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LeBron

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I think this is a non-issue. Lebron James is a much better player at this level of his career than Kobe was, and there are several reasons/factors why.

First and foremost, Bryant has had legitimate All-Star type players surrounding him through much of his career, especially when he's been successful. Say what you want about the now-appropriately nicknamed "The Big Cactus", but when the Diesel was roaming the paint during the Lakers championship years with both Shaq and Kobe, people were more worried about stopping Shaq then stopping Kobe. Shaq was the centerpiece of that team, and there were plenty of times that you could contain Kobe and still have a shot at winning the game as long as the Diesel was running hot, as opposed to trying to win if Shaq was having an off night.

Secondly, only until now, in his ninth (or tenth, I forget which) season has Kobe finally learned that no man is an island, no matter what intricate offensive sets and plays are inserted into the lineup by the Zen Master. He tried all he could to carry the offensive load last year, and it got him what? If my memory serves me correctly, they took the first "fishing trip" as Kenny "The Jet" Smith likes to put it, out of the first round, despite having Kobe on that team, for last years playoffs. And Lebron James? He has learned early on in his NBA career that his team's success, and ultimately his own personal success, is limited by his teammates. Alienate them by hogging the ball, insisting on taking all of the big shots, not passing them the ball when they are open, etc, means that they won't be able to deliver when the game is on the line, and it erodes the trust they have in him as well as the confidence they have for themselves when the pressure is on and the game is on the line. How many times has he deferred his own offense until the second half, when he's had to take over the game because his teammates were throwing up bricks and clunkers at the rim? He doesn't even look for his own shot most of the time; he's looking to pass off to someone with a much better, more clean look/shot than he has. How many triple doubles does Lebron have this year alone in points, rebounds, and assists? That's being a team player, willing to dig in there and do the dirty work, despite being the league's leading scorer for the regular season.

Third, even though I will admit that Kobe faces better competition in the stacked Western Conference, Lebron plays up front, amongst the

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