“Kobe Bryant wants to take the last shot… LeBron James has something in him to me that is not quite the same” - Max Kellerman believes LeBron James does not want to assert himself out loud

LeBron James was mentioned by Max Kellerman in Tuesday’s episode of “NBA on ESPN”. During the episode, Keyshawn, JWill, and Max join together for a conversation about whether or not LeBron should coach the Lakers.

Should LeBron James coach the Los Angeles Lakers?

Max Kellerman gives his opinion on LeBron:

“Kobe Bryant wants to take the last shot … LeBron James has something in him to me that is not quite the same.”

Due to Frank Vogel’s recent dismissal as head coach, the job in Los Angeles is now available. With LeBron James being such a high IQ playing, while also being known for making larger decisions than most players do, the NBA on ESPN crew speculate on if James would do well as coach.

The Los Angeles Lakers finished the 2021-22 NBA regular season in 11th place with 33 wins to 49 losses. The disappointment in LA has largely been credited to LeBron for his influence in the decision to add long-time friends Carmelo Anthony and Russell Westbrook to the team. After Westbrook looked unable to gain traction all year, he caught the brunt of the blame for LA’s poor season.

Westbrook did finish the season with 18.5 points, 7.4 rebounds, and 7.1 assists, so he was an effective factor nonetheless. Russell was scorned for a large portion of the season for his turnovers. He finished the season averaging 3.8 turnovers, his lowest turnover average since his 2013-14 season playing for OKC.

With Frank Vogel gone, talk about LeBron James being coach is of course simply speculation. Even after James is done in the NBA, there is no telling what he plans to do. But one thing is for sure, he did have a large influence in decisions for this season that the public deemed poor choices. Speculation on James becoming a coach may not be well received at the moment.

In any case, this 2021-22 NBA regular season was LeBron’s 19th season in the NBA. “The King” averaged 30.3 points, 8.2 rebounds, and 6.2 assists at 37-years-old. Kellerman’s comments inferring LeBron does not want to be the player to take the shot might bare some weight, but James notably does not like losing. Put him in a position where he 100% knows he is the only choice for the last shot, and he takes it.

LeBron is just more of a playmaker than Kobe Bryant was. Kobe, the 18x All-Star and 2x Scoring champ, has five NBA championship victories, 15 All-NBA selections, 12 All-Defensive selections, and was considered one of the most complete players in NBA History. Bryant averaged 25.0 points, 5.2 rebounds, 4.7 assists, and 1.4 steals per game across his 20-year career. is 81-point performance against Toronto in 2006 was the second-highest in NBA history, behind only Wilt Chamberlain’s 100 piece. Needless to say, Kobe is a scoring machine.

However, LeBron James’ averages 27.1 points, 7.5 rebounds, and 7.4 assists per game across his entire career. Though James may stand with less NBA championships and holds one less scoring title than Kobe, LeBron proved his effectiveness across the entire floor.

Bryant played hard and wanted it to be known that if you came in front of him on either end, it was an immediate problem. The same remains for LeBron, of course, but Kellerman has a point. Kobe did absolutely love being the one to sink the game-winning shot, or make the play that mattered most. LeBron is known for being the one to make the pass or open up space for something else first. Kobe’s first thought was score, at all costs.