Kobe vs. LeBron III

2015 NBA Finals: L.A. Lakers vs. Cleveland Cavaliers

Kobe and LeBron’s 3rd meeting in the NBA FInals was one for the ages.

The Lakers and Cavs start the NBA’s 2014–15 season as league favorites to meet in the Finals, rankings greatly boosted by two highly talented teams sporting a legendary rivalry in Kobe vs. LeBron. While other players on each team were also getting their fair share of the credit — Dwight, CP3, and Butler on the Lakers and Kyrie and Love on the Cavs — most of the fans’ cheers still went for Bryant and James.

The Lakers’ young scoring bench mob became known for helping rest Kobe and Chris Paul during long stretches, giving them the opportunity to rest as needed in already-won games (much like the Spurs do). While the Warriors and Thunder had become Western Conference powerhouses like the Lakers, they both would tie up their regular season records against L.A. In the East the revamped Cavs needed just a few weeks to work out the kinks in their offense — initially having Kevin Love not mesh as well as they’d first hoped. Soon enough there were taking out most opponents with ease on LeBron and Kyrie Irving’s ‘Batman & Robin duo’ (supported by Love), winning games by an average of 7.4 points.

Come the playoffs both Kobe and LeBron and their eyes on one final match-up. The Lakers first round matchup against the Dallas Mavericks was an easy task as L.A. swept them 4–0. Kobe was his usual amazing self, averaging 24.5 points to go with 9 rebounds and 5 assists.

The media hounded Kobe for an answer to if he was retiring after the season.

But as the Lakers headed into their second round matchup against the Thunder rumors began to prop up that this was Kobe Bryant’s final season, giving way to endless questioning of the Black Mamba by the media at every practice and team session.The question of Kobe’s possible retirement loomed larger than the games themselves. Kobe, Phil Jackson, and others would brush them off or offer up shoulder shrugs, only adding to the debates online. Nonetheless the hydra-headed Lakers would cut down OKC 4–2 despite a 43 point Game 4 by Russell Westbrook and 38 point game Game 5 from Kevin Durant.

In the East, LeBron’s Cavs would roll past first round opponent Boston Celtics 4–0 before running into the Chicago Bulls in the Eastern Conference semi-finals. Chicago proved to be tougher than they expected, with Derrick Rose having a surprise resurgence after years of knee troubles and Joakim Noah handily outplaying Kevin Love inside. CHI would steal the first 2 games in the series, leaving many to question if LeBron was truly done for. But that doubt would only fuel LeBron’s fire and he answered back with winning the next 4 games to take the series.

The Conference Finals for the Lakers and Cavs would prove to be a strong challenge for each team. In the West Kobe’s squad had met up with Steph Curry and Klay Thompson’s Warriors — a multi-talented deep shooting team led by league MVP Curry. In the East LeBron’s team would tackle the much-hyped Atlanta Hawks — young, quick, and surprisingly tough on defense.

Steph Curry’s unstoppable scoring was big trouble for Kobe and the Lakers.

The Lakers would battle hard against the can’t miss Warriors, trading wins in each successive game until a Game 7. Curry came out hot, scoring 34 in the first half while Warriors center Draymond Green was outplaying Dwight Howard on the boards. But Kobe’s would not be stopped, on sheer strength of will alone getting his team back in the game with 35 points to go with a season high 22 assists. A final three pointer from Lakers bench player Chandler Parsons would seal the Warriors fate with 8 seconds left.

Once again LeBron was carrying his team into the Finals, leading in points and assists.

LeBron and the Cavs, meanwhile, had an easier time with the less experienced Hawks, beating them by 15 and 21 points in Games 1 and 2 respectively. Atlanta’s Al Horford and guard Dennis Schroeder would rally hard in Game 3 for a 18 point lead going into halftime, only to see Kyrie Irving and LeBron James chip away until they netted out a 4 point win. Game 4 would be over nearly as soon as it began, with Kevin Love out-rebounding Horford inside and dishing out to teammates LeBron, Kyrie, and JR Smith for easy scores — leading to the Cavs winning 103–91 and heading into the Finals.

