LeBron James Clutch Stats vs Kobe Bryant Clutch Stats

When the younger generation of fans debate which NBA player is the one true GOAT, one name often come up in the conversation alongside Michael Jordan and LeBron James: Kobe Bean Bryant.

Both LeBron and Kobe established themselves as tantalizing scorers and lockdown defenders from a young age, but there's one question that you can ask yourself that will finally put this discussion to bed:

Who has the edge in clutch situations?

While Kobe is remembered for hitting numerous game-winning shots, the "clutch" period according to the expert number-crunchers is considered to be the last five minutes of an NBA game, not just the final seconds. Those last five minutes will be the focus of our analysis, and when you compare the statistical averages from the first 15 years of each player's career during this time frame , it's not as close as you would think.

In the last five minutes of play, Kobe Bryant averaged 3.5 points on 39.3% shooting and 29.2% from deep. He also turned the ball over an average 0.3 times and held a plus-minus of 0.8. All told, these numbers were not up to the standards of King James.

LeBron has been noticeably more efficient during crunch time, averaging 3.7 points on 46.8% shooting and 32.5% from downtown. His plus-minus was also well above Kobe's at 1.46.

When you take these factors into account, there is no question that LeBron James is the more clutch player. Not only did he make more shots in these situations, but he did so in fewer attempts.

You can finally shut the book on this one. The Black Mamba is an all-time legend, but he wasn't the same closer that LBJ has proven to be.