LeBron James and Kobe Bryant are two of the greatest players in the history of the NBA. Both James and Bryant are known for their incredible playoff performances, but LeBron has done something Kobe never did.
According to Reddit user Celticsfor18th, James recorded a Game Score of 40 or higher in three playoff games in 2018. Bryant has two career playoff games with a 40-plus Game Score, which is an advanced stat used by Basketball-Reference.com to measure effectiveness.
Additionally, Bryant never reached 40 or more over the age of 33. James is now responsible for three of the six 40-plus Game Score playoff performances of all time. The other two players to achieve this feat were Karl Malone and Chris Paul.
Article Continues BelowJames is obviously one of the best players in the history of the game. But it's easy to overlook his longevity. James has continued to play at a top-tier level at a point when most players tend to regress.
Bryant's game regressed in his final few years, mainly due to injury. If LeBron is fortunate enough to remain healthy, he may be able to play until he's 40. And although he must regress at some point, James isn't showing any signs of slowing down any time soon.
Not only is James maintaining his elite level of play, he even looks better than he did at other points in his career. In the 2018 playoffs, James carried a Cleveland team to the Finals and very nearly turned the series on its head when he dropped 51 points in Game 1.