LeBron James and Kobe Bryant were two of the NBA’s biggest stars during the 2000s and early 2010s. Kobe is unfortunately no longer with us, but Bron remains one of the biggest names in basketball. Their legacies have often been compared to each other, but throughout their careers, the two had the utmost respect for each other.
Kobe was a scoring machine in the NBA, especially as he grew into his role as the Lakers’ main star following Shaquille O’Neal’s departure. The shooting guard put up some monster numbers during his career, torching the best defenders at will. His most iconic performance came in 2006 when he scored 81 points against the Toronto Raptors in a 122-104 win for the Lakers.
It remains the second-highest individual scoring total in NBA history after Wilt Chamberlain’s 100-point game. While Kobe was always able to get his own against defenses, not many could have predicted that he would single-handedly score 80 points in a game. But LeBron James, in 2006, claimed that he predicted Kobe’s big game before it even started.
“I saw the whole game, I was at home watching the game, you know. Before the game even started, when I saw, I said he’s probably gonna score 70 tonight. I don’t know what made me say that. My friends were with me, and they were like, ‘Okay’. When he hit 70, I was like, ‘He might as well go for 80 now’. I’m basically a fan of the game and to see that performance was unbelievable.”
The clip recently went viral on social media, and sadly for LeBron, fans don’t quite seem to believe the King in this story.
“LeStradamus.”
“LePrediction.”
“Dude said he saw the whole game like 3 times in a row.”
“Le Cap.”
“LeBron capping about predicting Kobe scoring 81 is still insane.”
“Just looked it up. He had a game the same night @ the jazz. No way he watched the game.”
“How y’all know he was capping y’all just hating.”
“He knew because it’s all scripted. LeKnew.”
“It really wasn’t that crazy. Kobe had 61 in 3 quarters vs the Mavs just a few weeks prior.”
“Kobe was good for 70 on any given night so that wasn’t far fetched.”
“LeSpokeintoexistense.”
There’s no way to know if James watched the game or not, and the important part is that he was quick to give Kobe his respect. That performance hasn’t been topped since by any other NBA player, and it’s hard to see any stars surpassing it anytime soon, either.
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