Regardless, there’s no question that Bryant and James respect the skills that each player has. While the two will team up this summer at the 2012 Olympics in London, Bryant has expressed his desire to play with James and stated what James brings to the table.
In an interview with Dave McMenamin from ESPN Los Angeles, Bryant discussed playing with James and what he brings to the table.
“It’s a tough question because I’ve played with a lot of great players being on the Olympic team. I think that the player I would probably play with the most where the pieces would fit would be myself and LeBron [James], believe it or not, because he’s more of a facilitator and I’m more of a scorer. … He’s a modern version of what Oscar [Robertson] was. He just puts up genius numbers.”
Kobe has said many times before that because he practiced basketball on his own during his time in Italy, he would beat James in an one-on-one game. Although Bryant and James have had the ball in their hands throughout their careers, joining forces would make them a dominate duo. LeBron is an underrated passer and there is no doubt he would enjoy dishing the ball to Kobe. Still, don’t expect to see these two on the same NBA team, the Olympics will be the only time Kobe and LeBron will share the same jersey.