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LeBron James Regrets Not Having Been Able To Spend Time With Kobe Bryant As Laker

For the first time since 2010, the Los Angeles Lakers, who normally are spoiled by success, have reached the NBA Finals again.

Led by the great duo of LeBron James and Anthony Davis, they are now looking to win the franchise its first title in a decade.

During the Lakers’ last championship run, they were led by the late, great Kobe Bryant.

Bryant was among the nine people on board the helicopter that crashed and left no survivors in Calabasas, California on January 26.

The Lakers’ heroes from 2010 and 2020 knew each other well. But even though LeBron and Kobe had a close relationship, they weren’t able to meet up since LeBron joined the Lakers in 2018.

In an interview with Chris Haynes of Yahoo Sports, James now revealed that he still regrets this very much, while revealing the text message Kobe sent him when he joined the Lakers:

Due to the conflicting and chaotic schedules of each superstar, the two could never establish a firm date. Each time they came across one another, the meeting was brought up, but it kept getting put on the backburner.

It’s something that still bothers James to this day.

“Of course, you think there’s going to be time for us to get together and I understand that there are regrets in life, but I definitely wish I had that moment with him,” James told Yahoo Sports. “I do remember when I decided to come here, he sent me a text right away and said, ‘Welcome, brother. Welcome to the family.’ That was a special moment because at the time, Laker faithful wasn’t . A lot of people were saying, ‘Well, we might not want LeBron at this point in his career,’ and, ‘Is he right? Is he going to get us back ?’ So to hear from him and get his stamp of approval, it meant a lot. I don’t ever question myself, but when it’s coming from Kobe, it definitely meant a lot.”