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Best All Round Athlete


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Agreed, Federer is still far and away the best. However, I don't think you've watched enough basketball this season if you don't think Lebron is the best player in the NBA.

 

Apparantly you haven't watched that much basketball either. The best player is currently about to win his 4th title. While lebron is easily the best athlete in the NBA, Kobe is still the best player. In a couple years, lebron may be the best, but he isn't yet. Lebron physically, I'd the guard version of shaquille oneal. His combination of speed and power is scary, but he's still lacking in the mentality, footwork, man defense and jumpshot departments. His jumper is decent. His help defense is great, but for someone to have natural abilities, he should be much better of a one on one defender....like kobe.

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Well Bo Jackson Represented Both Baseball and Football and the Pro Stars Cartoon so I am going to go with Bo. Bo played one of the most skilled sports in baseball and had the raw Physical skills needed to be a running back in the NFL. Lebron is a freak but he doesn't have the special talent required to play baseball.

 

Another guy worth mentioning is Jackie Robinson not only a great baseball player but he was a track superstar, a basketball superstar, football, and basically did everything when he was in college at an all American level.

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Apparantly you haven't watched that much basketball either. The best player is currently about to win his 4th title. While lebron is easily the best athlete in the NBA, Kobe is still the best player. In a couple years, lebron may be the best, but he isn't yet. Lebron physically, I'd the guard version of shaquille oneal. His combination of speed and power is scary, but he's still lacking in the mentality, footwork, man defense and jumpshot departments. His jumper is decent. His help defense is great, but for someone to have natural abilities, he should be much better of a one on one defender....like kobe.

 

I am not a big basketball fan but I think Lebron is a much better player than Kobe. If you take a look at efficiency rating, defense, and surrounding cast Lebron is much better than Kobe. Kobe has Pau Gasol who is better than anyone on Cleveland except Lebron, as well as Andrew Bynum, Lemar Odom and Derrick Fisher who are better than anyone on Cleveland except Lebron and Mo Williams. Look at what Kobe did before Pau got there he couldn't carry the team by himself and got shutdown by the better defensive teams.

 

Lebron is a better passer, defender, and a more efficient player than Kobe. You can say 4th ring all you want but if you put Kobe on the Cavs and Lebron on the Lackers Lebron is about to win a title and Kobe is staying home. Kobe's first three rings were with Shaq and Shaq could have had any second tier superstar (Tracy McGrady or Scottie Pipin like guys) and taken them to at least two titles.

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I am not a big basketball fan but I think Lebron is a much better player than Kobe.

 

Kobe wins. He is a much better pure shooter, and defensively has better positioning than Lebron. I dont know who is better. I tend to be on Kobe's side because he's a winner, but I get angry when people just claim out-right that Lebron is the greatest player in the NBA. IMO he is the greatest person at grabbing a basketball, taking 4 steps and leaping towards an object suspended ten feet in the air, but that surely doesn't make you a tremendous athlete, just someone born with the correct frame.

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Kobe wins. He is a much better pure shooter, and defensively has better positioning than Lebron. I dont know who is better. I tend to be on Kobe's side because he's a winner, but I get angry when people just claim out-right that Lebron is the greatest player in the NBA. IMO he is the greatest person at grabbing a basketball, taking 4 steps and leaping towards an object suspended ten feet in the air, but that surely doesn't make you a tremendous athlete, just someone born with the correct frame.

 

 

You don't see James play all that much do you?

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Kobe wins. He is a much better pure shooter, and defensively has better positioning than Lebron. I dont know who is better. I tend to be on Kobe's side because he's a winner, but I get angry when people just claim out-right that Lebron is the greatest player in the NBA. IMO he is the greatest person at grabbing a basketball, taking 4 steps and leaping towards an object suspended ten feet in the air, but that surely doesn't make you a tremendous athlete, just someone born with the correct frame.

