Towards the end of the 2000s, there was a legitimate debate among NBA fans about whether Los Angeles Lakers guard Kobe Bryant or Cleveland Cavaliers forward LeBron James was a better player.
It was a different time, as Bryant was wrapping up the last of his five championships while James had yet to win one, a struggle that came to a head during the 2011 NBA Finals, in which the Dallas Mavericks punked James and beat his heavily favored Miami Heat superteam.