LeBron James was supposed to be the man to pass Michael Jordan as the GOAT despite the presence of superstars in LA.
before lebron james Coming to the NBA, the “boy from Akron” was expected across the country to be the next big thing after that. Michael Jordan.
And by the time he was promoted to the league in 2003, he was considered the greatest prodigy of all time. His 18-year-old boy, who stands 6 feet 9 inches and 240 pounds of grown man height, joined early after deciding to skip college to hang out with guys.
from 2002 @GrantWahl: Ohio high school senior LeBron James was so good he was already being mentioned as an Air Jordan successor. https://t.co/My2NPz4jsV
— Sports Illustrated (@SInow) August 30, 2022
To this day, even after the social media boom, no one in any sport has that kind of hype and expectations behind them.
But by the time he made his debut, Los Angeles already had a bit of a legacy, including a 6-foot-6 eighth-year guard, the biggest MJ maniac of all time, and a head start to three titles for James. was.
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Kobe Bryant has become the closest he’s ever been to Michael Jordan despite his ups and downs
nevertheless Kobe and the Lakers Shaquille O’Nealwithout Bryant, there would be no three-peat in Los Angeles, and no double for that matter.
With his work ethic and obsession with being like Mike or better than him, the Black Mamba tried to make the Lakers his team for two years after the 3-Pete, and by 2004 he was the head coach of Shaq. Kicked Phil Jackson out of Los Angeles.
However, instead of becoming one of the best players in the league, he suffered a major setback in the 2003-04 season as he had to deal with multiple off-court issues. But it didn’t take long for him to get back on track.
Within two years, he would have a top scoring season averaging well over 35 points per game. He appeared in his 80 games and in one appearance he played over 41 minutes, showing all of Jordan’s Arsenal moves and more.
Kobe Bryant’s 2005-06 Season Monthly Stats (Thread) pic.twitter.com/6MyeWsDLM0
— Dom / BBall Talk (@DominickNBA) August 26, 2022
When Kobe showed LeBron James who Michael Jordan’s real successor was
During that season, he and the Lakers met a 20-year-old freak from Cleveland. He was also having the highest-scoring season of his career, 16 years later.
Despite spraining his wrist and shooting 1/11 in the game, Bryant showed the 20-year-old James to be a true successor to MJ, finishing the game with three consecutive crucial shots and a young King’s stoppage. concluded.
Bryant won two more with the Lakers before LeBron won the first, and unlike the last three, both times got them there and Finals MVP.
Also read: Dwyane Wade thought Kobe Bryant was ‘psycho’ after 2012 All-Star game call
After 20 years as one of the GOATs, he retired from the NBA and died tragically in a helicopter crash in 2020. Meanwhile, James will be celebrating his 20th anniversary a few months from now.
