KOBE BRYANT THINKS LeBron James should focus on winning more championships.
James has captured three NBA titles with the Miami Heat and Cleveland Cavaliers. He could become a free agent after averaging 34 points, 9.1 rebounds and nine assists per game during Cleveland’s 2018 playoff run which ended with four straight losses to the Golden State Warriors in the Finals.
Bryant discussed James’ legacy and his future in an interview with Bleacher Report .
“All I thought about as a kid personally was winning championships,” Bryant said in the interview. “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.
“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.”
Bryant said he thought James was “working too much” in this year’s Finals after Cleveland’s game-three loss to Golden State.
The Warriors have defeated James’ Cavaliers teams in three of the last four NBA championships.
“Phil [Jackson] used to say this thing to me a lot, when I was doing a lot on the court,” Bryant said. “He’d say, ‘You have to do less.’ And I’d say, ‘Well, my team-mates got to step up more.’ Phil would say, ‘Well, it’s your responsibility to thrust the game upon them.’”
Bryant won five championships with the Lakers during his 20-year career.
