PHILADELPHIA — LeBron James is known for a photographic-like memory, his uncanny ability to recall specifics both mundane and spectacular.
So it was a surprise when he was off by a year when retelling a story about meeting Kobe Bryant at an NBA All-Star Weekend in Philadelphia near two decades ago.
Forgive James for the slip-up. After all, he had just passed Bryant for third on the NBA’s all-time scoring list against the Philadelphia 76ers.
James said it was 2001, but it was actually 2002. Other than that, his recollection added up.
"I believe I was playing (a high school game) in New Jersey and the All-Star Game, if I’m not mistaken, and you all can correct me, was in Philly," James said. "That Saturday, me and Maverick (Carter) drove to the Intercontinental (hotel) in downtown Philadelphia, and he gave me a pair of his shoes which I ended up wearing that following night. It was the red, white and blue Kobes. I was a (size) 15 and he was a 14 and I wore them anyways.
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"I sat and just talked to him for a little bit. He gave me the shoes, and I rocked them in the game and it was the same night we played Oak Hill against 'Melo (Anthony). Then, I saw what he was able to do the next night winning MVP here in Philly that following night."
Anthony’s Oak Hill beat James’ St. Vincent-St. Mary 72-66. Anthony had 34 points and James 36. And the next day, Bryant had 31 points and won the first of four All-Star MVPs.
Following James’ 29-point performance in a 108-91 loss to the Sixers — James passed Bryant with a driving layup in the third quarter — he spent more time talking about his fondness and appreciation of Bryant rather than his own accomplishment.
It was a chronological journey through the past that left James in disbelief that all this has happened to him — from admiring Bryant to playing for the same team Bryant did his entire career. James didn’t say much about the topic all week, as the Lakers played at Boston, New York and Brooklyn and he got closer and closer to passing Bryant.
But after Saturday’s game, a reporter asked James a question about Bryant and James talked uninterrupted for the next four minutes, 33 seconds.
"When I was a kid, when I was in high school, when I was growing up through the ranks when Kobe came into the league, it wasn’t a dream of mine to come straight from high school at that point time to the NBA, but for a 17-, 18-year old being able to make that leap is pretty damn cool," James said of Bryant.
Not even a decade after Bryant entered the NBA, James, too, made the jump from high school. James also remembered Bryant speaking at the prestigious ABCD camp for top high school players.
"I was just listening. I was just trying to soak up everything that I could," James said. "I remember one thing that he said. 'If you want to try and be great at it or be one of the greatest, you have to put the work in. There’s no substitution to work.' And I was a 15-year-old kid at that camp."
James' work ethic is legendary.
When James reached the NBA in 2003, the admiration continued. Even though James passed Bryant, Bryant was a more gifted scorer, and James took note of that as he continued to praise Bryant, who has 25 50-point games to James’ 20. And of course, Bryant has that 81-point game that happened 14 years ago this week.
"He has zero flaws offensively. Zero," James said. "You backed off of him, he could shoot the 3. You body him up a little bit, he can go around you. He could shoot the mid-range. He could post. He could make free throws. That’s something I admired as well, just being at a point where the defense would always be at bay where they couldn’t guard you at all, where you just felt you were immortal offensively because of your skill set and your work ethic."
Then, in 2005, James played in the All-Star Game with Bryant. It was one of many All-Star appearances the two shared. In 2008, they played for USA Basketball on the Redeem Team at the Beijing Olympics and again in 2012 in London.
"It was a dream come true for me to be able to line up alongside of him," James said. "I admired him for so many years seeing him from afar and then being able to be at practices with him and me watching and learning."
In that moment, in the visiting locker room at Wells Fargo Center, James had difficulty comprehending the events of his life and his place on the scoring list.
"The story is just too much," he said. "It doesn’t make sense. Just to make a long story short, now I’m here in a Lakers uniform in Philadelphia where he’s from, where the first time I ever met him. It’s surreal. But the universe just puts things in your life, I guess, when you’re living the right way, or just giving everything to whatever you’re doing. Things happened organically, and it’s not supposed to make sense but it just happens.
"I’m happy just to be in any conversation with Kobe 'Bean' Bryant, one of the all-time greatest players, one of the all-time greatest Lakers. The man has two jerseys hanging up in Staples Center. It’s just crazy."
Follow Jeff Zillgitt on Twitter @JeffZillgitt.
https://news.google.com/__i/rss/rd/articles/CBMifWh0dHBzOi8vd3d3LnVzYXRvZGF5LmNvbS9zdG9yeS9zcG9ydHMvbmJhL2xha2Vycy8yMDIwLzAxLzI2L2xlYnJvbi1qYW1lcy1yZWZsZWN0cy1vbi1rb2JlLWJyeWFudC1uYmEtc2NvcmluZy1saXN0LzQ1Nzk5NzEwMDIv0gEnaHR0cHM6Ly9hbXAudXNhdG9kYXkuY29tL2FtcC80NTc5OTcxMDAy?oc=5
2020-01-26 12:01:24Z
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