It will forever go down as basketball's version of Dan and Dave. A rivalry manufactured on Madison Ave. and idealistically played out in boardrooms like children toying with puppets.

Kobe versus LeBron is dead -- again -- and sadly we may never see it.

As the country searches to find the deeper meaning of LeBron James being humbled in the postseason, another embarrassing playoff exit for a player who seems to be regressing in the clutch since being swept out of the NBA Finals three years ago, I'm still coming to grips with the death of the Kobe Bryant-LeBron James Final we've been promised for the past two years.

LeBron will be fine. I'm not worried about him or his legacy. He will re-sign with Cleveland or go to New York, continue to make millions of dollars and establish himself as one of the greatest basketball players ever. Whether or not he finishes his career with a handful of championship rings is inconsequential to me and something I'm not going to lose any sleep over until he tearfully retires without a title. I'm sorry if I'm not ready to write the review of a play halfway through Act I.

Dan O'Brien, left, and Dave Johnson were part of a Reebok advertising campaign that never realized its potential for the 1992 Barcelona Olympics. Tim DeFrisco /Getty Images

We still have at least 10 more years to shape and mold LeBron's legacy. I know we'd all love to gift-wrap and mail in the career of a 25-year-old player in a quick 30-second sound bite or a 30-inch column, but it can't be done and I won't do it.

LeBron's career will not be defined by one playoff series. He'll recover, but what we lost tonight and might never get again is Kobe versus LeBron in the NBA Finals, which is not only a huge loss for the NBA but for both of their legacies.

No matter what LeBron ends up doing in the offseason we can all agree the odds of him reaching the NBA Finals next season aren't as much of a foregone conclusion as we had previously thought. If he returns to Cleveland, the Cavaliers, after being eliminated before the Finals despite having the best record in the league the past two seasons, have to make major changes to get past the Celtics and more important the Magic. If he goes to New York, the Knicks' rebuilding process will be even more daunting.

Meanwhile, Kobe will turn 32 in August and has already shown the wear and tear of a player in the back end of his career. If we were going to get Kobe versus LeBron in the Finals it had to be last year or this year. If we end up getting it two or three years from now it will be like watching Robert De Niro and Marlon Brando in "The Score." It might not be terrible, but you'll always wonder how amazing it would have been if they were both in their prime.

The truth is Kobe needs LeBron and LeBron needs Kobe. As manufactured as their rivalry may be, they need to face one another to validate their accomplishments during a time when you are judged by your competition as much as your talent. Yes, Kobe finally won a championship without Shaquille O'Neal last season when the Lakers beat the Magic, but how much bigger would the victory have been viewed historically and by his critics if he had taken down LeBron in the process? It would have been infinitely more memorable if Kobe had his hands raised while LeBron was walking off the court with his head down behind him.