If you ask any basketball fan to name some of the greatest pillars in modern NBA basketball, there's a good chance you'll hear the names Kobe Bryant and LeBron James. While their careers didn't entirely overlap, they were both transcendent stars in their prime who forever changed the game.
Normally, picking one over the other can feel like an impossible task, but one of LeBron's former teammates (who got to guard both James and Kobe) says there's something about LeBron that sets him apart even from Bryant. In a segment on NBA Today, former NBA swingman Richard Jefferson dropped an interesting take on why guarding LeBron was his toughest assignment.
"Kobe was gonna do what Kobe does. He was gonna shoot the ball and you had to make it tough. If he made them all, he was gonna get you 81. If he missed a couple, he was gonna get you 25. That to me, wasn't the hardest person to guard, it was still LeBron James mainly because of this: he was bigger, more physical, and we played against him when he was young -- in his first Finals."
While Kobe often got praised for his tough-shot making ability, LeBron was like a freight train going to the rom and it was almost impossible to slow him down at full strength.
While his game has changed a lot over the years, LeBron is still a star-level player because of his ability to adapt his skills. This year, expectations remain high for James, but there are some questions about how much he has left in the tank.
Kobe and James had their fair share of battles over the years, and while they never met in the Finals, their legacies will always be intertwined as fellow Lakers and modern-day legends of the game.
"They're totally different as far as their personalities," recalled Dwight Howard, who played with both LeBron and Bryant. "Kobe is more straightforward, always locked in, just quiet. LeBron, he has music blasting, he walks around, lifting before the game. They are two different types of players, but when it comes to the world, they're not strangers to the world. That's what set them apart."
Even as this generation fades, the impact that Kobe and LeBron had on this league will never wash away, and their long list of achievements will be celebrated for years to come. Of course, it also means that the constant comparisons between Kobe and LeBron will rage on for the foreseeable future.
