LeBron James and Kobe Bryant may be considered rivals when it comes to the conversation as the greatest NBA player of all-time. Both superstars have undeniably made a huge impact in the world of basketball, and their names will always be a huge part of the history. When Bryant’s performance deteriorated, James’ era officially started.
Despite the rivalry, there is no bad blood existing between LeBron James and Kobe Bryant. Before he became an NBA superstar, James admitted that his inspiration was Michael Jordan. However, he thought Jordan was “out of this world,” so he decided that he wanted to be like Kobe.
“I knew I had to be better because of Kobe Bryant,” James said, as reported by Fadeaway World . “I knew he was in the gym and I knew he was working on his game. And I knew he was great. So every day that I didn’t want to work out or every day I felt like I couldn’t give more, I always thought of Kobe. I knew that he was getting better and I was like, ‘Man, if you take a day off, he’s going to take advantage of it. You cannot take a day off. You cannot take a day off.’”
LeBron James wanted Lance Stephenson on the Lakers so he can “sic him on people.” https://t.co/oFYUHJeK2v pic.twitter.com/4tA4r58BXv
— Silver Screen and Roll (@LakersSBN) August 30, 2018
LeBron James revealed that Kobe Bryant has a major influence on his NBA career. He’s one of the reasons why he continues to work harder every day, even if he’s already an established superstar in the league. There may be a huge difference in the way James and Bryant move inside the court, but LeBron somewhat managed to adopt the Mamba mentality.
As of now, LeBron James is playing for the Los Angeles Lakers and is expected to bring the purple and gold back to their former glory. Bryant was one of the first people who welcomed James in Los Angeles. The Lakers legend urged his fans to stop hating LeBron and support him along the way. Despite their current roster, Bryant has a strong belief that James can help the Lakers’ end their eight-year title drought.
With the emergence of numerous “Super Teams” in the league, the Lakers obviously need more star power to fully dominate the deep Western Conference and bring home the Larry O’Brien Trophy. Though the Lakers will be entering the 2018-19 NBA season with James as their lone superstar, President of Basketball Operations Magic Johnson and General Manager Rob Pelinka are expected to make a big move before the February NBA trade deadline or in the 2019 NBA free agency.
