With the NBA in a lockout that shows no promising signs of ending in time to have a season, NBA players are turning to all kinds of things to stay in shape. Exhibition games, flag football, Rucker Park—basically, these guys are running the gamut to get out of the house and be the athletes they were born to be in the wake of a work stoppage.

However, one thing we haven’t seen enough of so far is 1-on-1 tournaments. If you look at the game, more and more stars like to run isolation plays, break down their defenders, then shoot jumpers or drive the ball to the basket. To put it simply, we see 1-on-1 even when we’re supposed to see 5-on-5. Of course, one can’t bring up mano-y-mano basketball without asking, if Kobe Bryant and LeBron James ever laced ‘em up and went after each other on the court, who would win?

Such questions are nothing new, really. People used to ask the same questions about Magic Johnson and Larry Bird, Johnson and Michael Jordan, etc. In fact, the specific question about 24 and 23 (shout-out to Young Jeezy) has even come of age—so much so that Kobe addressed it last offseason.

Thickening the plot, of course, is the fact that the Lakers have been burned by LeBron’s teams for several consecutive games. Also, Kobe’s getting up there, while LeBron is just reaching his prime. All that said, a handful of NBA players seem pretty much decided as to who they think will win.

The fierce competitor in Kobe won’t let this one go, especially not if people keep comparing them and talking about it. He’s an exhibitionist, after all (the same guy who jumped over an Aston Martin). Maybe we won’t have a season, but a 1-on-1 showdown might prove worth it.

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