When Kobe Bryant and Vince Carter went head-to-head in an epic 2002 clash: "It was two guys playing hard against each other"

Two players who saw their popularity rise in the late 1990's were Kobe Bryant and Vince Carter . Kobe was starting off his career with the Los Angeles Lakers, while Vince did the same with the Toronto Raptors. Both players quickly took the league by storm because of their athletic style of play combined with their elite shotmaking.

That's why whenever they went head to head, NBA fans were very excited to witness the matchup. Maybe the most intriguing one happened in January of 2002. The Lakers faced the Raptors with the two stars in the spotlight. When the smoke cleared, it was Kobe and the Purple and Gold winning, 109-89.

Mutual respect

Also, Bryant outscored Carter in that duel, 31-24, and both players had a handful of highlight wordy plays. But for Kobe, it was nothing personal, just a case of two players competing and wanting to earn their team a W.

"It was just good competition," Bryant said after that win. "It was two guys playing hard against each other, trying to help their team win, and our team got the best of them."

Bryant and Carter were special talents, but neither of them tried to prove who was better. Leading their respective teams to wins was the best way to show that.

Kobe was part of several Lakers championship teams, while Carter never won an NBA title. A big reason behind that is the players surrounding them. Bryant had Shaq and a reliable supporting cast, while Carter usually had to carry the load for the Raptors and, later on, the Nets, where he was the best player as well.

Kobe and Vince on one team

Bryant and Carter never had the luxury to team up on the NBA level, but the two legends did play together in high school. Kobe was a year younger, so he was playing behind VC, the no. 1 shooting guard in that class.

"We played together. It was. It was the greatest AAU team ever. Vince was a year ahead of me. I remember the height that this guy can elevate off the ground was just unbelievable," Bryant said.

Kobe wrapped up his career in 2016, while Vince played until 2020 when he was already 43 years old. The same year, Bryant was inducted into Hall of Fame, and VC will be headlining the class of 2024.

Related: "That was sick. That's just nasty" – Tracy McGrady loved a crazy reverse slam Vince Carter did on the Indiana Pacers