Kobe Bryant: LeBron James Needs More NBA Rings To Cement Legacy

NBA legend Kobe Bryant believes LeBron James' legacy will be affected by his losing record in the NBA Finals and needs more rings to his name.

Despite being on an impressive run of eight straight Finals appearances, James saw his losing record increase to 3-6 after the Cleveland Cavaliers were swept by the Golden State Warriors last week.

However, many still feel the 33-year-old has a claim as the greatest of all time (GOAT) as he not only willed a poor Cavs side to the Finals but is continuing to play at the highest level in his 15th professional season.

James is notably the only player with 30,000 points, 8,000 rebounds and 8,000 assists while he could surpass the likes of Michael Jordan, Bryant and Wilt Chamberlain in scoring next season.

But for many in the basketball world, such a record in the Finals is hindering his claim as the GOAT, especially considering Michael Jordan's 100% record at the Finals with his six NBA rings. Bryant, who has five rings of his own from his time with the Los Angeles Lakers, is one of them as he feels the number of championships a player has won matters.

"All I thought about as a kid personally was winning championships. That’s all I cared about," Bryant told Bleacher Report. "That's how I valued Michael [Jordan]. That's how I valued [Larry] Bird. That's how I valued Magic [Johnson]. It was just winning championships. Now, everybody's going to value things differently, which is fine. I'm just telling you how I value mine."

"If I'm Bron, you got to figure out a way to win. It's not about narrative. You want to win championships, you just gotta figure it out," Bryant added.

Bryant also responded to the argument that most of James' teams were the underdogs, particularly this year, by referencing his own example when the Lakers faced one of the best Boston Celtics sides in recent memory back in the 2010 Finals and emerged victorious.

"Michael gave me some really good advice after the '08 Finals: 'You got all the tools. You gotta figure out how to get these guys to that next level to win that championship.' Going into the 2010 series, I said, 'Listen, Boston, they got Ray Allen, they got Paul Pierce, they got [Kevin] Garnett, they got Sheed [Wallace], the talent is there. They're stacked.' That was the first superteam," Bryant explained.

"[Michael] kind of heard me lament about it, and he just goes, 'Yeah, well, it is what it is; you gotta figure it out. There's no other alternative.' And that's the challenge LeBron has. You have pieces that you have to try to figure out how to work with. Excuses don't work right now."

"It has everything to do with how you build the team, from an emotional level. How do you motivate them? … Leadership is not making guys better by just throwing them the ball. That's not what it is. It's about the influence that you have on them to reach their full potential. And some of it's not pretty. Some of it's challenging, some of it's confrontational. Some of it's pat on the back. But it's finding that balance, so now when you show up to play a Golden State or a Boston, your guys feel like you have the confidence to take on more," Bryant added.