Lebron or Durant?
LeBron, lets not get carried away now...
Durant has a HIGH HIGH HIGH ceiling, but still not close to Lebron, at maximum potential, he'll be one of the greatest scorers this game has every seen, but even that, still can't top Lebron and all of what he does
I think Lebron will always be the better player, while Durant will likely always be the better pure scorer. Even though Durant is probably the better pure scorer (meaning scoring at all 3 levels, posting up, spotting up, off the dribble etc...), Lebron will be better at passing, defending, rebounding, and blocking shots. And he'll probably outscore Durant quite a few times in future seasons due to his strength, athleticism, and drastically improved jump shot...
Although I essentially agree with iguodala9 above, there's one minor area where we disagree. I think if Durrant continues to play in the front court, he will be a better rebounder than LeBron. When Durrant was at Texas he was one of the premier rebounders in the country.
"But his selfishness..." Huh? I'm confused. How is LeBron selfish? Honestly... If LeBron was selfish... He'd average 35-40 points.
To answer the question though... I think it's LeBron and it's not even close. Durant will be the better pure scorer, but LeBron will still average 30 himself, plus have a greater overall impact on the game.
Man i done heard this plenty of times and this is coming from a kobe fan lebron dont get me wrong if i was a gm or coach i would love to have durant but lebron filled the whole stat sheet up and he makes his teamn better durant proabably will be the better scorer but lebron does it all and if lebron apply himself he can average a triple double.
lebron will be a better all around player because of the court vision factor. you either have that or you dont and lebron has that durant could be a better scorer but only because lebron is so unselfish. but if durant leads his teams to titles and dominates the game then yeah he could be better when its all said and done
If anything... Durant is more selfish than LeBron. He's never seen a shot he didn't like. He's a gunner with little to no passing skills. If LeBron had a selfish scoring mentality, he'd literally average 35-40 a game... Easily.
The only thing Durant has going for him that LeBron never did was that his GM has a young team built around him. LeBron has never had a young core placed around him.
I think Durant's rebounding was attributed to him being so much farther along physically (in terms of length and athleticism) than the other players that he could rebound well. Unless he gets stronger and wider (which will be hard for him due to his narrow shoulders) he won't be nearly as effective a rebounder as he was in college. At least not to the point of being a better rebounder than Lebron in the future...
i think he could still be a very good rebounder because rebounding is effort which is why a player like gereld wallace lead the leauge for a minute in rebounding and noah and camby get so many rebounds. and how rodman was never the biggest but was one of the best rebounders ever. as long as he gets stronger( which he really doesnt have to get alot stronger). if he just gives maximum effort then he can do pretty well. but to me hes a guy who gets rebounds rather then a rebounder. i realize a player like andre bynum is the same...ben wallace is a rebounder. bynum durant are guys that gets rebounds
D.Wade should be in the conversation, but I think size is what separates LeBron from him. LeBron is 6' 8" 250 compared to Wade's 6' 4" 212. There are just things LeBron can do better because he's bigger. On top of that... Even though LeBron is bigger, he's still just as fast and explosive... Maybe even more athletic.
You have to have a good level of strength to be a good rebounder. Sure it's an effort thing as well, but it takes a decent deal of technique and strength as well..I also don't see Durant really putting in a bunch of effort rebounding throughout a whole game in the future, but that is all speculation....
i agree lebron is more athletic but when i have seen both of them play there best in a series they play about even or i give wade the edge because of what wade did in that dallas series. hes not as good, but he reminded me of jordan how he completely dominated on the biggest stage in the nba. but lebron has the higher ceiling because of his physical stature
Stop looking at his stats, and look at him play. Lebron only passes when he's getting doubled teamed and can't find a shot, or if he's going to make the highlight reel with some behind the back no look pass. And since he demands to have the ball in his hands for 20 seconds on every possession he's bound to run up his assists. He's one of the most talented passers in the league and if he was unselfish he would probably average 20 and 12.
im not sure anyone on here are looking at stats when talking about lebron. im pretty sure we are all talking about what we see. i wasnt big on lebron in hs but one thing i said was he is a great passer. ive never been big on the show boating and stuff but i watched how he gets passes to players in scoring positions even though some are fancy. it has nothing to do with his stats and more to do with his great court vision. and every star player that has the ball just as much as lebron doesnt have the court vision that he has. durant from hs to now has never had that type of court vision. and never will
He has to be selish though sometimes, I don't think it's fair to limit his scoring just to consider him "unselfish"...you have to play to win, an I think that's exactly what Lebron does. He's also good at feeding the hot hand and at finding open shooters. I would consider him selfish, but not in "black hole" kind of way. All superstar talents have to be selfish and take over at some point. You could say if Kobe wasn't selfish or Wade wasn't selfish they could average like 20 and 10 as well, but it wouldn't be for the good of the team...
