Defense: Kobe is a perennial NBA All-Defensive First Team selection, and frankly this isn' teven a competition between he and LeBron. The King has picked it up on the defensive end in the second half of year according to some analysts, but still isn't a lock-down one-on-one defender in this league (perhaps because although he is a ridiculous athlete, his lateral movement isn't as swift as everyone thinks and players seem to have no trouble driving right by him). Kobe not only guards the other team's best player when games are on the line, but also gets matched up against the opposition's best defender and gives his team a huge advantage on both ends. Edge: Kobe Bryant.

Intangibles: LeBron has a sixth sense on defense, and often comes up with big-time steals that nobody else can make, however his and Kobe's steal numbers are nearly identical, as are their blocked shot totals. LeBron is a better passer, there's no questioning that, although their assists are very similar and regardless of what some say, LeBron has a far superior supporting cast. LeBron is also seven years younger, and seven years down the road he could...and I mean COULD end up doing things that Kobe never did. But will he ever be able to drop 65 points in a game when he's being double and triple-teamed and simply dominate on both ends of the floor? It's just too difficult to say at this point. Slight Edge: LeBron James.
Will to Win: You'd be delusional to not understand that Kobe Bryant is simply the most competitive person in the NBA (After all, he is the only guy who actually tried in the All-Star game this year). His team is terrible...which is probably why he's decided to put them on his back and carry them into the playoffs, and those of you who are going to say that Lamar Odom is a great player had better not even start with it...yea he is good if you like a 6'10" guy who settles primarily for jumpers and is one of the most prolific "chargers" in the game when he goes to the hole. Kobe has spent most of this year deferring to these average-at-best players, and it's been nice to see that he can play that style too, however the problem is that they just do not win games when Kobe doesn't dominate (Case in point: 3-0 over the last 3 games with Kobe scoring 65, 50 & 60 respectively, all in games that were competitive down the stretch).