Kawhi in his prime was a top 5 two-way player of all time. Kawhi could lock down the best player on defense then lead his team in scoring on offense. That is a very rare skillset in NBA history. LeBron's is a top 5 five playmaker, but its easier to find an elite playmaker than an elite two-way player.
If Kawhi was a Top 5 two-way player ever (was he really? Top 5??), LeBron must be one of the other 4 guys. LeBron's offensive peak is significantly higher than Kawhi's, it's not even close. Defensive peak, while I'd entertain an argument that Kawhi's defensive peak was slightly higher, it certainly wasn't by much, as Kawhi's defensive peak coincided with other elite defenders around him, and he was never a rim protector...
Kawhi's legacy is being one of the most dominant perimeter, on-ball defenders ever. I gotta put some thoughts in to think if he's Top 5 at that, but he's certainly really high, historically...
LeBron at his defensive peak wasn't quite as strong on ball but he more than makes up the difference with a historically great defensive versatility, and an ability to anchor elite defenses
with few to no other elite defenders with him. That versatility included elite defense on the perimeter AND at the rim. To me this is a significant point in comparison, it doesnt diminish Kawhi's brilliance but it does highlight the characteristic differences in their roles and how they achieved their apex...
So again I would listen to an argument that Kawhi peaked as a better defender, as in I don't think it's an asinine take, but I don't think Kawhi's argument is particularly strong when you contextualize who they were and what they were doing at their peak...
Offensively Peak Kawhi was a lethal, surgical scorer...........but he's not on the same tier of LeBron as a peak offensive scorer, or offensive player period. I think we tend to throw out shyt like "Top 5", "Top 10" shyt without really considering the weight of what that shyt means...
