Mike Brown: LeBron James ‘Youthful’, Kobe Bryant ‘Serious-Minded’
Mike Brown is the only coach in NBA history to have had both LeBron and Kobe on his roster, so his opinion on the two megastars is always going to hold weight. Last night, Brown talked about what he perceives to be the main difference between Bryant and James. Per ESPN: “They’re both obviously guys that know how to perform at a high level,’ Brown said. ‘Their games are different. On both ends of the floor they’re very different, but especially offensively. LeBron is a guy that’s still learning and still growing and the reality of it is, being down there with Dwyane Wade is helping him and every year, every game he’s getting better.’ […] Brown said James and Bryant differ most when it comes to demeanor. ‘They’re different,’ Brown said. ‘Different personalities. LeBron, he’s a guy that likes to laugh and joke and he knows, obviously, when there’s a time to be serious but he’s youthful. I guess that’s probably the word. Whereas Kobe is not as much. Kobe is more serious-minded and so-on and so-forth. But Kobe knows how to have fun in his own way, too.’ A reporter asked if Bryant’s and James’ differences were based on their disparate ages and the fact that they came into the league during different eras — for example, it was a rarity when players went right from high school to the NBA when Bryant was drafted in 1996, but had become commonplace by the time James was selected in 2003. ‘I don’t know if the era has anything to do with it,’ Brown said. ‘I think it’s just personalities more than anything else.’”
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