Carmelo Anthony Leaves LeBron James and Kobe Bryant in the Dust in a Peculiar NBA Stat

Carmelo Anthony, Kobe Bryant, and LeBron James—all basketball giants. But Melo falls short in terms of accolades and postseason success in front of the King and the Black Mamba. However, the ex-Denver Nuggets star seems to have surpassed the two Lakers‘ icons in one particular department. Some may even call it a unique department.

An ‘X’ user, NOT (@georgemikan), posted a chart showing, “Most Efficient 5-Year Stretches on Jumpers (eFG%)”. Melo topped the chart, leaving behind both James and Bryant. As per the chart, Carmelo Anthony has a higher percentage of effective field goals while taking a jump shot in a five-year stretch.

This came as a response by the X user to a post by ‘Ball Don’t Stop’. “Real hoopers know this but there’s a big difference between pure scorers and dominant scorers,” read the post. It further defined the dominant scorers as players who are physically imposing and their gameplay is based on their athletic prowess.

Meanwhile, the post described the pure scorers as the players with natural skill and feel for the game. “You could wake them up out the bed, take them to a court and they’ll give you 50. Their game was built primarily around their shot making from the perimeter, foot work, their ball handling ability and creativity.”

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While Carmelo Anthony and Kobe Bryant were placed among the pure bucket getters, LeBron James was placed in the category of dominant scorers. While some agreed with the categorical division, others had their issues with it. So much so that some users came with their own statistical comparison.

LeBron James and Kobe Bryant comparison: Pure vs Dominant Scorer

While the Black Mamba has more NBA championships in his name (5-4), the King has a higher number of MVPs (4-1). Similarly, while James has averaged higher points per game (27.1-25), Bryant had a higher free throw percentage (.837-.735).

It is also worth mentioning that Kobe played in the era when hand-checking was not banned. The ban was placed before the 2003-2004 season. Meanwhile, LeBron has shown flexibility, adapting to the new rules and still going on as the oldest player in the NBA. So even the points per game factor cannot be taken into consideration to reach any concrete conclusion of who among the two is better.

What is your opinion of this categorical division of players into pure scorers and dominant scorers? Let us know your preference between the two in the comments.

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