Kobe is more skilled than Lebron, but I still think Lebron has a greater impact on basketball games. It's all about perception really... after the Cheat were gifted a le by the refs a poll on ESPN if I recall correctly had D-Whistle leading as the best player in the NBA... and Kobe/Lebron were on mediocre teams at the time.
Now Kobe is coming off of a championship, and the Lakers still look like the best team in the NBA... I don't think the Kobe v Lebron debate is that legitimate, Lebron to me clearly has a greater impact on basketball games, the only reason it is such a debate is because of Kobe having a great team around him at this point in time.
If you give D-Whistle Kobe's supporting cast we're probably having a D-Whistle v Lebron debate with Kobe considered the 3rd best player in the league... everyones perceptions are skewed by how good a players' team is at a given point.