“Kobe Bryant gifted me a pair of shoes and I wore them even though they were too small”: LeBron James on facing off against Carmelo Anthony in high school with the Lakers legend’s shoes

LeBron James talked about how he faced off against Carmelo Anthony in high school while wearing shoes gifted to him by Kobe Bryant. 

Kobe Bryant had already become a household name well before his 22nd birthday. Having won a championship at the ripe age of 21 for the Los Angeles Lakers and made a couple All-Star teams, ‘Bean’ was heralded as the next Michael Jordan. Given how proficient he was on both ends, naysayers to this comparison couldn’t say all too much. 

2001 was a time where Kobe and Shaq were undoubtedly in the uppermost echelon of basketball superstardom. Having gone back-to-back, they looked close to unstoppable.

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While the NBA was relishing in the Lakers’s success, LeBron James was making a name for himself as ‘The Chosen One’ at St. Vincent- St. Mary High School 

It was clear that LeBron James had it in him to not only make it to the NBA, but be a star in the league as well. Along the way, James and Kobe Bryant crossed paths unbeknownst to either that they would have some of the most iconic battles of the 2000s/2010s. 

LeBron James talks about Kobe Bryant after passing him in all-time scoring. 

January 25th, 2020 saw LeBron James pass Kobe Bryant in all-time regular season scoring while wearing a Lakers jersey. Following the milestone, James sang his praise in the locker room while dishing out a few memorable anecdotes from his high school days.

Also read: “I hated Kobe Bryant because he denied me of my ultimate goal”: Reggie Miller expressed his disdain for the Lakers legend after losing to him in 2000

“At the ABCD camp, he [Kobe] came a talked to all the kids and I happened to be one of the kids that was there. I was just listening, trying to soak up everything that I could. I remember one of the things he said, ‘If you want to be one of the greats, you’ve got to put the work in.’” 

“Me and Maverick [Carter] drove to The Continental in downtown Philadelphia and he gave me a pair of his shoes that I ended up wearing that following night. It was the red, white, and blue Kobes. I was a 15 and he was a 14 and I wore them anyway. I rocked them in a game and it was the same night we played Oak Hill against Melo.”