Right after writing my take on Kobe vs LeBron and it’s effect on China, I noticed over at ESPN’s Truehoop Blog there was a similar debate going on trying to gauge whether it was Kobe Bryant or LeBron James who should be labeled “the best player in the world in 2009″. You should check it out , it’s an interesting discussion and there’s certainly some good points brought to the table.

But I was really surprised to see no one break down what winning a championship really comes down to. When you’re pretty much guaranteed a place in the playoffs, it doesn’t matter how well a player plays against the non-playoff teams, and non-contenders. The NBA championship comes down to 1 or maybe 2 key series. It’s how well you play against the top competition trying to take that championship away from you that really matters. Sure huge games against lottery bound teams look good on paper, but since the NBA is not like football/soccer where the best regular season record wins the championship, it has practically no meaning to gauge which player is more likely to win a championship.

As far as I’m concerned if a player strolls through the season, lets his young and role players develop, and then just steps it up in the Conference Finals and the Finals and wins the championship – he should be regarded as a better player than the guy who averages 40 10 10 in the regular season but gets beat in the Finals (considering they have similar caliber teams).

So when it comes down to Kobe vs LeBron – first and foremost, stats only should be looked at versus perhaps the top 5 teams in the NBA…everything else is pretty much irrelevant. I’ve gone ahead and collected the stats of Kobe and LeBron against the top 2 threats in each conference as well as games against each other.

Kobe vs LeBron

These stats can be analyzed in a number of ways and can be twisted to support any number of arguments. However, it’s quite clear that LeBron James’ effectiveness reduces greatly against the top teams in the NBA. A +0.5 plus minus over 13 games and a below .500 winning percentage along with over 4 turnovers and a 44% shooting average isn’t exactly the dominant stats we have come to expect of him. Kobe on the other hand has very impressive numbers, and contrary to popular opinion is standing toe to toe with the King of Stats: LeBron James.

Now even more important should be the stats between these two teams which are predicted to battle it out for a championship this summer. Here Kobe also has the edge, and was able to execute the right strategy to get his team comfortable  wins and secure an average of +10 plus or minus versus LeBron’s -11.5 in these two games.

Why are we seeing this reversal of stat dominance all of sudden, is it just the poor sample size? Possibly but it could also be LeBron’s power and raw athleticsm is more dominant against lesser opposition, but when it comes down to the best teams in the world with dedicated defenses and strategies, that’s when having a wide array of moves and a vast offensive arsenal becomes so much more important. Let’s go back even further and look at LeBron James’ career and list how many playoff series he’s won that was against a championship contender. I can only name you the Detroit Pistons of 2007. Forget that he hasn’t won a championship ring yet, that’s a grand total of one, ONE true series win to LeBron’s name in his career.

In LeBron’s defence, his team wasn’t always championship caliber so his past efforts in the playoffs are regarded with awe rather than dissapointment…for now.

But as I’ve said before, this year the championship is between two great teams that are evenly matched without their star players. So whoever is able to win the championship this year for their team, should be labeled the best player in the world in the year 2009. I think that’s a fair way to settle it, don’t you think?