A rivalry that went beyond the court. A low-key friendship that blossomed off the court.
Camaraderie and inspiration were common between Kobe Bryant and LeBron James,
but is there more behind them than just the game?
Sadly for many NBA fans, Kobe Bryant and LeBron James never got to play on the same All-Star team.
However, they did play on Team USA together and won Olympic gold medals in 2008 at the Beijing
Games and in 2012 at the London Games. But according to Ian O'Connor's Coach K:
The Rise and Reign of Mike Krzyzewski, James apparently had a problem with how
many shots Bryant took when they were on the Olympic team in 2008. Apparently,
he even spoke to former Team USA coach Mike Krzyzewski about it. O'Connor wrote in his book:
"Everyone knew it. They know when another player is being selfish. Players can police themselves,
but in this instance, as LeBron was coming out of the game, he said to Mike, 'Yo, Coach,
you'd better fix that [guy],' as he walks by. He was talking about Kobe."
O'Connor's book was published in February of 2022, so Bryant didn't have the opportunity
to confirm or deny his claim. James hasn't said anything either but if his gripe about
Bryant's shooting is true, it didn't seem to affect their relationship off the court.
Just imagine a one-on-one game between LeBron James and Kobe Bryant. Some might expect the
match-up to be an all-out war since it would be James' power against Bryant's finesse. Even so,
Bryant seemed pretty confident he'd be able to beat James quite easily.
"I'd be disrespecting LeBron if I didn't compete and go hard at him."
So confident, in fact, that he told reporters at a 2010 Q&A at the London School of Basketball,
that LeBron wouldn't even stand a chance if the two were to face off on the court.
Bryant went on to tell the audience:
"I win. That's what I do. One-on-one is, that's easy for me. Playing one-on-one is,
that is how I grew up playing. That's like my thing and LeBron is more like a Magic Johnson, per
se. He's a great passer and plays an all-around game. At the core of me, I'm a one-on-one player."
When James stopped by the London School of Basketball, naturally,
the one-on-one question came up again. In short, the future Hall of Famer said
he's not a one-one player and is more about making his team better. But at the same time,
James refused to say that he'd be defeated because it's not his style to bet against
himself. He also made it clear that this hypothetical battle would never happen.
"It's the respect factor that we have for each other. But at the end of the day,
we are ultimate competitors."
According to sports analyst Doug Gottlieb, Kobe Bryant once said that LeBron James
didn't have the same killer instinct that he and Michael Jordan did. It's said that
number 24 made the comment when James was joining the Los Angeles Lakers in 2018.
Of course, the stories about Jordan and Bryant being ultra-competitive are well-documented.
And for the record, Bryant didn't say that James lacked a deep passion to win,
he just didn't think the former Miami Heat star could deal with negative criticism from Lakers
fans. During his radio show on Fox Sports Radio, Gottlieb said Bryant once told him:
"LeBron was coming to town. It was already done, and he said to me unequivocally,
'LeBron does not get, know, or understand LA and he's not built
for it the way I'm built for it. [...] I took negativity and it fueled me.'"
He believed the same could not be said about James.
According to Gottlieb, Bryant went on to add:
"He's not the savage competitor that me and Mike are. I'm the type of killer
that wants to kill you and your whole family. LeBron just wants to be loved,
wants to play ball, wants to win games. But he is not the killer that me and Mike are."
James never responded to Gottlieb's claim,
probably because he doesn't have much to prove due to all of his NBA accomplishments.
Jordan never weighed in either. Just because two friends don't document
their closeness on social media, it doesn't mean they don't have a solid relationship.
Take Kobe Bryant and LeBron James, for example. Bryant once said they were incredibly tight,
which a lot of people probably didn't know at the time. The Philadelphia native revealed that
he and James were close and spoke often to NBA writer Mark Medina, who tweeted about it in 2016.
Some might find it interesting that Bryant admitted to being super chummy with James
because he was known to be a loner, with basketball being his best pal.
Evidently, Bryant seemed to play up his reputation, even joking on a 2018 episode
of Jimmy Kimmel Live! that he was totally friendless, telling the host with a smile:
"I hate people."
Bryant and James' friendship was ever-evolving. As ESPN's
Ramona Shelburne said following Bryant's death:
"I think the hardest part for LeBron is that he and Kobe had started to develop the relationship
that both of them had always wanted to have. They started to get much closer this year."
