After Long Cold War, LeBron James Has Won Respect of More Mellow Kobe Bryant

LOS ANGELES — The little brother is always elated when the big brother wants to play with him.

Especially when, as former Lakers and Cavaliers coach Mike Brown has said, the big brother is the serious one and the little brother is the fun one.

And in this case, the two siblings really were playing a game.

There was 19-year veteran Kobe Bryant on Thursday night, laughing and smiling more than we've ever seen in real NBA competition, engaging 12-year veteran LeBron James in so many colorful and different light-hearted moments that it was as if we were watching this 109-102 Cavs win through a kaleidoscope.

You don't expect global icons to exude this kind of boyish sweetness when they gather to compete against each other. But in doing so, the two stars reminded us how we've been captivated by both of them since their teenage years. To see them grinning, giggling, hugging...it was fun.

For the little brother, it felt really, really fun.

"I don't know what it was," James said, laughing as he described Bryant's past approach as, "I'm taking your heart out from the jump."

Bryant said his chill demeanor boiled down to one simple fact: There's no championship at stake between them. Bryant is out of the running these days and knows it, so he has softened his edge.

Winning Thursday night meant a lot more to James' team than Bryant's, and that's a big reason why the Cavaliers snapped their six-game losing streak.

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James (36 points, five rebounds, five assists, one turnover, two steals) was also flat-out better than Bryant (19 points, a career-high 17 assists, six rebounds) down the stretch. They matched up head-to-head often in the second half, including in the final possessions that featured James smiling after one Bryant three-pointer but driving past Bryant for the dagger layup.

James was clearly happy about more than just the victory.

He noted the two have grown much closer the past two years, and although James didn't mention it, it's obvious the five-time champ Bryant began to view James differently once he broke through as an NBA champion in 2012.

Bryant even ribbed James before his 2010 free-agent decision that he should find a nice place to live but the Lakers would win another title, regardless. Bryant said he and James didn't really have any relationship until they together won gold medals in the 2008 Olympics.

"It's grown since then," Bryant said, "and this year it's more than it's ever been."

Now that James, 30, is navigating a rough new existence wherein he's shifting from rare physical specimen to a worn-down veteran taking Kobe-style ice baths, Bryant feels a deeper kinship as James begins to follow his more diligent late-career path.

James told TNT's Rachel Nichols that Bryant was the one to initiate the night's fun banter, calling James now an "old head" like him. (Back in his spry days, Bryant used to reserve that term for Lakers elder statesmen Ron Harper and Brian Shaw.)

Mark J. Terrill/Associated Press

James' willing agreement Thursday night that he is indeed an "old head"—and just how uncomfortably arduous he's finding the body aches and maintenance routines—had Bryant rocking back and forth in his seat on the Lakers bench, hiding his face in a towel, cracking up during their first conversation.

On the surface, this was them having fun.

What it really was goes much deeper: This was James having earned Bryant's respect.

So in their 20th career meeting, Bryant dropped his guard and played James' game. For so many of the other matchups, with the specter always looming of the two meeting in the NBA Finals, the older brother had set a tone for most of those that essentially said that competition shall be a fight to the death.

Bryant has wanted it so badly that he has been hurt repeatedly in games against James: a 2004 sprained right shoulder (though he continued to play another five minutes, using only his left arm), a 2005 severe ankle sprain, a 2009 dislocated right ring finger (again, he continued to play).

James has viewed Bryant as a barometer for success and, accordingly, taken it seriously: James' teams have now won 14 of the 20 meetings, with perhaps only three left before Bryant retires. (Even though Bryant said his intention is not to sit out late this season if he's healthy, he allowed the Lakers might want to do that to "try and get another year out of me.")

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For sure, Bryant, to an extent, has mellowed with age. He acknowledged feeling a new gratitude these days for opponents saluting him as he winds down.

"This is different for me, because I'm used to being hated," he said. "It's really unnatural. It's like you go up against somebody—and they give you a hug instead of saying something nasty. It's a different feeling, but I am really appreciative of it.

"It feels good. A hug feels good."

As much as James has been conditioned to see Kobe as the cold one, there he was Thursday...more Olaf than Elsa.

James felt it, no doubt, on this night to celebrate mutual respect.

"I love where he's at right now," James said of Bryant. "Whatever happens from now till when he's done, he's going to go down as one of the greatest basketball players to ever play this game. You can rank him wherever you want to, but he's one of the greatest."

Kevin Ding is an NBA senior writer for Bleacher Report. Follow him on Twitter, @KevinDing.