Poll shows America heavily favors Bron as a teammate over Bryant

On an ESPN poll, there were (when I last checked) almost 225,000 voters (yes, it's not quite AMERICA) voted on who they would rather have as a teammate. And it was a landslide in the favor of LeBron James over Kobe Bryant. 88.5% in fact. I would have rathered that they would have used someone who is not as "In Your Face" as Bron is (everywhere you look), but I think that this shows how undesirable Kobe's stock is at this time.

 

That's actually amazing,since a lot of people still recognize Kobe as the NBA's #1 Player(at least as far as i know).Is this poll's standings showing us that Lebron has replaced Kobe as the NBA's sweetheart??

Kinda intriguing

 

Yeah, I don't think it has anything to do with his team's record or his shooting. The thing is, Kobe's career is going to be plagued with his off-court issues for the rest of his life...and that's one reason why, no matter how well he performs, he may never get the respect he deserves.

In fact, without anyone calling me unnecessary names...if Kobe put up 32 PPG, 7 RPG and 7 APG, and the Lakers were, say, 13-8 (the Cavs' current record...in the East) instead of 12-8 (the Lakers' current record...in the West...big difference)...would this poll be in favor of Kobe? No.

 

^Uhm, if Kobe was averaging 36 ppg on 56% shooting with 9 rebounds per game and 7 assist per game... and his Lakers were 16-4 or something instead, Kobe would still be considered a ballhog, and on-topic, yes the poll would still be in favor of LeBron.

Cuz wow Kobe is averaging 36 ppg. OMG OMG WAT A FBALLHOG

 

well, this poll is from BSPN! i'm not surprise, BSPN love to hate kobe so i'm just wondering if they have been editing this poll to pull kobe down. lebron is a good player, but his not there yet... don't worry, kobe will rise again

 

No, I believe the poll is legit, actually...

 

I understand if Kobe fans are mad, but if the poll just asked who would you rather have on the team, it doesn't automatically mean "Who's the better player?" It just asked who you'd rather have on your team, and the general consensus was LeBron. I don't think Kobe fans need to take it as a total Kobe diss because you can't argue the fact that Kobe is currently the better player of the two, based on stats and Kobe's proven game alone.

People probably felt other factors were more important to them. What those things are, who knows, but Kobe does get a lot of negative publicity (especially as of late) and you can't change the fact that people's opinions would be swayed by that. It shouldn't, but its the same for many other things as well.

 

<div class="quote_poster">Quoting Real Deal:</div><div class="quote_post">Yeah, I don't think it has anything to do with his team's record or his shooting. The thing is, Kobe's career is going to be plagued with his off-court issues for the rest of his life...and that's one reason why, no matter how well he performs, he may never get the respect he deserves.
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i totaly agree.

Plus Lebron has been setting his teammates up with his passing his whole nba career; thus making him a more favored teammate to people that dont watch basketball as much.

Those fans are the people who i think mostly participated in these poles while catching up on lost nba time during there week on ESPN's site.

These same fans probally saw kobe's past being exploited as lebrons hype is being exploited nowadays on broadcast stations as Espn and TNT. And have been brainwashed into thinking that these stations depictions of kobe being a qoute un qoute immature and selfish guy are true.

Now dont get me wrong Lebron has massive skills and potential but i'm just trying to prove a point

A point that is stating that these fans that watch basketball every once in a while only see all the hype that is over lebron which in return overshadows the hardwork of guys like kobe that are working just as hard as bron bron over there in L.A..

As Real Deal stated the cavs are only one game ahead of the Lake Show.

 

Yes, and I'm not trying to knock on Bron's game, either (see my reply in the LeBron vs. Kobe thread)...it's just that it can't be Kobe's stats, since they are nearly putting up the same numbers. It can't be the team record, since LeBron's Cavs are having as much trouble in the East as the Lakers in the West. And it's not past performances or achievements, since Kobe obviously has the advantage there.

Therefore, it has to be Kobe's reputation.

 

You do have to admit one thing. Yes it's his 2nd season, but Bron has kept his nose clean. You can't seem to think of negative press on him. Hey, it's Melo's 2nd and look at him. He went from "He should have been the R.O.Y" to "Just shut up and play". It may be a tribute to his greatness, the fact that there is so much focus on him (Kobe). But it seems that when you think of him, there's always so much negativity surrounding him. I have always been a person to think that if there is drama ALWAYS going on in your life, you're doing something wrong. The only thing that's gone on with Bron was his commercial (which I did and did not like in the same breath), which was not really negative on his part. And his stupid Sprite mascot.

 

Well, Kobe was doing fine for a while also...and was favored more than anyone else I could think of other than Jordan, but now it's all downhill, no matter what good he can do.

 

I was actaully shocked when I saw that. Maybe not so shocked the LeBron won, but how much he won by. I think the huge difference between Kobe and LeBron is... LeBron's teammates just love playing with him, I don't think I can say all the same for Kobe.

