During the 1990s, Michael Jordan was the face of the NBA. But after MJ retired from the league, they were in search of another player who could fulfill that role, and they found that in Kobe Bryant.
The Mamba was a superstar for the Los Angeles Lakers and was unarguably one of the best players in the league. So during the 2000s, he was the face of the NBA. But at the same time, a young LeBron James was tearing apart the league with his insane talent.
James’ true prime started when he joined the Miami Heat and formed a Big 3 with Dwyane Wade and Chris Bosh. Despite forming that elite team, James failed to win the 2011 NBA Championship.
So by 2012, most started to believe that James may be a good individual player, but due to the fact he couldn’t win an NBA title, he would never even surpass Kobe Bryant, let alone Michael Jordan.
LeBron James Was Aware That Kobe Bryant Was A Better Player Than Him In 2012
In 2012, NBA Hall of Famer Larry Bird called LeBron the best player in the league. But at the same time, he picked Kobe over LBJ in terms of who he would rather play with.
“LeBron James is by far our best player in this league. I don’t think there’s really anyone next to him. I think he’s there [top spot] then you go down the list. Well, probably Kobe, because of the fact that … well, of course he wouldn’t have been shooting as much as he does now … but his desire to win, his dedication, to always get better, uh, and he’s just, he’s just tough. But, if you want to have fun, like I did with Bill Walton, play with LeBron. It would have probably been more fun to play with LeBron, but if you want to win and win and win, it’s Kobe. Not that LeBron’s not a winner, just that [Kobe’s] mind-set is to go into every practice, every game, to get better.”
Of course, it became a hot topic of discussion for the media, and just days after Bird’s comments, LeBron was asked about his thoughts on the same.
(Starts at 2:50):
“It’s simple, Kobe has five rings and I have none.”
It’s great to see that LeBron accepted that Kobe was simply better than him at the time. But fast forward to 2022, and James’ resume looks completely different.
He now has four NBA Championships to his name. Moreover, he still has a chance to win five NBA rings in his career because he may be 37 years old, but he is far from declining a lot.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OTTWedyp37o
