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Retired Champion Believes Current Lakers Star Was Harder to Guard Than Kobe Bryant

Two different styles of play but both legit scorers!

Matt Levine

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The LeBron James and Kobe Bryant debate lasted for the majority of their careers. The media pitted them against one another for the sake of a narrative, and it worked. They were the two best players in the NBA for so long, but unfortunately, we never got to see them face off against each other in the NBA Finals. It’s one of the biggest “what ifs” in NBA history but over the last 15 years, James has solidified himself as the better player.

Bryant still may be the better scorer, but James takes the cake. Yet, every now and then, it can be fun to bring back up the old debate to pick apart different aspects of their games.

On the ESPN show NBA Today, former NBA forward Richard Jefferson was asked which player was harder to guard over his career. Jefferson mentioned both Bryant and James but did ultimately give his answer.

"Kobe was gonna do what Kobe does," Jefferson said. "That to me, wasn't the hardest person to guard, it was still LeBron James."

Jefferson was a teammate of James during their days in Cleveland together, so he saw an up close and personal level to this debate. He likely guarded James every day in practice, but I don’t think many people would be surprised by his answer.

Bryant presented the challenge of never knowing what he was going to do. He could take his defenders off the dribble, step back and hit a shot, or just dance around the perimeter and chuck up a random shot only for it to go in somehow. He was a jack-of-all-trades scorer, and it’s why he's seen as one of the best bucket-getters in NBA history.

But with James, it is different. He is a bulldozer that you know is going to be coming down on you at full force when driving to the paint. There was a point where James was almost un-guardable because of his physical skills. Over time, James has developed a jump shot which makes him entirely even tougher to defend.

This debate can go on and on forever. Both players are some of the best to ever play the game of basketball and both have represented your Los Angeles Lakers. And that is a pretty cool part of it all.

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Matt Levine
MATT LEVINE

Matt earned a Master of Science degree in Sport Management from Louisiana State University in 2021. He was born and raised in the Los Angeles area, covering all Southern California sports in his career.

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