 

The only thing Kobe does better than Lebron is shoot. Lebron overall defensively is better than Kobe. Rebounding, passing, defense and efficiency Lebron is better. As for Kobe being a winner he did need Shaq and a rigged game 6 of the 2002 Western Conference finals to win three rings. Also how far did Kobe get when had Lamar Odom and no one else? Answer he got bounced in the second round.

 

Everyone needs help and Kobe only made his recent runs to the finals when Derrick Fisher and Pau Gasol were added to the roster as well as the emergence of Andrew Bynum. So Its not like Kobe willed his team to the finals these last two seasons.

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If we're talking about pure athleticism why don't we look at a guy like Bryan Clay. He won the decathlon at last years Olympics.

 

100 meter dash, long jump, shot put, high jump, 400 meter, 110 meter hurdles, discus, pole vault, javelin and the 1500 meter.

 

I would say that is a better measure of the best athlete then one or two professional sports

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The greatest athelete ever was Wilt Chamberlain. He had an over 40" vertical, was as strong as a bull (he could do sit-ups with over 200 lbs behind his head), averaged over 50 points a game with 20 rebounds and over 10 blocks (but they didn't count those) in a season and he could hang off the top of the backboard. He also played in a game where you couldn't run into people and draw a foul like the NBA's new rules for Jordan, Shaq, and the "new" superstars. And no one, I mean no one will break his record with women.

 

2nd I'd give to Deion Sanders, and 3rd to Bo Jackson. I say Jackson 3rd because he wasn't a good ballplayer. He was good defensively, but his hitting skills left a lot to be desired with his lack of discipline at the plate. He left guys on base way too often when a sacrifice would be sufficient. Deion was a better player at baseball and probably the best ever at CB. Deion had to be accounted for anytime he made it on-base.

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Anyone remember the blowout game against the Falcons at Rich when just before the half, trailing 38-zip, Deion ran one back for a touchdown on what I seem to recall being a lateral. He was celebrating and talking all kinds of smack. Steve Tasker just looked at him, pointed at the scoreboard, smiled and walked away. I'll never forget that one. I was laughing my a$$ off.

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IMO, it totally depends on the definition of best athlete. There are better "athletes" than Sanders or Bo Jackson that weren't nearly as good at two sports as those two. Decathaletes and Triathletes come to mind. As well as just sick athletes like Lebron that may not play multiple sports but as far as running, jumping, strength, hand-eye coordination, ability under pressure, etc, may be better than Sanders or Jackson, too.

 

Dave Winfield mentioned above was drafted in three sports. The late great Randy Smith, a tremendous athlete, was an All-American in college in three separate sports, which is extraordinary. Even guys like Danny Ainge should probably be considered, and I've read sportswriters making a case for him as he was an all-star basketball player, a pretty good major league baseball player, was an outstanding high school football player, a great high jumper, is a scratch golfer, and rumored to be virtually unbeatable in ping-pong. ;)

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I still vote for Jim Brown. Unmatched combination of speed, power, skill and attitude.

 

Just reading his background on the SU website, Three Hall of Fames, Unmatched at his position, and probably the most durable running back of all time (never missed a play in 9 years in the league).

 

He was a decathlete, finished 5th in the 1954 national championship with a couple of guys named Bob Mathias and Rafer Johnson ahead of him.

 

I believe he still holds the all-time HS basketball scoring average record for Long Island, nearly 60 years later.

 

This link says it all

 

http://www.orangehoops.org/jbrown.htm

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If you are talking about pure athletic ability and talent and not career numbers, nobody compares to Bo Jackson. He was a superstar in both sports, one of the best in the league in baseball and football. I belive he played in the Pro Bowl and the baseball All-Star game in the same season. Not even close, Bo was magical.

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Thorp and Brown in the past, Jackson in the recent past with Brown being #1 IMO

Oh and Randy and Wilt get consideration. Randy RIP you were great, I'll never forget the NBA allstar game you took over, one of my best boyhood sports memiories.

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