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Kobe on LeBron's legacy: 'You got to figure out a way to win'

By Ross Kelly June 11, 2018 at 2:23pm

After laying low during his first year of retirement, Kobe Bryant is making up for lost time by inserting his opinions into basketball conversations and telling current players what they need to do.

His ESPN show, “Detail,” does exactly that, as Bryant figuratively puts himself into the shoes of a player and says what he would have done in a given situation.

Now Bryant (and others) are jumping into the debate about LeBron James and his legacy after the Cavaliers superstar lost another NBA Finals.

Bleacher Report talked to several Hall of Famers and future Hall of Famers such as Bryant, Isiah Thomas, Paul Pierce and Grant Hill about James’ legacy after being swept by the Warriors.

Some said that the teams James has been on have often times been inferior, and that shouldn’t be held against a single player. But others, like Bryant, stand by the old adage that winning is all that matters when it comes to legacy.

“All I thought about as a kid personally was winning championships,” Bryant said. “That’s all I cared about. That’s how I valued Michael (Jordan). That’s how I valued (Larry) Bird. That’s how I valued Magic (Johnson). It was just winning championships. Now, everybody’s going to value things differently, which is fine. I’m just telling you how I value mine.”

“If I’m Bron, you got to figure out a way to win. It’s not about narrative. You want to win championships, you just gotta figure it out.”

Until James, Magic Johnson and Wilt Chamberlain were the only MVPs who had lost four or more Finals series. James joined them in the four-loss club in 2015, and is now in sole possession of the third-most Finals losses in history.

LeBron James has now lost 6 times in the NBA Finals, 3rd-most in NBA history among players to play at least 1 game in each Finals (Jerry West, 8; Elgin Baylor 7).

It is also the most losses in the NBA Finals by a former MVP. pic.twitter.com/zuPI6QhSMW

— ESPN Stats & Info (@ESPNStatsInfo) June 9, 2018

Do you consider LeBron James to be the best player of all time?

Bryant, who went 5-2 in Finals series, was asked about James’ supporting cast and whether he deserves credit for getting them to the Finals or blame for losing with them.

Despite the fact that Bryant regularly criticized his own teammates, he thinks it’s still on James to elevate the play of his teammates.

“Michael gave me some really good advice after the ’08 Finals (loss to Boston): ‘You got all the tools. You gotta figure out how to get these guys to that next level to win that championship.’ Going into the 2010 series, I said, ‘Listen, Boston, they got Ray Allen, they got Paul Pierce, they got (Kevin) Garnett, they got Sheed (Wallace), the talent is there. They’re stacked.’ That was the first superteam,” Bryant said.

“(Michael) kind of heard me lament about it, and he just goes, ‘Yeah, well, it is what it is; you gotta figure it out. There’s no other alternative.’ And that’s the challenge LeBron has. You have pieces that you have to try to figure out how to work with. Excuses don’t work right now.”

Bryant was also asked if James’ eight straight NBA Finals meant something, even if he lost the majority of them. Bryant unsurprisingly echoed the refrain that rings are all that matters, which is on par with what he tweeted right after the Cavs beat the Celtics in the Eastern Conference Finals to send James to his eighth consecutive Finals.

We can enjoy one without tearing down one. I love what he’s doing. Don’t debate what can’t be definitively won by anyone #enjoymy5 #enjoymj6 #enjoylbjquest

— Kobe Bryant (@kobebryant) May 28, 2018

The hashtags refer to Bryant’s five rings, Jordan’s six rings and James quest to get another ring. He could have easily tweeted congrats to James for making his eighth straight Finals, but when you’re trying to enter the discussion for greatest of all time, in Bryant’s mind rings are all that matter.

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