Former NBA All-Star Antawn Jamison was fortunate enough to play with both LeBron James and Kobe Bryant during his 18-year career, and this week he spoke about the key differences between them.
Jamison played with James on the Cavaliers in 2009-10 and with Bryant on the Lakers in 2012-13.
When discussing the two of them, he said Bryant was more like Michael Jordan thanks to his intensity, while LeBron was more light-hearted.
“The difference between Bron and Kobe, Kobe was more like Mike, just the mentality,” told Vince Carter on ESPN’s The VC Show. “Bron was more like happy-go-lucky, just still having a good time, all the handshakes they was doing.”
Jamison went on to say that James’ move to Miami was exactly what he needed.
“I think Bron needed to go [to Miami] with Pat Riley and learn about the mentality that Mike and Magic [Johnson] and those guys — D-Wade [Dwyane Wade] already had it,” he said.
“So I think by those couple years, by him being down there in Miami, it took him to the next level. … And from what I heard after he got back from Miami from the people with the organization, you could tell he came back different.”
Miami was a growing experience for James in more ways than one. It was also where he overcame his brutal 2011 Finals struggles to win back-to-back championships in 2012 and 2013.
James was never better than when he played for Miami, and while he received a lot of criticism for ‘The Decision’, joining the Heat was undoubtedly one of the best moves he ever made.
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