LeBron James has a long list of excellent teammates throughout his career, ranging from NBA All-Stars to Hall of Famers. One of his former teammates, Dwyane Wade, was originally a target by Kobe Bryant in an attempt to recruit him to the Lakers. It was in the hopes of bringing another star-caliber player in his final seasons in the league, as per ESPN’s Ramona Shelburne.

Following his back-to-back title victories in 2009 and 2010, Bryant experienced little success in playing alongside a championship-caliber ball club. It wasn’t just LeBron James’ former teammate that Brynat looked into recruiting, but also seven-time all-star LaMarcus Aldridge and NBA champion Demarcus Cousins.

“Bryant had tried to cajole the Lakers into fielding better teams around him in his final few seasons in LA,” Shelburne said, “recruiting free agent forward Lamarcus Aldridge, Miami Heat star Dwyane Wade, and encouraging a trade for Sacramento Kings star Demarcus Cousins, sources said.”

The Lakers’ front office eventually fell short in their attempt to bring another star to take some load off of Kobe Bryant. Despite posting incredible individual numbers during his twilight years in the league, he wasn’t able to push for a final playoff run with the goal of another title added to his resume.

Bryant finished his career with five titles through 20 seasons with the LA Lakers. He is regarded as one of the most prominent players of the iconic franchise and of the league itself for the kind of body of work he achieved.

LeBron James has always been renowned for the impressive versatile skill set he has that not many players are capable of on the NBA court. This was highlighted by Lakers legend Kobe Bryant, who sees LeBron as the best player to play with fit-wise, as per the “Holding Court with Geno Auriemma” podcast.

“I think the player that would fit with me the most, I actually think would be LeBron,” Bryant said. “He’s a passer first, I’m a scorer, I’m a finisher. LeBron is a facilitator by nature and I’m a finisher by nature. Those two styles, I think complement each other really well.”

Bryant highlighted James’ playmaking ability matching well with his elite shotmaking. From tandems such as John Stockton and Karl Malone to Magic Johnson and Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, a passer-scorer tandem has mostly been a successful pairing.

The two athletes showed flashes of this tandem during their time playing alongside each other for USA Basketball back in 2008 and 2012. They were prominent contributors to Team USA against elite international competition while showcasing unmatched chemistry on the court.