Yet there was Bryant, in the closing seconds of Sunday's NBA All-Star Game, pleading with LeBron James to take the big shot and prove that James is truly the best of the best, as so many people believe he is.
Three times in the final 20 seconds, with the East trailing by a basket, James looked at the Bryant defending him one-on-one and passed up a chance to be the hero. Each time, Bryant looked more and more digusted, putting up his hands in two separate dead balls as if to say, "Come on, LeBron. Be the man. Take the final shot."
James didn't even necessarily have to make the shot. He just had to show that he was willing to take it.
And he just would not do it.
This is what makes James so exasperating for fans and opponents alike. They believe James is capable of greatness and want to plunge their hands into his chest, Temple of Doom style, and rip that greatness out of him. Even Bryant, who has spent the middle portion of his career virtually without a peer, recognizes the excellence lying somewhere inside James. As one of the most ruthless competitors in the history of sports, Bryant wanted nothing more Sunday than for James to present a challenge for the aging but still outstanding future Hall of Fame guard.
The disappointing series began with 16.3 seconds left, with the West up by two points. James helped set up a play for Nets guard Deron Williams to take a 3-pointer, the first of James' moments of deference. The shot missed, but Williams chased down his own rebound and tossed the ball to James at the top of the key.
Bryant, who was guarding James, had hardly nestled into a defensive stance when James attempted a one-handed, cross-court pass that was picked off by Blake Griffin. As the players walked up the court for Griffin to take his freebies, Bryant pulled James aside and beseeched him to shoot the darn ball.
Griffin missed the first free throw and hit the second, giving the East another opportunity, down by three with 1.1 seconds. Everyone in the Amway Center expected — knew — that the only person on the planet who could get off a quality 3-point shot in that amount of time was the 6-foot-8 James. He had an advantage of two inches and 40 pounds on Bryant, and most of all he's LeBron Freaking James.
But instead of demanding to take the final shot, James watched coach Tom Thibodeau draw up a play for Dwyane Wade and, one assumes, never protested. When James came out to inbound the ball, insuring he would not take the potential game-tying shot, Bryant looked like he wanted to walk off the court in protest.
Wade missed, and Bryant kept talking to James right up to the moment they left the court.
Greatest cannot be bestowed, only achieved. Like Bryant, everyone keeps hoping James will one day become as cold-hearted on the court as he was to Cleveland that July day on ESPN. Apart from The Decision, ruthlessness hasn't been a part of James' DNA, and it has stunted his ascendance from perennial MVP candidate to one of the five greatest players ever.
There are moments when taking a step back is the best option. Nobody wants to see James, the greatest ballhandler and passer for a player his size since Magic Johnson, transform into a supersized Carmelo Anthony, taking 20-foot jump shots with three defenders draped all over him. Michael Jordan wouldn't have six rings, after all, if he hadn't been willing to pass to John Paxson and Steve Kerr in big moments.
Then there are moments when the great ones say, "I'm scoring, and there's nothing you can do about it." Sunday's game was only an exhibition, but it was the All-Star Game, and that fact alone brought out the competitive fire in Bryant, Russell Westbrook, Kevin Durant and others. James had 36 points and for a while threatened Wilt Chamberlain's All-Star Game record of 42 points.
Bryant had 27 points and passed Jordan as the leading scorer in All-Star Game history, which surely brought Bryant some satisfacton because he cares about those kind of things. Love him or hate him, Bryant wants to own every record in the book, even the meaningless ones, and when the game is on the line, he wants the ball.
What does James want? It's hard to tell.
