Kobe offered LeBron advice that was given to him by MJ after the 2008 Finals.
The 2018 version of LeBron James is remembered for his superhuman ways—game-winners, broken records, and, perhaps most notably, dragging his Cleveland Cavaliers to the NBA Finals. Today, those Cavs are viewed as arguably the worst team to make the championship round.
For most, that is a credit to James’ all-time great abilities. For others, like NBA icon Kobe Bryant, it reflected an area No. 23 could’ve achieved even more.
Testing the throne
LBJ knocked off the Boston Celtics—who held a 2-0 series lead in the Eastern Conference Finals before “The King” rallied his team back—to earn an unprecedented eighth consecutive NBA Finals appearance.
It was a feat that nestled James’ greatness. Through all the internal troubles that had engulfed the Cavs all season, merely getting his team to this point was ridiculously unlikely.
Still, the Golden State Warriors swept the Cavaliers in a championship series. Even though a few considered it a hit on James’ legacy, Bryant, a five-time NBA champion, felt his ex-rival could have used the advice legendary shooting guard Michael Jordan once gave him.
“Michael gave me some really good advice after the ’08 Finals,” said the Los Angeles Lakers great. “‘You got all the tools. You gotta figure out how to get these guys to that next level to win that championship.’… It has everything to do with how you build the team from an emotional level. How do you motivate them? … Leadership is not making guys better by just throwing them the ball. That’s not what it is. It’s about the influence that you have on them to reach their full potential.”
A missed opportunity?
Was LeBron not getting the most out of his teammates the reason why his team was hardly competitive in the NBA Finals? While no one argues that Cleveland should have won or even taken Golden State to six or seven games, Kobe thought that a changed approach to leadership would have helped the Cavs play a closer series.
Statistically, the discrepancy between James and his teammates was staggering. In Game 1, “The King’s” 51-point masterpiece was nearly enough to hand the Warriors an L single-handedly.
In Game 2, No. 23 played an elite all-around game, although he was considerably less aggressive than the previous night. After two games, LBJ had 80 combined points. The other four Cavs starters? 93.
“I mean, how much more picking up of my teammates do you want me to do?” asked a frustrated LeBron following a Game 1 loss. “I’m in the NBA Finals [and] looking for a championship.”
Kobe led much differently than his former counterpart. While the six-foot-nine forward relishes empowering his teammates by locating them for scoring opportunities, Bryant wanted to put the load on his teammates, putting them in challenging spots and allowing them to make decisions in key moments of a basketball game.
So, yes, leadership is more than generating assists. Had LeBron approached the 2018 Finals with an attitude similar to Bryant’s, perhaps it would’ve made the difference, despite the discrepancy in talent. After all, it worked for the Lakers legend, helping him capture revenge against the Celtics in 2010, two years after he suffered a championship defeat.