LeBron James had many epic battles on the court with Kobe Bryant during their iconic careers. With the Los Angeles Lakers set to unveil a statue of Bryant on February 8, LeBron was asked what element of his game was the hardest to stop.
“He didn’t have any flaws,” James said. “You just had to be on your toes throughout the course of however many minutes he was playing, which is probably going to be 40 plus. And you couldn’t take a possession off, because he was relentless on the floor every single night.”
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That’s a pretty accurate description of what going up against Bryant would have been like. You were up against a man who had a complete game on the offensive end. Kobe was adept at scoring from everywhere on the court, and there was really no way to stop him.
He was also giving it his all at every moment of the game, and you had no chance of beating him unless you did the same. Kobe’s talent and his relentlessness helped him win five championships, two Finals MVPs, and an MVP, in what was a remarkable career.
He has gone down as arguably the greatest player in Lakers franchise history, and it is going to be a special moment when his statue gets unveiled. The unveiling will begin at 3:00 pm PT on Thursday, and the statue will be open to be public the following day.
Tracy McGrady Thinks Kobe Bryant Is The Most Skilled Player Ever
Another individual who had some incredible battles with Bryant was Tracy McGrady. The two were often compared to each other as well, and McGrady says Kobe is the most skilled player he has ever seen, even over Michael Jordan.
“Kobe Bean Bryant. He’s the greatest one-on-one player I’ve ever competed against, and not just because of his skill set. It’s because of his mentality. He was just a certified killer,” McGrady said. “I see MJ & Kobe, but Kobe enhanced those skill sets that he took from Michael Jordan. The ball-handling skills. The fadeaways. I think Kobe is the most skilled basketball player that I’ve ever seen over Michael Jordan.”
While I wouldn’t go as far as saying Bryant is the most skilled basketball player ever, you can make that argument. He is certainly in that conversation, and that alone speaks to just how special of a player he was.
Trevor Ariza Claims Kobe Bryant Was Harder To Guard Than LeBron James
Former NBA player Trevor Ariza was often given the thankless task of guarding the best wing players on the opposing team. It meant there were countless nights of having to guard Kobe and LeBron, and Ariza explained why Bryant was harder to guard than James.
“Kobe will be the tougher matchup. And Kobe is the tougher matchup because he’s way more relentless. LeBron is more like of, um… He’s relentless in a different way. He’s gonna make the right play.”
“So, Bron will beat you up, get into the paint, and like kick it out and you like, whoo, s***. Where Kobe is, Kobe will beat you up, get in the paint, pump fake you, pump fake you, spin, pump fake you again, get you in the air, beat you up, and one.”
“So, yeah, that’s like complete embarrassment.”
There is that relentless word again when describing what it was like to go up against Bryant. He was also out there trying to embarrass the opposition, and Ariza unfortunately ended up being the victim a few times.
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