Report: Kobe Bryant never had as much power within Lakers organization as LeBron James does

Los Angeles Lakers superstar LeBron James usually wields a lot of power wherever he goes.

After joining the Lakers, he seemingly quickly took a stronghold of the organization. The team has made many moves in order to please its biggest star.

The power James currently has within the Lakers organization is apparently larger than the power that Hall of Famer Kobe Bryant ever had, according to a recent report.

“But for as important as Bryant was to the Lakers, sources inside the organization have long said that not even the legendary Black Mamba wielded as much power within the organization as James now has,” wrote Bill Oram of The Athletic.

“Bryant was never able to strong-arm the Lakers to make a move like the one James helped orchestrate for [Russell] Westbrook, which has proven to be an outright disaster.”

This is certainly interesting to read. After all, Bryant played all 20 of his NBA seasons with the Lakers and left a huge mark on the organization.

Bryant accumulated 18 All-Star selections, five NBA titles, two NBA Finals MVPs and one regular season MVP award throughout his career. He is arguably one of the best players in the league’s history.

Although James is considered by many to be a better player than Bryant, he has spent less time with the Lakers. James is currently in his fourth season with L.A. after joining them back in 2018.

During his time with the Lakers, the 37-year-old has averaged 26.5 points, 8.0 rebounds and 8.4 assists per game while shooting 50.8 percent from the floor and 35.1 percent from beyond the arc. The four-time MVP led the Lakers to an NBA title in his second season with the team.

Things aren’t going well for the Lakers right now. They currently have a 27-31 record, which is only good enough for the No. 9 seed in the Western Conference. On top of that, it seems like there might be a chance that James leaves the franchise in the future.

One can only imagine what the rest of the season has in store for the Lakers, but they are surely hoping that they can get things back on track and secure a spot in this year’s postseason.