“I’d beat LeBron James in my sleep”: When Kobe Bryant revealed how he could beat the current Lakers superstar in a one-on-one matchup

Back in 2010, Lakers GOAT Kobe Bryant disclosed how he would beat LeBron James in a one-on-one battle.

Los Angeles Lakers legend Kobe Bryant was one of the greatest basketball players of all time. His drive to be the best and work ethic resulted in one of the best-decorated resumes in all of NBA history. While preaching his famous “Mamba Mentality” philosophy, Kobe managed to impact his millions of fans from all over the globe.

Considered to be the most prolific scorers of all time, Kobe was a 2-time scoring champ who used to drop 40-pieces on the toughest of tough defenders at Will. Being one of the toughest players, mentally, Bryant was considered to be fearless and never backed down from a good fight.

Being the three “GOATs”, many enthusiasts compare Kobe with the likes of Michael Jordan and LeBron James. Kobe too has been harassed with the same questions repeatedly over the course of his 20-year-long career.

Also Read: Jerry West lauds the decision the Lakers made by drafting Kobe Bryant in 1996

Back in 2010, Kobe Bryant revealed how he would defeat LeBron James in a one-on-one matchup

Being one of the best iso players, there was no defender that could stop the wrath of Kobe Bryant. Being a really tremendous athlete, the 18-time All-Star was pretty confident in his skillset too.

One would believe how tough a LeBron-Kobe one-on-one battle would be. However, when asked to Kobe for his views, he outrightly stated how he’d beat the King “in his sleep”. Back in 2010, during an interview in London, Bryant explained:

“I win, I win. That’s what I know. One-on-one is … that’s easy. Playing one-on-one is how I grew up playing. It’s like my thing. LeBron is more like Magic Johnson. He’s a great passer, plays an all-around game. At the core of me, I’m a one-on-one player. I’d do that in my sleep.”

Also Read: Blazers superstar is on pace to have more 20+ point 4th quarters than Laker legend Kobe Bryant

Even though the two must have had several one-on-one battles in various USA basketball camps, we have not been lucky enough to witness the same. However, in the 22 matches, the two Lakers legend have played against each other in their careers, LBJ has an incredible 16-6 advantage over the Mamba, outscoring him 28.2-24.6.

At the end of the days, Bron and Bean are two of the all-time greats, who have managed to revolutionise the game for good. While it would definitely be a fiercely fought matchup, it surely wouldn’t fail to be an entertaining one.