Cleveland Cavaliers basketball icon LeBron James says Los Angeles Lakers superstar Kobe Bryant inspired him to greatness. He said knowing this will be the Black Mamba's last season is "truly sad for me" and regrets not having had the chance to face Bryant in the NBA Finals.

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Bryant, who announced on Sunday that the NBA 2015-16 season will be his last, was praised by James during an interview, ESPN reported.

"I didn't hold up my end of the bargain in 2009 for the fans, for us, to meet in the Finals," James according to an ABC7 News article, looking back on the 2008-09 season when Cleveland Cavaliers led the league with a 66-16 record and Bryant's Los Angeles Lakers were right behind them at 65-17.

"I know the world wanted to see it. I wanted it, we wanted it. He held up his end and I didn't hold up my end, and I hate that. I hate that, that didn't happen,"James said.

Orlando Magic won the Eastern Conference finals 4 to 2, beating James and the Cavs, while the Lakers went on to beat the Magic and win the 2009 NBA Championship title 4-1.

With Bryant and Gasol leading the Lakers to supremacy in the west and James in the top team in the East playing with Cleveland and later on with the Miami Heat, many observers thought a Finals matchup between the two players seemed inescapable.

But, according to James, he never assumed it would happen.

"Obviously there was so much made about it, from commercials to media talk, to people just talking about the Lakers versus the Cavs, Kobe versus LeBron, Kobe versus LeBron, Kobe versus LeBron, but I couldn't do that to my teammates to kind of assume," James said. "That's not my job. I've seen the stat that since '07 either he has or I've been in the Finals, but we've never matched up. And that definitely sucks. Not only for us two being competitors, wanting to go against each other in the Finals, but also for the fans."

TagsLebron James, Black Mamba, cleveland cavaliers, Los Angeles Lakers, West, East, Kobe Bryant LeBron James