For much of the 2000s and 2010s, LeBron James and Kobe Bryant were the two biggest names in basketball. Both guys are among the greatest players of all time, and they have laundry lists of accolades to their names to back it up.
One guy who had the opportunity to work with both James and Bryant as a coach throughout their careers was Phil Handy . And while the pair of stars are frequently pitted against each other, Handy took a second to shed some light on how these guys were actually incredibly similar.
Phil compares LeBron and Kobe
Handy got into coaching in 2011 as a development coach with the Los Angeles Lakers. He has since worked with the Cleveland Cavaliers and Toronto Raptors before returning to the Purple and Gold in 2019. Along the way, Phil has worked extensively with Bron and Bean.
Everyone likes to debate whether James or Bryant is better, but that overlooks that these guys had much in common. According to Handy, their biggest similarity came in the work that they put in behind the scenes to ensure that they would be great whenever they took the court.
“There’s a lot of similarities in how they approach the game,” Phil said on The LADE Show. “I think if you talk to ‘Bron, his time with Kobe on that Olympic team, he’d talk about that a lot, how he’d watch Kobe and learn some things about, ‘Man, OK, what does it take to stay on top like that?’ Being in the weight room, what does he eat, how does he sleep, all of these things.”
“There’s a lot of similarities in the way ‘Bron approaches every day, his weight room work, his court work, watching film, and then just how he takes care of his body…Different players, different body of work as an athlete, but their approach to the game, there is a formula to it, and some people are willing to do it and some aren’t,” he added.
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LeBron and Kobe both knew how to achieve greatness
While Bryant retired in 2016, James is still going strong, which is just a testament to everything that Handy is saying here. Kobe played for 20 seasons before he called it quits, while LeBron is preparing for his 22nd year in the league.
You don’t just play 20+ years in the NBA at a high level because you feel like it. It requires a dedication to your craft that many guys in the league simply don’t possess. The fact that both LBJ and KB possessed that drive is what makes them so similar.
Handy believes that their shared time on the USA Olympic team had a significant impact on Bron, as he saw firsthand how Bean managed to consistently be great in the NBA. Sure enough, LeBron has surpassed many of the gaudy achievements Kobe earned during his career.
Bryant’s passing in 2020 shocked the basketball world, but his impact on the game is still felt to this day. And if Handy’s comments are to be believed, we are seeing his effect on basketball firsthand as James continues to play at a high level in the NBA as he approaches the age of 40.
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