“At that particular time, Bron needed to go into a situation like he did with Miami,” Jamison said of James’ first stint with the Cavaliers. “The difference between Bron and Kobe, Kobe was more like Mike, just the mentality. Bron was more like happy-go-lucky, just still having a good time, all the handshakes they was doing. So, I think Bron needed to go there with Pat Riley and learn about the mentality that Mike and Magic [Johnson] and those guys — D-Wade (Dwyane Wade) already had it, 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.”

As Jamison mentioned, LeBron underwent a huge transformation in Miami, and it helped him become a more complete player and leader for the Heat. Even still, James doesn’t have the same competitive edge Kobe did.

Bryant was a killer on the court, and he was open about not looking to make friends with the competition. That attitude helped Kobe become the legendary athlete he was known as and propelled the Lakers to multiple championships.

LeBron Is Floyd Mayweather And Kobe Was Mike Tyson

Interestingly, a similar comparison was recently made by an anonymous player, who used Floyd Mayweather and Mike Tyson to describe the differences between LeBron and Kobe.

“You know you’re going to lose to both because they’re both great, but it’s going to hurt more to fight Tyson than Floyd. Floyd will beat you, but he’s not going to hurt you. That’s the feeling with LeBron.” 

Whether you agree with the comps or not, it’s safe to say that both players achieved great success in their careers and that both the ‘happy-go-lucky’ personality and the ‘mamba mentality’ can be valid ways of finding a competitive edge on the court.