LeBron James shares a message to Kobe Bryant ahead of their final duel

Since 2003, the NBA world has been graced with the friendly rivalry between Kobe Bryant and LeBron James.

And though we never did get to see the two superstars face off in an NBA Finals, we've seen 22 epic Kobe v. LeBron bouts in the regular season -- with the final matchup coming Thursday evening at the Staples Center.

See photos of the pair below:

Ahead of the matchup in LA, which Cleveland won, 120-108 -- despite Kobe's 26 points on 11-of-16 shooting -- James shared a video tribute to Bryant via UNINTERRUPTED via the go90 app.

Image via go90

"Much respect and much love for the Mamba, Kobe Bean Bryant, for sure," LeBron said in the Uninterrupted clip.

Check out the rest of LeBron's exclusive video tribute to Bryant on the go90 app! You can find it on the App Store or on Google Play by clicking either of the two buttons below.