Kobe Bryant and LeBron James Will Be Linked Forever

Olympics Day 16 - Basketball
Olympics Day 16 - Basketball / Pascal Le Segretain/Getty Images
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The Los Angeles Lakers returned from their road trip on Sunday, hours after learning the news about Kobe Bryant's death. LeBron James was seen emotionally embracing multiple people after getting off the plane.

The news would have been horrible for LeBron and the Lakers at any point, but LeBron just passed Kobe on the all-time scoring list on Saturday. LeBron had just been thinking about and talking about what Kobe meant to him.

Kobe Bryant and LeBron James will be forever entwined in the history of basketball. They were rivals on the court and friends off it. They represented the United States together at the Olympics twice. They were constantly compared as players and the Kobe vs. LeBron debate was the dividing line for basketball fans for a good decade.

They were even puppets together.

Kobe's final tweet was congratulating LeBron on his accomplishment.

LeBron had written "Mamba 4 Life" on his sneakers last night. Last. Night.