kobe made his own expectations
he put himself in the next jordan discussion. nobody did it for him like lebron
kobe was the 13th pick and traded before even playing 1 nba game
lebron was the 1st pick and signed a 100 million dollar nike contract before playing 1 nba game
kobe exceeded initial expectations...
the team that drafted him didnt think he wouldnt become better than prime valde divac
cleveland thought vitaly potapenko would be better
g-state thought todd fuller would be better
indiana thought eric dampier would be better
dallas thought samaki walker would be better
etc...
lebron was hand picked by the nba/media/nike/espn as the next savior all time goat legend before he even stepped foot on the basketball court
which is why he continuously is gifted freebee after freebee
the ROTY award melo shoulda got
the 2009 mvp kobe shoulda got
the 2010 mvp dwight shoulda got
the 2015 espy for best champion when he didnt win a championship
votes for finals mvp when he shot 38% ( 27% beyond 5 feet ) with 2 wins
lebrons 2 for 6 means he failed
period
kobe on the other hand far exceeded expectations. he made himself and put himself in the discussion with MJ