LeBron James has revealed how Kobe Bryant ‘tricked the s*** out of him’ for years with a simple hand signal during their NBA battles.
What James initially thought was a Lakers play was actually Bryant calling for his teammates to clear out so he could attack him in isolation.
The two superstars became major figures in the NBA during the second half of the 2000s, with Bryant already in his prime while James was emerging as one of the league’s best players.
Their teams were in different conferences, so they did not meet particularly often. When they did, however, the match-ups quickly became must-watch events.
James recently offered another glimpse into those battles while recalling how Bryant used his hand signal to fool him.
Photo by Harry How/Getty ImagesLeBron James realised Kobe Bryant was calling for isolationJames explained that he was always obsessive about understanding what opponents were doing, saying he would ‘read all the plays’ and go deep into scouting reports.
That made Bryant’s trick even better.
James saw the triangle-shaped signal and assumed Bryant was calling a Phil Jackson-style play, similar to the triangle offence he had seen from the Lakers.
‘Man, I realized that sh-t was “Give me the ball and everybody get the f—k outta way, I’m about to bust Bron’s as*,”’ James recalled. ‘That means move, get the hell outta way, I’m about to go at him.’
It took James five full seasons to figure out what Bryant was actually doing. The signal was designed to make him anticipate a team play, only for the ball to eventually find Bryant in isolation.
‘What the f*** play is Kobe running? Then every time they swing the ball to him, he goes iso. This ain’t no play, this guy trying to kill me,’ James said.
Photo by Jeff Gross/Getty ImagesThe numbers make the story even more intriguing. James won 16 of their 22 regular-season meetings and averaged 28.2 points, 7.4 rebounds and 7.3 assists, compared with Bryant’s 24.6 points, 5.0 rebounds and 5.2 assists.
Yet Bryant had his own answer when the pair were compared as rivals. In 2009, he argued that true rivalries are born in the playoffs, something the two never experienced against each other.
That missing Finals meeting remains one of the biggest what-ifs of their era. Still, James’ story shows that Bryant was finding ways to challenge him long before the ball even reached his hands.
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