Matt Barnes shares his opinion on who the better player was between Kobe Bryant and LeBron James. The NBA veteran voiced his opinion in a recent episode of the Club 520 podcast. Barnes believed that Bryant played both mentally and physically on the court. This made him one of the toughest players to guard. Even more than LeBron James himself.
NBA veteran Matt Barnes analyzes the play style that made Kobe Bryant a great player
Both LeBron James and Kobe Bryant had different approaches and play styles on the court. This often created a sense of debate about who the better player is. NBA veteran and former Los Angeles Lakers star Matt Barnes made the latest addition to this debate. In a recent episode of the Club 520 podcast, Barnes voiced his opinion favoring Kobe. When asked if Bryant was the hardest person to guard throughout Barnes’ career, the latter stated, “Kobe’s skillset was obviously. You look at Bron’s greatness and the all-time league scorer and top five assists, and KD’s effortless scoring, T-Mac’s scoring, Paul Pierce’s scoring. But Kobe was different from a attacking.”
Matt Barnes on guarding Kobe Bryant, Chris Paul-Blake Griffin Clippers BEEF, Warriors | Jeff Teague
It seemed like Barnes had minutely observed and understood how Kobe played on the court. He further added, “He would look at you, how you lined up, or how you’re swiping at the ball and attack any weakness he saw. So, it was always more of a mental game than anything for him, because he was gonna try and destroy you mentally and outthink you the entire game instead of depending on anything else.”Barnes ended his justification with this. The amount of explanation put within these few lines was enough to reveal who the better player was according to Barnes.
Matt Barnes cheers for Cooper Flagg ahead of 2025-2026 debut
The NBA veteran has time and again supported young upcoming players within the league. Ahead of the 2025-2026 season, Matt Barnes showed his support for yet another upcoming and promising player, Cooper Flagg. During a recent episode of DLLS Mavs podcast, Barnes stated, “I absolutely love Cooper Flagg. I coach my kids in AAU, so I got to see him for one season, and what stood out to me the most was his effort and energy. What excites me most is his defensive prowess…I am really excited for his future.”
All The Smoke’s Matt Barnes Says Mavericks Deep Enough To Win West
Barnes even believed and urged that the Dallas Mavericks must build an environment for the player to capitalize on his capabilities.Also Read: Three-time NBA icon reveals why LeBron James doesn’t deserve a statue outside the Crypto.com Arena