For years LeBron James and Kobe Bryant were pitted against each other with their fans having relentless arguments over who’s better and who’s the second coming of Michael Jordan. Unfortunately fans never got to see them face off in the greatest test, the NBA Finals and that’s one regret James says he has as Bryant gears up for retirement.
via ESPN:
“I didn’t hold up my end of the bargain in 2009 for the fans, for us, to meet in the Finals,” James said Tuesday, looking back on the 2008-09 season when his Cleveland Cavaliers led the league with a 66-16 record and Bryant’s Los Angeles Lakers were right behind him at 65-17. “I know the world wanted to see it. I wanted it, we wanted it. He held up his end and I didn’t hold up my end, and I hate that. I hate that that didn’t happen.”
James and the Cavs lost to the Orlando Magic in the Eastern Conference finals 4-2, with the Lakers going on to beat the Magic in the championship round 4-1.
“Obviously there was so much made about it, from commercials to media talk, to people just talking about the Lakers versus the Cavs, Kobe versus LeBron, Kobe versus LeBron, Kobe versus LeBron, but I couldn’t do that to my teammates to kind of assume,” James said. “That’s not my job. I’ve seen the stat that since ’07 either he has or I’ve been in the Finals, but we’ve never matched up. And that definitely sucks. Not only for us two being competitors, wanting to go against each other in the Finals, but also for the fans.”
“I mean, in high school I wore a nappy-ass Afro because of Kobe Bryant,” James said. “Because he wore it. I wanted to be just like him, man. And I always said my inspiration came from [Michael] Jordan, but I always thought Jordan was so out of this world that I could never get there. Kobe was someone that I just always kind of wanted to be like and play like.”
Ad campaigns and much more were centered around the potential matchup but it never happened. As James mentioned, since 2007 either him or Bryant have been in every NBA Finals, too bad it was never against each other.
