LeBron and Kobe the only rivals that never played against each other in the playoffs?

[Indian guy]

What is this crap that if you're friends, you can't be rivals? By that logic, MJ never had a rival, because he was basically friends with all the top players of his era - Magic, Dumars, Drexler, Barkley, Ewing and so on. As long as 2 people on a SIMILAR level are competing against each other, they are rivals. Kobe and LeBron were pretty much considered the 2 best players in the league for half a decade(06-10). And if you think they didn't get really up to prove a point when LA/Cleveland matched up, then you must have been in a coma in the 00's.

[ArbitraryWater]

What is this crap that if you're friends, you can't be rivals? By that logic, MJ never had a rival, because he was basically friends with all the top players of his era - Magic, Dumars, Drexler, Barkley, Ewing and so on. As long as 2 people on a SIMILAR level are competing against each other, they are rivals. Kobe and LeBron were pretty much considered the 2 best players in the league for half a decade(06-10). And if you think they didn't get really up to prove a point when LA/Cleveland matched up, then you must have been in a coma in the 00's.

but wait, Laker fans such as SpecialQue say those games are irrelevant..

[3peated]

Speaking of choking in 2011...

d12's magic beat lebrons cleveland....coulda been kobe/lebron finals that year. lebron choked.

[MEB2kDeez]

What is this crap that if you're friends, you can't be rivals? By that logic, MJ never had a rival, because he was basically friends with all the top players of his era - Magic, Dumars, Drexler, Barkley, Ewing and so on. As long as 2 people on a SIMILAR level are competing against each other, they are rivals. Kobe and LeBron were pretty much considered the 2 best players in the league for half a decade(06-10). And if you think they didn't get really up to prove a point when LA/Cleveland matched up, then you must have been in a coma in the 00's.

Yeah but there was never a true rivalry between KB/LBJ like there was for Magic/Bird, Russell/Wilt, etc. Like someone said it's the media and stans making them out two tyrannical leaders with hatred for eachother.

Could've been, but never truly formed into it.

[JT123]

What is this crap that if you're friends, you can't be rivals? By that logic, MJ never had a rival, because he was basically friends with all the top players of his era - Magic, Dumars, Drexler, Barkley, Ewing and so on. As long as 2 people on a SIMILAR level are competing against each other, they are rivals. Kobe and LeBron were pretty much considered the 2 best players in the league for half a decade(06-10). And if you think they didn't get really up to prove a point when LA/Cleveland matched up, then you must have been in a coma in the 00's.

Kobe stans will avoid the bolded like the plague

[ArbitraryWater]

Yeah but there was never a true rivalry between KB/LBJ like there was for Magic/Bird, Russell/Wilt, etc. Like someone said it's the media and stans making them out two tyrannical leaders with hatred for eachother.

Could've been, but never truly formed into it.

Except, those Kobe/Bron matchups were the biggest games of the regular season.

[MJistheGOAT]

This is only a fake rivalry invented by media and ignited by stans.
No series played, regular season games are not enough. They are friends off the court.
Similar situation Lebron-KD but at least they played a finals.

Real Lebron rivalries are Pierce/Celtics and Spurs.

A real rivalry was Bird-Magic, Wilt-Russell, MJ-Bad boys, not this weak *hit soap opera type of fake rivalry.

[MEB2kDeez]

Except, those Kobe/Bron matchups were the biggest games of the regular season.

I'm not doubting that, just saying their rivalry isn't authentic compared to others.