A real monster since his arrival in the league, LeBron James has terrorized countless opponents over the past 20 years. However, some of them managed to find the way to become the King’s kryptonite. Focus on these 3 players that the Lakers superstar hates to meet on the court!
Domination, that’s a word that pretty much sums up the 20 years spent by LeBron James in the NBA. Nothing illustrates this better than the King’s incredible winning percentages against certain opponents. His favorite victim? Kemba Walker, whom he beat 30 times in 31 encounters. A lunar statistic, and yet very real.
Similarly, LeBron holds a hitting percentage of over 95% over Cody Zeller and Michael Kidd-Gilchrist. Suffice to say that it is especially the Hornets, or ex-Hornets, that James took pleasure in martyring during his career. Some will see it as an additional motivation linked to the fact that Michael Jordan is the owner…
The 3 players against whom LeBron James can’t do it
Contrary to this outrageous domination, the quadruple NBA champion has also crossed paths with players who are much less successful for him. In this little game, it is Danny Green who holds the prize, since the sniper has beaten James in 17 of their 25 encounters! No one has done better in NBA history than that 28% percentage against the Chosen One.
Obviously, Green benefits from his very long spell at Spurs, who have long dominated LeBron James and his Cavaliers. The 2007 Finals, won 4-0 without mercy, are a perfect example. History will also remember that it was when he became a teammate from the back, and no longer an adversary, that the future Hall of Famer hung the famous 4th ring on his prize list in 2020.
Apart from Danny Green, who is a role player, the numbers are implacable: the two stars who have given him the most trouble are Kawhi Leonard and Klay Thompson. “The Klaw”, who is also benefiting from his early career at Spurs, has won 64.3% of his 28 games against James, while the Splash Bro has been successful in 64.1% of his 39 games against to LeBron.
These rather impressive figures certainly highlight the fact that the native of Akron is possible to beat regularly, but also (and above all) that a great team is necessary at his side to achieve this. It is perhaps Kawhi Leonard who knew how to clear the most deserving path to this top 3. We also remember that in his younger years, the silent Clippers winger made a LeBron see all the colors yet at its prime…
LeBron James may have reigned supreme over a large part of the league, 3 players are resisting and know how to beat the King most of the time. Suffice to say that on the side of the Lakers, we do not really want to meet the Cavs, the Clippers or the Warriors in the playoffs!
