Theirs was a dream finals matchup that never was.

Now that they’re in the same backyard, the hope for Los Angeles Lakers fans is that, like Kobe Bryant before him, LeBron James could take the team to the promised land.

A title series in which James is at center stage and Bryant is on the sidelines applauding him and the Lakers? One could only wish.

Bryant has expressed his unequivocal support of James since the latter arrived in Hollywood.

In an interview with ESPN in the US posted on its website on Friday, Bryant expounded on this.

“He’s part of the Laker family so when he first came on board I said, ‘Listen is there anything you need?” Bryant said.

“You’re part of this family now so if there’s anything you need, let me know.’ “

Not surprisingly, his reminder to James was as “mamba mentality” as ever.

“The message is always to go out there and dominate. There’s no let up,” said Bryant, whose Lakers at his prime never got an opportunity to play James when he was in the Eastern Conference for the NBA title.

“Once the game starts and once the practice begins, you’re in that mode. Everything is a Game 7.

“When you approach every practice, every game with that kind of mentality then it bleeds into the rest of the guys and then the rest of the unit has that same approach and intensity but it starts at the top.”

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