"He couldn't wait for the season": LeBron James, Miami Heat title buzz left Kobe Bryant smarting ahead of 2010-11 NBA season
Kobe Bryant's fierce competitive fire burned brighter after the focus shifted from the Los Angeles Lakers winning a championship in 2010 to LeBron James linking up with Dwyane Wade and Chris Bosh on the Miami Heat.
The Black Mamba had won his fifth and what would be his final title, and despite the back-to-back success, the media glorified a new superteam in the East.
In his 2010 column, ESPN's Dave McMenamin wrote about Bryant and James' relationship over the course of their careers, and one of them was how the five-time NBA champion felt he had a point to prove after James' highly-scrutinized move to Miami.
McMenamin spoke to Bryant's then-teammate Josh Powell who detailed how he felt.
"It motivated him. He couldn't wait for the season to remind everyone which team had two rings. "You know KB ain't threatened by anything or anybody."
The following season saw the Lakers lose the Western Conference semifinals to the Dallas Mavericks.
It also ended Phil Jackson's run as the franchise's decorated head coach after he was diagnosed with prostate cancer. As for James, the Heat lost the NBA Finals that season.
Despite the healthy rivalry, Kobe Bryant had massive respect for LeBron James
They may have played for different teams throughout their career, but even before LeBron James became a Laker, Kobe Bryant had stated that he would have wanted to play alongside 'The King' when the former was in his prime.
Speaking on the Holding Court with Geno Auriemma podcast, Bryant had explained how playing alongside James would have worked.
"I think the player that would fit with me the most, I actually think would be LeBron," he told UConn's famed women's basketball coach. "He's a passer first, I'm a scorer, I'm a finisher. 'Bron is a facilitator by nature and I'm a finisher by nature. Those two styles, I think complement each other extremely well."
If that move had indeed materialized, James and Bryant would have undoubtedly won more rings before Mamba's retirement. While most fans would have picked Michael Jordan as the player Bryant would have loved to share the rock with, he chose James who had the necessary weapons to be the perfect foil for him.
Now, the onus is on James to carry on the Lakers' decorated legacy. After winning four championships in the league, one of them with LA, James can now equal Kobe Bryant's record of five titles in the league.