Kobe Bryant does not consider LeBron James his rival
The Lakers legend doesn't feel that LeBron James is his rival, because their primes didn't overlap. He also doesn't care that they never played in the Finals against each other.
By
Matt Moore
•
4 min read
One of the biggest bummers in the last decade in the NBA is that LeBron James and Kobe Bryant never met in the Finals. They were on a collision course in 2009 before the Orlando Magic crashed the party, then the Celtics, despite being a not-very-good team in 2010 went on a huge postseason run and bounced LeBron for the second time in three years in Cleveland. The King went to the Heat and joined a superpower just as the Lakers' championship core exploded in a second-round sweep to the Dallas Mavericks and were never the same.
From 2008 to 2012, there was a vicious debate played out by fans over who was better, LeBron or Kobe. James' numbers validated him, as well as his overall dominance. Bryant's championships were the only thing he or his fans needed on his résumé to prove he was superior.
However, in Cleveland on Wednesday for his last game vs. LeBron, Bryant was asked about the rivalry aspect between the two and Bryant shut down that talk pretty quick. Not only did he not see LeBron a rival, but he didn't care at all that he never faced him in the Finals.
"I wouldn't say he was a rival. ... I just felt like we were completely different generations. I just missed that thing completely. Not like a Magic and Bird sort of thing. It was more like, from the time he came in the league it was more helping him, giving him direction, advice, 'cause I was just so much older by NBA years. So no, I've never had that."
So is it weird to Bryant that he's never met James in the Finals?
"I wouldn't say weird," Bryant said. "It's just, I don't know if weird would be the term I'd use for it. Our teams, just, we never crossed paths unfortunately. I don't want to say it was weird or anything like that. Just the ebb and flows of each season."
"It didn't matter to me," Bryant said of his NBA Finals opponents. "I just wanted to win the damn thing. I didn't care who we played. For the fans, it probably stinks because it would have been a great matchup, but from a player's perspective it doesn't matter who you play. Just want to win the championship."
Source: Los Angeles Lakers guard Kobe Bryant: Cleveland Cavaliers forward LeBron James did not 'push me' to be better | FOX Sports.
First on the rivalry front, it's just a timeline thing. Bird and Magic came into the league together and clashed from the get-go. Those two did want to see each other in the Finals, and didn't get as much satisfaction from titles that were not earned by defeating the other. Bryant had three titles by the time James entered the league in 2003. James was a pup at age 24 when Bryant won his fourth in 2010. You can't really feel like you have to beat someone who's that much younger than you, when you have six NBA seasons under your belt before the other player had even hit the league.
Also, there is a subtext here, and it's one of the reasons why Michael Jordan has long said that he considers Kobe the superior player to LeBron. There is an alpha dog, win at all costs mentality that James never adopted. He's a team player, and one that loves to facilitate for his teammates. Bryant is defined by his individual will to win and greatness. They have different approaches.
Bryant really missed out on having a rival. Tracy McGrady was the best chance, but TMac's body fell apart in short order. Garnett should have been, but Minnesota could never build a contender around him. Honestly, his only real rival throughout his time has been Paul Pierce, another alpha dog scorer for the Lakers' biggest rival in Boston. He would be rivals with Tim Duncan but that requires Duncan to experience human emotion the way we do.
James' biggest rivals were Carmelo Anthony and Dwyane Wade; not only did he team up with Wade and dominate both in terms of individual performance, but he's close friends with both of them, as well as Chris Paul.
Still, it's a shame that the two never met, particularly in 2010 or in 2013 with the Lakers' super-team that fell apart with Dwight Howard and Steve Nash vs. those great Heat teams. Watching Bryant and James go at one another (they would have likely guarded each other for long stretches) would have been incredible theater. Instead, Bryant walks away with an era all his own, while James' own reign has been marred by the rise and power of challengers, from the Spurs to the Mavericks to the Warriors.
One last note, though, and not to cause a ruckus, but here are the records and stats of both players head to head.
