Kobe Bryant gave LeBron James a signed pair of sneakers following their last game against one another.
In March 2016, the five-time NBA champion played his last game in Cleveland and last against the former Cavaliers player. In his final season, many players were keen to pose for pictures with Bryant as he went on a farewell tour of the league.
Despite being arguably the best player of all time, James was no different, and he even received a pair of the Los Angeles Lakers legend's Nike purple and gold sneakers after their final duel.
“I need those. I need those for the case. For sure,” an excited James said before thanking Bryant for the gift and posing for some photos. James won the final game of his rivalry with Bryant as the Cavaliers defeated the Lakers 120-108.
The 38-year-old scored 24 points while Bryant posted 26 points, with the latter making 11 of his 16 shots from the field and shooting 75% from the three-point line. The iconic NBA duo faced each other 22 times throughout their NBA careers, with James winning 16 of those encounters.
James (28.2 ppg) also outscored the Lakers stalwart (24.6 ppg) when they faced off against one another and the 19-time All-Star averaged more rebounds, assists, and blocks per game. All their matchups came in the regular season and fans were denied the chance to see a mouthwatering showdown between the pair in the NBA Finals.
After competing against one another for the final time, the pair commented on their battles throughout the years. "I wish I could play against him every single night," James said. "Just that competitive juice, that feeling of just going against one of the greatest, you can never take that for granted.
"It was everything for a competitor like myself," he added. "I know he was not taking this game off for sure, and I definitely wasn't taking it off. It was great to be out there." Bryant then said: "It was just fun. I enjoy the physicality of it. Playing against him is fun because of his size. It's always fun to bump with him and to have that physicality, backing him down and driving and bumping. That's fun."
Bryant’s final NBA season proved to be the worst in the history of the Lakers franchise as they won just 17 games in the 2015-16 campaign. The basketball legend bowed out in spectacular style, as he scored 60 points in the final game of his career in a 101-96 victory over the Utah Jazz in April 2016.
Three years later, James followed in his late pal and rival’s footsteps as he signed for the Lakers, and delivered a championship in 2020 during the coronavirus pandemic. His most recent result saw the Lakers reach the Western Conference Finals but suffered a sweep at the hands of the Denver Nuggets, who went on to win the NBA title.
James caused some speculation regarding his future after stating he needs some time to think about his career moving forward after his 20th year in the league came to an end.
