There’s no doubt he’ll be better than Malone. He’s probably better than the Mailman already. The Mailman was basically a one-trick pony who had the good fortune to play with the 2nd best PG of all time.

There’s plenty of doubt LeBron will be the Best Player Ever. You can throw out the stats altogether and note that Bill Russell led his team to 11 championships in 13 seasons (How many does LeBron have again?) Or look at the stats and see that LBJ still isn’t quite in the class of Wilt, Bird, Magic, or MJ.

If I had to guess, I’d say he’ll be in the same “tier” as Magic and Bird, a half-notch behind MJ, when all is said and done. (Dominant Big Men — Russell, Wilt, Shaq — is really almost a different category).

who is better RIGHT NOW? I’d argue LeBron, but I’d like to hear what some others think

This is a Warriors Blog… where’s the Warriors talk? :-P

How can you justify that? At 23 Lebron is accomplishing WAY MORE than what Kobe had done at the same age. Kobe is in his prime, while Lebron is still expanding his game. I don’t see how Kobe fans can say he is the best player in the league. He is the best scorer in the league, but best ALL-AROUND player? Hands down it’s Lebron James. Look at their career averages, nowhere near the same in apg or rpg. Similar scoring, with Kobe having the upper hand on 3’s and ft %. I’m not a Kobe hater or a Lebron fanatic. Kobe doesn’t make his teamates better, while LeBron does. Individually Kobe might shine over LeBron, but in the end I would, like any smart person, pick Lebron to be on my team rather than Kobe.

MJ never had a great team, but he did have Pippen and Rodman (anyone who underestimates the rodman factor is crazy) along with good position players. If Lebron can get together with a similar team, I think you will see the Lebron legacy equal that of MJ.
As far as Kobe goes, he is great. period. I think it is hard to see Kobe as equal to MJ or potentially Lebron though because of his character flaws. Those do make a difference to me despite his ability to do crazy shit on the court.
Big O and Wilt, were great, but had a lower quality of competition on the court, you cant argue that. They would have been great if they were playing now, and I think we can throw Bill Russel into that mix, but they would not have been the dominant forces they were. I can easily see Lebron in the post against any of of those guys – either faking and driving around them or hitting a fade away Hakeem style.