005, 2007.
* NBA regular season leader, traditional three-point plays: 2006.
* Career 40+ point games (regular season): 23
* Career 40+ point games (postseason): 3
* Career 50+ point games (regular season): 5
* Career triple-doubles (regular season): 17
* Career triple-doubles (postseason): 3

Youngest Player Records

James owns numerous NBA "youngest player" records:
* Youngest player to be named NBA Rookie of the Year (19 years of age).
* Youngest player to record a triple-double (20 years, 20 days).
* Youngest player to score 40 points in a game (19 years, 88 days).
* Youngest player to score 50 points in a game (20 years, 80 days).
* Youngest player to score 2,000 points in a season (2004-05).
* Youngest player to average 30 points per game in a season (2005-06).
* Youngest player to be awarded All-NBA honors (2004-05).
* Youngest player to be named to the All-NBA first team (21 years, 138 days).
* Youngest player to win an All-Star Game MVP (21 years, 55 days)
* Youngest player to reach
* 1,000 points
* 2,000 points
* 3,000 points
* 4,000 points
* 5,000 points
* 6,000 points
* 7,000 points
* 8,000 points
* 9,000 points
* 10,000 points

Cavaliers Franchise Records

Lebron James holds or shares 49 Cleveland Cavaliers franchise records.

Conclusion

These are real numbers and achievements. I didn’t embellish them or leave anything out. Kobe Bryant has accomplished by 29 what some players couldn’t if they played until 50. Many people try and say that Shaq was the only reason Kobe was any good but that is a horrible argument. Without Shaq Kobe took the Lakers to the NBA Finals, he won the MVP, made All-Star teams, and still won awards and set records.

Looking at all of the evidence I think it has become clear why I picked Kobe Bryant as the best basketball player on the planet. He isn’t the best basketball player of all time so let’s not even start that debate but in today’s game there is no one better and no one I would rather have on my team than Kobe.