Mar 10, 2016; Los Angeles, CA, USA; Cleveland Cavaliers forward LeBron James (23) and Los Angeles Lakers forward Kobe Bryant (24) battle for position in the first quarter of the game at Staples Center. Mandatory Credit: Jayne Kamin-Oncea-USA TODAY Sports
The careers of Kobe Bryant and LeBron James overlapped for more than a decade. Can you name the 14 players who were teammates of both?
Kobe Bryant and LeBron James are two of the NBA’s most identifiable players, legendary figures whose careers overlapped for 13 seasons. They are often compared but each brought an entirely different style to scoring, defense, practice and leadership. Take this quote from Jordan Clarkson, explaining the difference in a 2018 interview:
“Two different styles of leadership. LeBron, very encouraging, bringing everybody along, and Kobe, he’s testing you, seeing what you gonna give him. If he gonna get at you, he gonna scream at you, he gonna cuss, he gonna do whatever it is. He had his own way of leading guys as well. It’s two different sides. I’m just blessed to see both of them.”
Clarkson is one of the few players who can speak to that difference from personal experience. He is one of just 14 players who was a teammate of both Kobe and LeBron.
Who are the 14 players who played with both Kobe Bryant and LeBron James?
- Antawn Jamison
- Carlos Boozer
- Chris Mihm
- Coby Karl
- Ira Newble
- Jason Kapono
- Jelani McCoy
- Joe Smith
- Jordan Clarkson
- Larry Nance Jr.
- Ronny Turiaf
- Shaquille O’Neal
- Shannon Brown
- Trey Johnson
There are several players in that group who have won championships, and multiple titles in the case of Shaq. But no one has won a title with both greats. Ronny Turiaf may have been the closest — he won a title with LeBron and the 2012 Miami Heat and was a member of the Lakers for the 2008 NBA Finals when they lost to the Boston Celtics.
In case you’re wondering, no one on this list was also a teammate of Michael Jordan.
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