There's no doubt that both LeBron James and Kobe Bryant were basketball prodigies
when they played in high school. For one, Bryant scored a total of 2,883 points by
the time he graduated from Lower Merion High School in Ardmore, Pennsylvania.
He also racked up awards and had his number 33 jersey from high-school retired.
Division 1 schools eventually came calling, but Bryant opted to head straight to the NBA,
becoming the 13th overall pick.
James has a similar background since he was recognized as the best high school player in
the United States while attending St. Vincent–St. Mary in Akron, Ohio. He scored 2,646 points in
his high school career and made the cover of Sports Illustrated in his junior year.
The publication dubbed him "The Chosen One," just to give you an idea of how
much attention surrounded James' skills when he was still a kid. Also, like Bryant,
he went straight to the NBA after high school and was the number one draft pick. In 2016,
James said it was Bryant who inspired him to make the leap into the NBA
and no one else. James told retired NBA player Chauncey Billups:
"As a kid growing up, man, watching [Kobe],
watching a kid come straight out of high school is something that I kind of admired.
I was like, 'If he can do it, then maybe I can be one of the guys that do it, too.'"
Iron sharpens iron, is what some people say. Meaning, that two people who both have strong
qualities can make each other better, stronger, and more effective in whatever they're trying
to accomplish. That's what Kobe Bryant and LeBron James said they did for each other while
speaking to ESPN in 2009 while also praising each other's style of play. Bryant said about James:
"We both have the same passion, we just show it in different ways. He takes off like he's
jumping off a trampoline off of one leg. It's the most ridiculous one-leg takeoff I've seen."
Afterward, James commended the Black Mamba's ability to dribble,
stop on a dime, and shoot in someone's face.
"His mid-range jumper is by far one of the best
that we have, if not the best that we have in our league."
But it wasn't just their style of play the two spoke about,
they talked about each other's personalities. Bryant said that James was a naturally funny guy.
He then said the sheer level of respect they have for each other allows them to
play at a high level whenever they go toe-to-toe in games. Makes sense, right?
In just 24 hours, LeBron James would go from celebrating to mourning. On Saturday,
January 25, 2020, James passed Kobe Bryant on the NBA's all-time scoring list while Kobe and his
13-year-old daughter Gianna Bryant were at that game. Afterward, James spoke about the achievement
and why it was so special to him, telling a Spectrum SportsNet reporter:
"I went to ABCD camp and he came and talked to all the kids that was there and I happened to be one
of the kids that was there. I was just listening. I was just trying to soak everything up I could."
Then the very next day, Kobe, Gianna, and seven others died in a helicopter crash in Calabasas,
California. Just hours before the accident, Kobe congratulated James on Instagram
while posting a photo of himself with the Ohio native, writing in the caption:
"On to #2 @kingjames! Keep growing the game and charting the path for the next."
The Instagram post would be Kobe's last.
After Kobe Bryant died in a helicopter crash on January 26, 2020, the NBA legend's teammates,
friends, and loved ones shared their condolences. Among the social media posts was an Instagram
post from LeBron James. The caption was paired with a series of photos of the two on the court,
several of which show Bryant cheering on James as he played. James wrote in the caption:
"I'm Not Ready but here I go. [I'm] sitting here trying to write something for this
post but every time I try I begin crying again just thinking about you, niece Gigi
and the friendship/bond/brotherhood we had! [...] I'm heartbroken and devastated my brother!!"
From there, James promised Bryant that he'd carry on his legacy of high hoops
play before saying he just couldn't write anymore.
"A day doesn't go by where I don't think about him."
The first game the Los Angeles Lakers played after Kobe Bryant's death was on Friday,
January 31, 2020. A few days before,
the team postponed their game against the Los Angeles Clippers because of the helicopter crash.
As the Lakers' leader, LeBron James took it upon himself to speak to the
crowd about Bryant, while sharing his own feelings. LeBron told the crowd:
"This is a celebration of the 20 years of the blood,
the sweat, the tears, the broken-down body … the determination to be as great as he could be.”
He continued, saying:
“Tonight we celebrate the kid that came here at 18 years of age, retired at 38.”
“Tonight is a celebration."
James then reiterated what he said in his interview after passing Bryant in
scoring and also what he wrote in his Instagram post after the crash:
That Bryant inspired him to chase greatness and he wants to carry on his success for Laker fans.
It was a speech that left James and probably everyone watching at home in tears.
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