I largely lost interest in basketball this year, but I still watched enough to retain some knowledge - namely, that pure talent is not the only factor that makes an amazing basketball player; in that light, most here are comparing raw talent, rather than basketball ability as a whole. Is LeBron more talented than Kobe? Yes, of course: he is 6'8", muscular, and 23, and yet has the agility, speed, and passing abilities of a PG. However, the other considerations that go into being one of the great basketball players - defensive and offensive IQ, defensive tenacity, the ability to "read" the flow of the game - Kobe has in spades. And so, for the moment, LeBron is the most talented basketball player in the league, but not the best one.