Is 25 y/o Kawhi better than 25 y/o LeBron James tbh ?

[Brazil]

Parker injury sucks big time now there is nothing we can do about it... What Manu meant is now that Parker is out this is the opportunity to see of what Kawhi is made with a roster worst than 2005 cavs and a tougher opponent.

Like Parker would say:

[Brazil]

This is Kawhi time baby... get your seatbelts fastened

[Galileo]

LeBron at 24 carried the ty Cavs to the ECF while putting up 35/9/7 on great efficiency while posting absurd advanced numbers (37.4 PER, .399 WS/48, 18.2 BPM). Granted, Kawhi is putting up similarly dominant numbers this postseason, but 1) Kawhi has played 3 less games, and I imagine his numbers will drop a bit, and 2) LeBron was noticeably better in the regular season. Yeah - postseason is where it counts...but you can only put so much stock in a 8-10 game sample size.

Sorry, but no. Kawhi is absolutely incredible, but I think it'd be pretty foolish to say that right now he's better than LeBron was in '09 or '10. That's not an insult to Kawhi at all though - just a testament to how freakish LeBron was.

I mean, put it this way: most people now still put current LeBron ahead of Kawhi, no? LeBron in '09 or '10 was better than LeBron is now.

The eastern conference sucks and has sucked for 20 years. It has inflated Lebron's stats for his entire career.

[dabom]

The numbers guy telling it how it is.

[RD2191]

The eastern conference sucks and has sucked for 20 years. It has inflated Lebron's stats for his entire career.

TBFH

[hitmanyr2k]

No way, I love Kawhi but c'mon, LeBron dropped 29 on the 4th/OT on the pistons in the playoffs at 21 and led his garbage team to the Finals by himself. Kawhi is a great player, 2nd best in the league imo, but to eclipse lebron at any point is a bit much to ask as imo Lebron is a top 3 all time player at this point... at 25 he was at 29/8.6/7/1.6/1 shooting 50% with a 31 PER I wish Kawhi was averaging those numbers tbh

That's a myth lol. The Cavs were playing in one of the tiest Eastern conferences of all-time. Lebron shot terribly for most of the playoffs and his teammates chipped in at key moments. That Game 5 in the ECF was epic though.

[bic50]

Eh I don't know about that.

[99 Problems]

This is Kawhi time baby... get your seatbelts fastened

This is the Captain, clear the runway, Kawa is taking off.

[SpursforSix]

This is the Captain, clear the runway, Kawa is taking off.

Black this mother er.

[Brazil]

26/10 and 7 assists... damn... yeah give the freaking ball to kawhi lebron Jordan pippen Leonard tbh

[dabom]

26/10 and 7 assists... damn... yeah give the freaking ball to kawhi lebron Jordan pippen Leonard tbh

Top 10 poster.

[skulls138]

Lets not forget that Kawhi has Pops. If you want to have a serious discussion about it, you cant discount that. Having said that, Lebron can be manipulative which could be counterproductive to a potential good coach. Skill on skill I think Lebrons got it physically and easily but Kawhis got the three pointer and the Kobe-esque midrange. Temperamentally is weird because Kawhi seems on one hand to be more coachable yet more focused, while Lebron is, to me, manipulative but positive and friendly. I think they are equal in IQ

Altogether I feel it comes down to Kawhis focus vs Lebrons physical skill.

[dabom]

Kawhi has Pops.

[skulls138]

Making sense

[mudyez]

I still can't get over Larry Bird winning Executive Of The Year Honors, the same season he traded away Kawhi Leonard (+Bertans).

[buttsR4rebounding]

I still can't get over Larry Bird winning Executive Of The Year Honors, the same season he traded away Kawhi Leonard (+Bertans).

Just shows that the majority of the league's execs would have done the same thing.

[Vito Corleone]

Tim Duncan at 25 was better than LeBron at 25

Kawhi at 25 is a better defender than LeBron is at any time in his career. Lebron however at 25 is a much better assist man, and passer. LeBron also was a slightly better scorer at 25 than Kawhi is now. Kawhi is a better 3pt shooter and free throw shooter than LeBron has ever been.

I still give LeBron the edge as a rebounder while Kawhi better at getting steals.

It's a lot closer than I thought but I still give LeBron the edge.

[Horse]

How about Lebron I'm tired of that cramped up cry baby pussy got.

[Thomas82]

Tim Duncan at 25 was better than LeBron at 25

Kawhi at 25 is a better defender than LeBron is at any time in his career. Lebron however at 25 is a much better assist man, and passer. LeBron also was a slightly better scorer at 25 than Kawhi is now. Kawhi is a better 3pt shooter and free throw shooter than LeBron has ever been.

I still give LeBron the edge as a rebounder while Kawhi better at getting steals.

It's a lot closer than I thought but I still give LeBron the edge.

Good post!! I agree with all of it. Oh, and people forget just how good Tim Duncan was at 25.

[Arcadian]

Tim Duncan at 25 was better than LeBron at 25

YES. Duncan was probably the best 25-yo player ever. He was already the equivalent of most veterans at 21, so by 25 he was a perfectly polished, complete player. He even got his FT% up to 80 in '02.

For me it's a tossup between Kawhi and Lebron. If I need more defense it's Kawhi, and if I need more assists it's Lebron. But I'd definitely take Duncan over both.

[313]

YES. Duncan was probably the best 25-yo player ever.

25 y/o MJ averaged 32-8-8-2.9, 31 PER, 19.8 WS, 12.6 BPM

crazy that's not even his best season

http://www.basketball-reference.com/..._id6=onealsh01

comparing Kawhi, Tim, Shaq, MJ, LeBron, Kevin Durant all at 25

[jermaine]

Labron!!! This has always cried for help an continue to... Kawhi just tried to get better...

[Brazil]

Tim Duncan at 25 was better than LeBron at 25

Kawhi at 25 is a better defender than LeBron is at any time in his career. Lebron however at 25 is a much better assist man, and passer. LeBron also was a slightly better scorer at 25 than Kawhi is now. Kawhi is a better 3pt shooter and free throw shooter than LeBron has ever been.

I still give LeBron the edge as a rebounder while Kawhi better at getting steals.

It's a lot closer than I thought but I still give LeBron the edge.

[Proxy]

KL 1 Ring 1 FMVP
LBJ 0 Ring 0 FMVP

tee hee

[PopTheGOAT]

To Lebron's credit, if he came up in the Spurs system with big 3 and Pop to guide him, he might be considered the GOAT already. When comparing Kawhi and Lebron's natural ability, it's Lebron by a wide margin. But you also have to credit Kawhi for taking advantage of the situation and becoming great. Kawhi definitely had more help getting to where he is at 25. Only considering their abilities at 25, and ignoring how they got there, the difference between the two actually isn't too much. LeBron still gets the edge imo, but for Kawhi to even be close is very impressive.