Lakers guard Kobe Bryant has always been lauded for his self-motivation and drive to be the best. It's a good thing he has that internal ambition, because according to Bryant, he's gone through his 16-year career without a true rival on the exterior to push him to succeed."I didn't have one," Bryant said after scoring 38 points in the Lakers' 115-107 win over the Sacramento Kings on Friday.The Lakers play host to the Miami Heat on Sunday. Bryant called it a "measuring stick" game against Miami, which has the third-best record in the league at 28-8 and is 3-0 against Bryant and the Lakers since "The Decision." Source: ESPN
Shaq was my first thought but that wasn't really a rivalry. and Idk about Duncan because he's a big man and kobe is a guard. I can't really think of anyone that was a true rival.
I think the C's are the only team he has faced twice in the finals You can say Nash was a rival on the court, altho if your looking to measure Career VS Career its no rivalry
I thought nash too but that's way too one sided. Kobe is in a class by himself when judged against other guards during his career.
Nash had some nice early victorys with the suns in that rivalry But thats also back when the Lackers were a 40-45 win team and the Suns should have swept them
The more you think about it the more you realize he really didn't have any rivals, he was in a class all his own during his career.
While true, the fact that he's nowhere near the MJ/Magic/Bird status apparently is lost on him. Elite guard in NBA history? Yes but not a seat at the head table...
I disagree, but we could debate taht fact till everyone is blue in the face and nobody would change their opinions. The guy deserves all the respect in the world, even if you don't think he is in that class he is the best player of this generation. Better than LBJ, D Wade, and any other. At least in my opinion.
If I would say one person has been Kobe's rival it would be Raja Bell. He's the player that has even came close to single handedly guarding Kobe Bryant and doing a pretty good job at it at times.
He definitely got under Kobe's skin during those lakers suns series. I think he's a huge part of kobe's recent comments about hating the suns. He's a guy that will probably show up in kobe's career highlights. But I think it will be more in the form of a Craig Ehlo like in Jordan's highlights. Not really a rival just a guy that always seemed to be there.
