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NBA fans/media have always told LeBron he had to be like Kobe or Jordan just cuz he's as prolific a scorer as they are...LeBron never said he wanted that, dude averages 7 assists a game for his career, he's a better passer than either of them so maybe he'd rather make the pass cuz he's good at it.James sees himself as a player who would rather pick his offensive spots and get his teammates involved like Magic Johnson did when he won five titles for the Los Angeles Lakers.
“Champions come in different shapes, sizes and forms,” James said. “Everyone always compares Kobe to Jordan and says they always have had that killer mentality. They always had that dagger, that dog. Then you look at Magic [Johnson], and people say that he was fun to play with. He was great. He always had his teammates’ back. He always got his teammates involved. He was a champion as well.
“They come in different shapes and sizes and forms and different colors as well. For me, I see myself on the side of the Magic range where I love my teammates, love being around them. I want them to be happy as well. At the same time, dominate the game, as well. I got a long way to go still to get to [Jordan’s and Bryant’s] levels to get multiple championships. Hopefully, I can get there someday.”
Kobe: hey lebron, did you call me today?
Lebron: yeah, i did.
Kobe: that's weird, i didn't hear a ring.
http://sports.yahoo.com/nba/news;_ylt=A ... tar_022712Six seconds left, the ball swung back to James, and he threw a long crosscourt pass that the West’s Blake Griffin grabbed before it could ever reach Wade. The expressions on Bryant and Carmelo Anthony’s faces – one an opponent and an enemy, one a teammate and a close friend – were unmistakable: Are you kidding me, LeBron?
That’s what lingers over the NBA Finals for James. Every great player misses in great moments, every great player fails. But this sport wants to see James’ willingness to take the chance. James had been brilliant with 36 points and six 3-pointers. He’d brought the Eastern Conference back with a ferocious fourth quarter, and, well, everyone was still waiting on him to complete the comeback and blister Bryant, and James couldn’t get that ball out of his hands fast enough.
Here’s the thing, too: James knows Bryant goes to great lengths to belittle his unwillingness to rise up in the final moments of his biggest games. Bryant has five titles to James’ none, and had to bail James out in the fourth quarter of the gold-medal game of the 2008 Olympics in Beijing. Now Kobe was within inches, screaming into James’ face, “Shoot the [expletive] ball!” And, still, LeBron’s instincts weren’t to take ball and deliver it down Bryant’s throat. Score on Kobe, win the game and tell him to go to hell. Bryant would respect that.
So would Michael Jordan. Magic Johnson. Larry Bird. LeBron James is different. He’s probably better than all of them, but nothing in his DNA demanded that he go after Bryant there, that he destroy him in that moment.
“Yeah, he was telling me to shoot it,” James said. “I wish I could have that one back.”
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