LeBron only passes when he gets doubled? That's not true at all. He's an extremely willing, not to mention gifted, passer. He makes the extra pass on a regular basis. His court vision and playmaking ability from the small forward position are unreal. I don't think anybody LeBron has ever played with would say he's a selfish player.
If LeBron was selfish like a young Jordan or Kobe... Could you imagine how many points he'd average?
Take both players and switch them on their respective teams...I.E. the Kobe/Lebron Hypothesis. If Lebron were on the ThunderbutreallytheSonics in his third year when he averaged 31 pts 7 rebs 6.6 ast, The ThunderbutreallytheSonics as they are constituted now with Westbrook, Green, Harden, Kristic flanking him would be in the mix for the 4-5-6 out west and maybe challenging for 3 under optimal conditions, where he could facilitate the offense at times, and be a lights out finisher at others. The ThunderbutreallytheSonics sit at 9, outside looking in on the playoffs, with 05-06 Lebron the squad would be better than this years Jazz and Rockets, and pushing injury depleted Portland (Not the healthy version) to seven in the West.
I think that when both of their careers are all said and done, LeBron will have scored more points.
He averaged 20.9 as a rookie straight out of high school. He hasn't averaged less than 27.2 points per game a season since. I don't see that changing anytime soon and with the body/athleticism LeBron has... He could play in the league for 15 years.
I'm taking LeBron...Not even close...Just stop. Durant is a better shooter and that's where it stops...Seriously. Name one thing Durant does better besides shooting. Like someone said, LeBron could easily average 35 ppg and he would still average more apg and more rpg...
For the reasons stated, I think iguodala9 is right when he says Durrant will not be as effective at rebounding as he was at Texas. However, I think Durrant will do just as well, as if not better, than LeBron on the boards as he gets stronger with age. After all, he's still only 21 years old, and even with that thin body, he uses his long reach effectively to grab rebounds. If you look at their current rebounding averages, they're almost identical.
As for the other aspects of the game, I think iguodala9 and tezo83 already nailed it. LeBron James is an elite player at all levels of basketball while Durrant is an outstanding scorer and a pretty decent rebounder.
Yea I just looked and Durant is almost rebounding at the exact same number as Lebron is...I didn't know it was that close. He could develop into more of a rebounder, but so could Lebron. I don't personally think he'll be a better rebounder than Lebron, but he could if he's that close with a lack of stength and truly high effort...
Durant's jumpshot may be better and he may have better offensive numbers but lebron is a more complete player. Lebron has amazing courtvision to go along with his ability to score. Also durant wont ever be able to put enough weight on to manhandle people the way lebron does. Lebron is a better physical specimen. He weighs probably 60 pounds more, he's more athletic, and he's definately stronger. Durant is going to reach superstardom soon but he will never have the ability to physically dominate an opponent the way lebron does. I know they lost the series but remember last year against the magic when Mike Brown ISOed lebron at the top of the key for nearly every possesion of the 4th quarter. That showed that lebron has the ability to score at will. I think lebron still has the ability to improve, both upon his jumper and his post game. Durant will become a great player but he will not surpass lebron.
Durant. The thing is why worry about a player being complete in a teams game. Lebron is better because of everything he can do with Durant being the better shooter. Durant's game does not take away from other. lebron does too much and other player don't do as much as they can playing with him.
durant is a great great player and i may like his game better then lebrons.. because it is more pure. however, this isnt a comparison by any means. There is no one like lebron and no one who can fill up the stat sheet, and also do the amazing things he does night in and night out. A threat for a triple double every night
my point exactly...nbadraft,net always get s things wrong..i dont think the other 2 are even listed as big sources. espn,cnnsi, the combine( which is higher then all of those) and the actually draft didnt have him as a pg and icleveland didnt start him as a pg. which do you think is best to go by..those sites or the draft,combine, and what the team actually did?
The Durant thread brought up some debate.
So, what do you guys think?
Who will end up being the better player?
Lebron, or Durant?