 

<div class="quote_poster">Quoting Real Deal:</div><div class="quote_post">Well, Kobe was doing fine for a while also...and was favored more than anyone else I could think of other than Jordan, but now it's all downhill, no matter what good he can do.</div>

I really agree with you there. And thats why there is so much talk about what Kobe does or says, more so than other players. He's being criticized enormously because he was loved enormously for a quite awhile. There's the shock factor that someone held with such high regard and idolized is only human. It's not fair for Kobe, but what can you do? Sucks to be in his position. There was a time when everyone loved Kobe, everyone wanted to be like Kobe, etc. And that's why everything he does gets blown up and make all the headlines. While the question of fidelity, the teammate beefs, etc etc happen to more than a fair share of professional athletes, you can't say that very many players could rival the popularity that Kobe has had. Even my grandmother (who thinks a baseball game has 4 quarters) knows who Kobe bryant is and what team he plays for.

 

Putting the stats out the window I'd still pick Lebron.

Forget about the off court issues with Kobe as well because a lot of people go through legal issues. I don't even judge him for any of that because I know what it's like to have stuff against you.

I'd take Lebron for several reasons. I think he'd be the better teammate (not necessary the better player). He has the maturity and leadership skills, and gets along with everyone. Kobe has had a hard time getting along with people even before Shaq. He's a very independent person and would rather sit alone than chat with teammates. Lebron on the other hand seems more outgoing and just has the better personality for a team.

 

I believe this year I would probably rather have Kobe as my team mate considering he has really stepped up his game, and proved he is worthy of MVP talk. Although next year will be a totally different story, I see Lebron being the better team mate next year, and for years to come. They both are dynamic scorers with above average passing ablities. Kobe is putting up 27-7.5-7, hich is unthinkable. He is truly making his teammates better this season. And Lebron is putting up 25-6.7-7, which is amazing for a player in his second season. Lebron has an unparalleled shooting percentage of .506, he is stealing the ball almost 3 times a game. They are both amazing players.

 

<div class="quote_poster">Quoting kobe_8:</div><div class="quote_post">well, this poll is from BSPN! i'm not surprise, BSPN love to hate kobe so i'm just wondering if they have been editing this poll to pull kobe down. lebron is a good player, but his not there yet... don't worry, kobe will rise again </div>

ESPN doesn't love to hate Kobe at all. Don't forget Kobe used to be ESPN's God. Boy how 1 lawsuit and losing Shaq has hurt Kobe in the fan polls.

 

Well not really that surprising t me. Lebron James is a new face in the NBA in terms of NBA years and his age of 19 years old makes him someone for young people (the majoirty of the US) to look up to. He is also one of the only players to ever come in with so much hype around him and live up to it straight out of high school as well. Lebron James has a huge fan base while Kobe fans the majority dropped Kobe after he admitte dto adultry and after the whole court face played its self out.

I think that the thing with Lebron is thta he has yet to face contriversy the kid has never been in a slump up to this point he ha never been booed by his home town crowd, never hand a big injury, never had anything to really deal with so far in his NBA career. When these things start to come up I want to see how he handles them.

If you notice Melo's fan base has dropped big time since the end of last seasona fter all the things he has been through this season, and the way he handled himself. During the olympics the thing with his back pack, the video tape, etc. Lebron right now is what Kobe was befor ethe court issue. Despite the Phil Jackson contriversy in LA he still had the best image in the NBA. He had Mcdonalds adds and all the family stuff going for him and thats what Lebron ahs going for him right now. He is a new generation despite the fact that kobe is performing equally well and his team has nearly aequal record to Lebrons team., and Kobe is not tha much older than Lebron. Lebrons age and "clean image" is what america is hooked on right now. He is basically being made out to be (big surprise) the next MJ ( ).

 

Lets see no surprise hear as any sane person who doesn't ride Kobes jockstrap, knows that they would rather have LeBron as a teammate than Kobe.(no insult intended)

Lets see the scenario will be im a second round pick that is playing its few minutes in the game. First I'll pretend to be on the Cavs and then the Lakers.

I have an open shot. LeBron is double teamed, and the other players are tightly defended. He would most likely pass it to me in that case, and I shoot with a higher chance to make the basket.

Now I am on the Lakers. I am open while Kobe is double teamed this time. I am a second round pick. Kobe will not pass to me because he has no confidence in me. He will A) force a bad shot or B)risk a high chance of a turnover.

Tha main differnce team-wise IMO between LeBron and Kobe is that LeBRon has more faith in his teammates. Kobe sees alot of his teammates as "scrubs" The only one I see him sucesfully pass to is Mihm and rarely Odom and Butler. LeBRon will pass it to any one with an open shot that has a better chance of scoring than him. Plus Like many have said LeBRon has a better personality than Kobe.

I am not judging any of these players off the court so No one can say I'm just saying this because he was accused of rape. I am not a Kobe hater, even though I am a Heat fan.

 

I suppose if the poll is asking which one you would want as a team mate, then you would have to look at the relationships between them and their respective team mates.

I don't know of any rocks in the relationships between LeBron and the Cavs, but Kobe, on the other hand, is a different story. These things would be relevant to consider in answering the poll:
- he did not get along with Shaq
- he did not get along with Phil Jackson
- he played a part in Shaq going to Miami
- he now doesn't get along with Malone
- Odom's body language doesn't show that he's happier in LA than in Miami (there's a good thread on this in the Lakers forum...or was it the Miami forum?)

 

I agree with Real Deal, it's all reputation. Kobe right now, is definitely a better player than Bron. People still know that. But in our minds, including mine, I just have a bad reputation of Kobe after all the junk he's been through this offseason.