Kobe Bryant. LeBron James. Lakers vs. Cavs. The 3rd time these two NBA Legends were due to face off in the Finals had finally arrived. Both men had been compared, debated, cheered, booed, raised up, and brought down. And although only a select few knew it at the time many fans had the feeling this would be the final time Bryant and James would go up against each other for the NBA Championship. 36 year old Kobe Bryant and 30 year old LeBron James had heard their names in the same conversation of ‘who’s Michael Jordan’s heir apparent’ since they each entered the league straight from high school — Kobe in 1996 and LeBron in 2003. But the time for these debates was over. Each had 1 Finals win and 1 Finals loss against the other. It was time to see who would get one up on the other.

Kobe insisted he’d guard LeBron the entire series, refusing to rest during any minutes LeBron played.

With the Lakers beating the Cavs’ regular season by one win Game 1 opened in Los Angeles. Kobe would make it personal challenge to guard LeBron all series, digging deep down for energy he didn’t know he had left to make that first game a poor performance from the Cavs’ leader. Kyrie Irving dished out 14 assists, as did Chris Paul, but 56 points from the Lakers’ bench mob of Butler, Parsons, and Teague would outrun the 20 from Cleveland’s JR Smith, Iman Shumpert, and Matthew Dellavadova — leading to LAL taking Game 1. The next game went much of the same way, with the Lakers’ Dwight Howard exploding for 30 points and 18 rebounds to go along with Chris Paul’s 13 points and 18 assists. Kobe eked out triple double with 15 points, 12 rebounds, and 10 assists, leading the team to another victory.

Kobe and LeBron’s 3rd Finals match became the most talked about rivalry in the game.

Heading back to Cleveland the tide changed in Game 3 as LeBron took charge. When Dwight Howard tweaked his shoulder in the 2nd quarter LeBron took advantage of the Lakers’ hole in the middle, driving hard into the lane for 25 of his 33 points. Kobe answered back with 8 three points and 13 assists and Chris Paul contained Kyrie Irving for most of the game, but LeBron’s stifling defense on the rest of L.A. and his endless inside jams gave the Cavs the victory. In Game 4 Cavs guard Kyrie Irving would take control with 37 points, 18 assists, and 9 rebounds — nearly missing out on a triple-double — as he was everywhere on the court, getting open looks for Kevin Love, LeBron, and JR Smith to make a combined 15 threes and send the Lakers back to L.A. tied 2–2.

But Kobe was not one to take a beatdown lightly. With Dwight back for Game 5, Phil Jackson decided to have Jimmy Butler give Kobe double team help on LeBron on defense and set more screens against James on the offense, making it easier for Kobe to play against his long-time rival. The tactic worked well, leading LeBron to go 4 for 15 from the field while Kobe hit 19 for 22 shots, even setting up Butler and Howard to score over 30 points. The Cavs’ bench didn’t offer much help and even Irving and Love went cold, chipping in a mere 12 points combined. LAL would take Game 5 and back to Cleveland they would go, hoping to seal their Finals victory sooner rather than later.

LeBron, however, would have other plans. Game 6 opened with him out for blood. The Cavs’ franchise leader in just about everything overpowered Kobe in the lane for 28 inside points, getting help from his bench squad with another 33 from the outside. Meanwhile, the Lakers fought back in the 4th quarter with Kobe playing the role of facilitator, Chris Paul snaking around the Cavs’ Irving and Smith for easy inside baskets, and Dwight Howard helping with 8 assists from inside-out play leading to 12 LAL points. Their efforts would come down to the wire with both teams tied at 85 and 4.3 seconds left on the clock. An ill-timed Dwight Howard inbound pass would intercepted by LeBron over Kobe, leading to the Cavs’ leader breaking away for a slam dunk and stealing a Game 6 win.