LeBron James will go down as one the greatest players in Los Angeles Lakers history given all he’s accomplished with the storied franchise.
James has captured an NBA championship and Finals MVP as well as broken the all-time scoring record set by fellow Lakers legend Kareem Abdul-Jabbar while donning the purple and gold. Those accomplishments on their own make him a franchise icon, but he’s done so much more since arriving in Los Angeles.
Even in Year 22, James continues to awe and amaze on the basketball court which people like Kobe Bryant certainly would’ve appreciated.
In an appearance on the Pat McAfee Show, James opened up about his relationship with Bryant and how it grew exponentially more once he joined the Lakers:
“The funny thing is me and Kobe besides –the late great Kob’– me and Kobe never had a real relationship either until we was on the Olympics team. We had a great relationship there. Olympic team eight, Olympics team 12 but it was always competitive between us. We were always like…I was on the East Coast he was on the West Coast and it was like even though we never…I f—ed up one time in ’09 and didn’t beat Orlando and didn’t get my opportunity to play him in the Finals.
“Until I became a Laker and then he retired that’s when our relationship became really, really good. He like welcomed me, he called me like, ‘Bro, anything you need in L.A. like I got you. You a Laker now, you family,’ and we would have multiple conversations. Obviously you guys saw him coming to a lot of games and things of that nature and when I passed him for the scoring record in Philly I think he had a tweet out there like, ‘Keep on going. Keep transcending the game, keep going’ and that shit meant so much to me.”
It was no secret that James and Bryant had a tense rivalry at the peak of their powers, but the mutual respect and admiration shone through once the latter retired. James and Bryant are two of the most influential players in NBA history, and it’s great to hear they were able to build a strong relationship later in life.
ALlen Iverson includes LeBron James and Kobe Bryant in all-time starting five
The NBA has been fortunate to have so many great players come through the league, including stars like Allen Iverson. Iverson has a lot of respect for the game of basketball and he had no problem including LeBron James and Kobe Bryant on his all-time starting five.
Have you subscribed to our YouTube channel? It’s the best way to watch player interviews, exclusive coverage from events, participate in live shows, and more!
