Without a doubt, two of the greatest players in the history of basketball are Kobe Bryant and LeBron James. Thanks to the Los Angeles Lakers recently trading him to the Cleveland Cavaliers, Jordan Clarkson now has had the opportunity to play with both.
The debate over who’s better between Kobe and LeBron will likely rage on forever, but the two are very different in a lot of ways. Whether it is their demeanor on and off the court or their playing styles, Kobe and LeBron are on opposite sides of the spectrum.
Now that Clarkson has spent a couple of weeks with the Cavaliers, he recently appeared on the CavsHQ Podcast and compared the leadership styles of Bryant and James:
“During my rookie year, Kob’ was always on me to get in the gym early with him, getting shots and stuff like that. When we got on the court, he was not as vocal as LeBron is in terms of being with everybody and encouraging and tuff. You know, Kob’ had his own way of encouraging guys, but it was something similar.”
Clarkson continued, noting that Kobe would always test players as opposed to LeBron being more encouraging:
“Two different styles of leadership. LeBron, very encouraging, bringing everybody along. And Kobe, he’s testing you, seeing what you’re gonna give him. He’s gonna get at you, he’s gonna scream at you, he’s gonna cuss, he’s gonna do whatever it is, elbows. He had his own way of leading guys as well. It was two different sides. I’m just blessed to see both of them.”
Kobe’s reputation is well earned as there are plenty of examples of him going at teammates in practices and games. He wanted to know what his teammates were made of and that he could trust them in the heat of battle.
LeBron employs a different leadership style that works for him and he has won multiple NBA championships. In the end the only thing that matters is winning and both players have done plenty of that. Now Clarkson hopes to do the same.
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