10 years after Kobe Bryant won the Los Angeles Lakers their 16th NBA championship, LeBron James has the opportunity to win banner No. 17 for the Purple and Gold. After beating the Denver Nuggets on Saturday to advance to the NBA Finals, James shared one of his biggest Kobe Bryant regrets.
According to Chris Haynes of Yahoo Sports, when James announced that he was signing with the Lakers, the two megastars reportedly planned to have an in-depth meeting about all things Los Angeles, the Lakers, the organization, etc. Unfortunately, that never came into fruition because of The King and The Black Mamba's hectic schedules.
LeBron definitely regrets this missed opportunity:
“Of course, you think there’s going to be time for us to get together and I understand that there are regrets in life, but I definitely wish I had that moment with him,” James told Yahoo Sports. “I do remember when I decided to come here, he sent me a text right away and said, ‘Welcome, brother. Welcome to the family.’ That was a special moment because at the time, Laker faithful wasn’t [fully in on me]. A lot of people were saying, ‘Well, we might not want LeBron at this point in his career,’ and, ‘Is he right? Is he going to get us back [to the Finals]?’ So to hear from him and get his stamp of approval, it meant a lot. I don’t ever question myself, but when it’s coming from Kobe, it definitely meant a lot.”
It's no surprise LeBron James wanted to learn much more from Mr. Laker himself. He admitted he wanted to learn more about what it takes to be a Laker, and how to win the die-hard and loyal Lakers fans over:
“When I played in Cleveland, I grew up 35 minutes away from there, and so I kind of knew the people. When I went down to Miami, [Dwyane Wade] was able to give me the blueprint on that. But I never played for a historic franchise like the Lakers,” James told Yahoo Sports. “It’s probably like when [Alex Rodriguez] went to the Yankees. He probably heard from [Derek] Jeter on what it's going to take to play in front of this. It’s different from playing with the Mariners. It’s different from the Rangers. I would have definitely loved to get that side of what it takes, what does it take to win over Laker faithful or how can I make them appreciate my game. … That would have been something to pick his brain on.
LeBron added that he wanted to apologize for not sticking to his end of the deal when he failed to make the NBA Finals in 2009. At the time, the world was clamoring for a LeBron-Kobe matchup in the Finals. Unfortunately, James' Cleveland Cavaliers fell to the Orlando Magic in the Eastern Conference Finals, despite holding the best record in the NBA that season.
Though LeBron James may have his regrets, he has a chance to make The Black Mamba smile from above by winning a championship for his beloved Lakers.
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