Who’s Better: Lebron or KD?
Who’s Better: Lebron or
KD
Before I get too into this, I am going to say that it is my
belief that Michael Jordan is the greatest and will always be the greatest basketball
player ever. THE END.
Lebron vs. KD
We’re talking stats here
Logically the first place to start would be the numbers,
right? I mean the numbers don’t lie and they, at the very least, would prove
that one player has the edge. I put their career stats side-by-side and from
what I could tell, the difference between them statistically is almost nothing.
What is interesting is that Lebron James has almost 400 more professional games
than Kevin Durant and yet Kevin Durant still averages just about the same as Lebron
and he has two less titles. I would also like to note that KD has averaged 2
minutes less than Lebron per game which in my mind would suggest that KD is
more efficient averaging less floor time. Last thing, Lebron has never played
less than 55 games in a season whereas Kevin has had a season in which he only
played 27 games. This would again suggest that KD is more efficient with less
time on the court.
Theoretically speaking…
Looking
at the stats I can making the argument that Lebron has had 4 more seasons than
KD not including the season in which he only played 27 games and this current season
which he has missed. Let’s say KD comes into the league the same time Lebron
does and doesn’t have as many injuries; can we say then that KD would have been
better or at least they would have almost identical numbers? Lebron has had more
time in the league to be great and if we look at the numbers and only the numbers,
Kevin Durant isn’t that much different. Lebron and Kevin both won ROY but what
if Lebron was never in the league would that then have made Kevin Durant the second
coming of Jordan, and not Lebron? You can’t deny it’s not an intriguing
question given the fact that we just looked at the raw numbers. If we are going
based on sheer data then I have to give the edge to KD because statistically,
he is just as accomplished as Lebron on less games and in my mind if he does
come into the league at the same time as Lebron and doesn’t have all those
injuries, his stats might be better than Lebron’s. I think the edge goes to KD
on stats just based on what we know and not what ifs.
But what about Lebron’s accolades???
Alright, let’s talk about Lebron’s 3 rings (most likely
going to be a fourth one here soon) versus KD’s two rings. We looked at the
stats and see there is almost no space between them and I have already given
the edge to KD on that front simply because he has had less time on the court
but he is still just as accomplished, but when you look at Lebron and KD’s
playing careers they are virtually the same. Both guys played for their first
teams for about the same amount of time; Lebron 7 years with Cleveland and
Kevin Durant 9 years with OKC, formerly Seattle. Both won ROY, both have been
named to numerous all-star games and both have been named finals MVP on
multiple occasions. Save for the fact that Lebron has more rings, I still see
KD as having an edge here as well. Lebron and KD both had the same situations
in Cleveland and OKC, respectively. Both teams were playoff contenders and both
teams made one finals appearance during their stint with their respective teams.
Both guys early on showed that they have what it takes to carry a team to the
playoffs but neither organization could find the cast to put around them to win
a title, hence, the reason neither guy won a title with their first team. When
KD gets his first shot a title it is against Lebron and the Heat and let’s face
it, the heat just had a better all-around team. Westbrook and KD weren’t going
to be enough to carry that team past the Heat, but here’s where things get
interesting, James Harden was traded the season OKC went the finals against the
Heat and at that time, Harden was averaging about 16 points a game and showing
signs that he was going to become the superstar talent that he is currently, so
it begs the question: if OKC didn’t trade Harden would KD have won that year in
the finals? We can’t say for sure but what I can say for sure is that OKC didn’t
have enough to beat the Heat and I can’t help but to think if they had held on
to Harden they could have won that year. Do I think it was Lebron that carried the
Heat to victory that year? No, which is the exact reason he went to Miami in
the first place. He knew it would be easier to win games playing down in Miami rather
than staying in Cleveland or going to the Knicks. I can’t blame Lebron for
that, he made a choice that would take him directly to a ring and it worked out
for him, but it was still a far easier road that the alternatives. I won’t say
the ring doesn’t count, I’ll just say KD had to work a lot harder to meet him
in the finals and when he did the team around him just wasn’t enough to get
them past the Heat. Okay, so I know that was a little off topic, but the
relevance is that everyone turns around and chastised KD for doing exactly what
Lebron did a few years earlier. Prior to the 2010 season, the Heat had only missed
the playoffs 3 times since 2000 but if you look at GS, in that same time span
they missed the playoffs 11 times and it wasn’t until 2012 that they became
playoff contenders and during their playoff run before KD they only won one
title. I think KD’s move was more respectable than Lebron’s. KD had spent 9
years with an organization that couldn’t put pieces around him to win a title
and GS needed a superstar that could rival Lebron. It was a match made in heaven.
The heat in my opinion bought a title. They brought in Chris Bosh and Lebron.
Not to mention they already had the mega star that is D-Wade and most of the
team he had during his playoff runs. The Heat didn’t need Lebron, but it made
winning a lot easier. GS needed KD b/c without him they weren’t always going to
be enough to beat a Lebron lead team.
I’ll finish with this, Lebron had 3 chances to beat KD in the
finals…he only did it once. I rest my case.
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