“He never talked” – LeBron James BETTER teammate than Kobe Bryant, suggests Lakers star D’Angelo Russell

D'Angelo Russell, the Los Angeles Lakers star, explains the contrasting leadership styles of LeBron James and Kobe Bryant.

“He never talked” – LeBron James BETTER teammate than Kobe Bryant, suggests Lakers star D’Angelo Russell

Kobe Bryant, D’Angelo Russell and Lebron James (Images via Twitter)

D’Angelo Russell is among the few players who can say he played with both Kobe Bryant and LeBron James. Russell, who was selected second overall in the 2015 NBA Draft, got to learn under the Black Mamba during his career ascension. During his prime, he is now playing with one of the greatest, if not the greatest, basketball players of all time, LeBron James.

In a recent “The Pat Bev Podcast with Rone” appearance, NBA player Patrick Beverley asked a similar question. Russell answered that James is hilarious and very social whenever he travels with the team, whereas Bryant is the opposite. Russell said he used to watch him and study him, but he never talked.

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“Let me go from an aura perspective. LeBron’s more involved with everybody, with everything. On the bus, he’s social… on the plane he’s social. When I was with Kobe, I sat next to him on the plane and we sat on one of the back seats and I watched him, studied him and he never talks,” Russell said.

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Many players have expressed the same opinion about the late Kobe Bryant, who influenced a generation of basketball players with his Mamba Mentality. Players like Julius Randle, D’Angelo Russell, Ivica Zubac and Brandon Ingram, who all got to play with Kobe at the start of their careers, have achieved great success.

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Dwight Howard share insight on the leadership approaches on Kobe Bryant and Lebron James

Dwight Howard compares the leadership style of Lebron and Kobe
Kobe Bryant, Dwight Howard, and Lebron James (Images via Getty Images)

There is no perfect leadership style that leads to success. A goal can be achieved through multiple facets, just like D’Angelo Russell described the different approaches that Bryant and James took to lead their teams. Dwight Howard faced a similar question when he appeared on the “My Expert Opinion Podcast.”

During his two distant stints with the Lakers, Howard also played with James and Bryant. Howard was a superstar when he joined Bryant during the 2012 season following a blockbuster four-team trade. The team couldn’t achieve the heights they were supposed to due to injuries. But when Howard joined James and Co. during the 2019 season on a veteran minimum and helped them win a championship in the bubble season.

While discussing the difference in leadership styles, Howard said James is like someone from the south side of Georgia, which is also Howard’s hometown. James is like his twin, who he had a good time with but dominated with him when they were on the court, whereas Bryant was a “no-bull***t” person who might not even come to the locker room sometimes and not talk to anybody.

“LeBron’s almost at like somebody from the south side of Georgia,” Howard said. “We actin’ kind of like twins. Joking, silly, have a good time. We get on the court, we still gonna have a good time, but we’re gonna dominate. Kobe, he not bullsh*tting with nobody. He might not come to the locker room to talk. So he’s just gonna walk all the way past us.” Howard said.

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