Trevor Ariza is one of the players who was lucky enough to play with both Kobe Bryant and LeBron James. He had two stints with the Los Angeles Lakers, and Florida native played with Bryant during his first time there. Trevor then became James’ teammate when he returned to L.A. in 2022.
As a teammate, Ariza got to be with both Kobe and LeBron up close and personal. He also went up against both guys every day in practice. Retired forward also guarded both during the other seasons he spent outside Los Angeles.
During an appearance at the Club Shay Shay podcast, Shannon Sharpe asked former UCLA Bruin which of the two was the more challenging player to defend for him, and he picked The Black Mamba.
“Kobe is the tougher matchup because he is way more relentless,” explained Ariza. “‘Bron is relentless in a different way. He’s gonna make the right play so ‘Bron will beat you up, get into the paint, kick it out, and you’re like’ Oh sh**’. The way Kobe is, he will beat you up, get in the paint, pump fake you, pump fake you, spin, pump fake you again, get you in the air, beat you up, and one. So that’s a complete embarrassment.”
LeBron always makes the right play
Bryant was one of the most gifted scorers in the history of the NBA. As such, he was also one of the toughest to defend because he had many ways to score against defenders. But what makes Bron a more significant threat is his ability and willingness to pass the ball and make a suitable basketball play.
A perfect example of this was early this season when James passed the ball to Cam Reddish in two games. Reddish missed the three-pointer the first time out, and the Lakers lost to the Heat. A couple of games later, James found himself in a similar situation and made the same play. Cam made the shot, and the Lakers won.
But this part of LeBron’s game has been used by critics against him. According to them, LBJ passing up the game-winning shot in favor of a wide-open teammate shows that he does not have the clutch gene because Jordan and Kobe would never leave the game’s fate in the hands of their teammates, even if they had a better shot.
RJ says otherwise
While Ariza picked Mamba as the tougher cover, former Nets and Cavs player Richard Jefferson said King James is the more challenging player to guard for him. RJ said that he played against 22-year-old LeBron, and James beat them. 21 years later, defenders are still trying to find a way to solve the LeBron puzzle.
“He was bigger; he was more physical. We played against him when he was young when he went to his first Finals. It was me; it was Vince, it was J-Kidd. We were veterans, two All-Stars, two All-NBA guys. J-Kidd, two Hall of Famers, and a 22-year-old LeBron shut us down and went on to shut down the Pistons. Now look, he ended up losing San Antonio in the NBA Finals but at 22 years old, 23 years old, I don’t know what we’re going to do with this man,’ and they’re still trying to answer it,” Jefferson said.
Debating the opinions of Ariza and Jefferson is like comparing apples and oranges. The two are attacking the question from different perspectives. But there’s no question that Kobe and LeBron are two of the most challenging players to defend. Choosing between the two is just mostly personal choice.
