King James Gospel
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What if LeBron Met Kobe in the Finals?

By Noah Strackbein

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Kobe Bryant is retiring after the season. What if LeBron James and Kobe had met in the Finals?

“I know the world wanted to see it. I wanted it, we wanted it. He held up his end and I didn’t hold up my end, and I hate that. I hate that that didn’t happen,” said LeBron James on facing Kobe Bryant in the NBA Finals.

So now Kobe, LeBron, and the entire sports world has to live with the wonder of how this NBA Finals matchup would be. It’s ok though, because here is a break down of the 2007 and 2008 NBA Finals if the Los An Lakers and Cleveland Cavaliers played.

2007 NBA Finals

The 2007 NBA Finals had all the potential to be one of the most exciting Finals series  in the history of the NBA. Unfortunately, the San Antonio Spurs swept the hopeful Cavaliers and LeBron James.

But what if Kobe and the Lakers were there?

It’s not like the Lakers finished first in the NBA, or had a crazy playoff run that ended just shy of the Finals in 2007. The team actually barely finished over .500 (42-40) and lost int the first round of the playoffs to the Phoenix Suns. But low seeded teams make playoff runs all the time, and the Lakers could have easily been one of them.

If the Lakers ended up somehow beating the Suns and eventually the Spurs on their way to the Cleveland Cavaliers in the NBA Finals, it would have been the show of the century.

Kobe vs. LeBron could have easily been the most anticipated event of the century, and there is no doubt that they would have given everyone their money’s worth of entertainment.

For one, it’s hard to believe that there would have been a four-game sweep for either team. Maybe, there was no team as talented and experienced at the Spurs at that time, but LeBron could have easily won first first championship in 2007 if he played a different team.

The Finals may not have been the closest games that the NBA has ever seen, but it’s hard to believe that Kobe Bryant is getting blown out in the Finals. Therefore, it’s safe to say that this series would easily be a six or seven game series.

Outcome: The Cavaliers would have taken the NBA Finals that season, as the Lakers just didn’t have the fire power or talent to win four games. LeBron would have won his first career championship and the NBA world would have seen the most start struck NBA Finals for many years to come.

2008 NBA Finals

The 2008 NBA Finals was the year the sports world was supposed to see the best two players in basketball face off against each other to crown a champion. Instead, the Lakers were beaten by the Boston Celtics as the big three claimed their spot as best in the league.

Yes, everyone liked to see the battle between Paul Pierce and Kobe Bryant, Derrick Fisher and Rajon Rondo, and Lamar Odom and Kevin Garnett (and of course Ray Allen topping it all off). But to see the best two players in the world face up, and this would have been back to back times, sports fans would have created one of the most historic rivalries in all of sports.

This year, the Lakers were clearly a better overall team then they were in 2007, and the Cavaliers looked to be just as talented as the Western Conference champion, Lakers.

Of course, the Lakers had a much wider variety of talent than the Cavaliers did, but the Cavaliers had a young and talented LeBron James, who could beat anyone if given the right night.

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It would be a battle until the very end with these teams. Obviously, no one would know who would take the crown, but no matter what team you bet on would be a good risk. There’s no doubt that this would be a seven game series with some overtime games and a buzzer beater or two. Hands down this would go in the history books as one of the greatest match ups of all time and easily one of the best series to ever happen.

Outcome: There is no clear cut winner in this matchup, but if you looked at the overall year and each team’s talent, the Lakers would have taken the series and a championship to LA. As we’ve seen in the past, LeBron can do everything he can to win a championship on a team with little talent, but he can only do so much. This year, Kobe would have tied the Kobe vs. LeBron series and left a giant question mark on who would have won the third.