As the Los Angeles Lakers prepared to take the court at Staples Center against the Atlanta Hawks on Sunday, a very special guest was in attendance.
Lakers legend Kobe Bryant was sitting courtside, and he showed LeBron James some love early in the game.
For many years, Bryant was the player that James seemed to be chasing in order to reach top dog status in the NBA. Many would agree that James finally got there when he won his first NBA championship in 2012.
Some even felt that there would be some tension between the two when James became a Laker in the summer of 2018, especially since many have felt for several years that James has surpassed Bryant as a player.
But the Lower Merion, Pa. native has gone out of his way to make it clear that he supports James not just as a player, but as a member of the Laker family.
Before Bryant exchanged that handshake with James, he gave Dwight Howard a hug just after entering the arena.
Unlike with James, there obviously was plenty of tension between Bryant and Howard not too long ago.