History UsefulNotes / LeBronJames

James' [[MasterOfAll incredible versatility]] have led to comparisons to multiple Hall of Famers of varying skill sets, from Magic Johnson and UsefulNotes/MichaelJordan to Karl Malone and Oscar Robertson. Due to his athletic ability, he is one of the best slashers and finishers in basketball, having led the league in completed traditional three point plays during various points in his career. His size also allows him to rebound the ball effectively, and he regularly ranks among the league leaders in rebounds for his position. Furthermore, he is an unusually gifted passer for his position, averaging 10.2 assists per game during the 2019–20 campaign to ''lead the league'' in that category. Also adding to his utility is his durability; while injuries have recently become a more recurring problem for the aging star, through most of his career you couldn't keep him off the court, and he is one of only three players to lead the NBA in minutes played in 3+ seasons. He led both teams in the 2016 Finals in points, assists, rebounds, steals, and blocked shots, something that has never been done before in any playoff series. Even in defeat, he can still be enormously dominant—in the Cavs' 2017 Finals loss to the Dubs, he became the first player ever to average a triple-double in the Finals. He is the only player in NBA history to post 10,000 points, rebounds, and assists, and he is the only individual to have been named Sportsperson of the Year by ''Magazine/SportsIllustrated'' three times.[[labelnote:*]]2012 and 2016 by himself; 2020 with four others in three sports[[/labelnote]].

James' [[MasterOfAll incredible versatility]] have led to comparisons to multiple Hall of Famers of varying skill sets, from Magic Johnson and UsefulNotes/MichaelJordan to Karl Malone and Oscar Robertson. Due to his athletic ability, he is one of the best slashers and finishers in basketball, having led the league in completed traditional three point plays during various points in his career. His size also allows him to rebound the ball effectively, and he regularly ranks among the league leaders in rebounds for his position. Furthermore, he is an unusually gifted passer for his position, averaging 10.2 assists per game during the 2019–20 campaign to ''lead the league'' in that category. Also adding to his utility is his durability; while injuries have recently become a more recurring problem for the aging star, through most of his career you couldn't keep him off the court, and he is one of only three players to lead the NBA in minutes played in 3+ seasons. He led both teams in the 2016 Finals in points, assists, rebounds, steals, and blocked shots, something that has never been done before in any playoff series. Even in defeat, he can still be enormously dominant—in the Cavs' 2017 Finals loss to the Dubs, he became the first player ever to average a triple-double in the Finals. He is the only player in NBA history to post 10,000 points, rebounds, and assists, and he is the only individual to have been named Sportsperson of the Year by ''Magazine/SportsIllustrated'' three times.[[labelnote:*]]2012 and 2016 by himself; 2020 with four others in three sports[[/labelnote]]. His longevity and sustained dominance, combined with his business savvy, made him the first person to ever earn $1 billion ''solely'' from playing basketball, though he has likely made far more from both advertising and his diverse investments.

He produced and starred in ''Film/SpaceJamANewLegacy'', the long-awaited sequel to ''Film/SpaceJam'' (which, fittingly, had starred Jordan). He likewise prominently features AsHimself in ''Film/{{Trainwreck}}'' and ''Film/{{House Party|2023}}'' (2023). His likeness also appeared in ''VideoGame/MultiVersus'', voiced by Creator/JohnEricBentley, and has been featured on the cover of ''VideoGame/NBA2K 14'' and the special edition of ''19''.

** They each won 4 mvps.

** Wilt's rival was a smaller man who only played for one franchise. Steph Curry is smaller than [=LeBron=] and only played for the Warriors so far. Both also had losing finals records against their rivals.
** Finally, Wilt is the only player in NBA history to have his jersey retired by 3 franchises. It is about 99.9% certain that [=LeBron=] will be the second.

** Finally, Wilt is the only player in NBA history to have his jersey retired by 3 franchises. It is about 99.9% certain that [[=LeBron=]] will be the second.

** Certain NBA fans also consider UsefulNotes/StephenCurry and the Golden State Warriors as this by comparison to [=LeBron=] James, primarily due to Curry's record against [=LeBron=] and the Cavaliers in the four straight years they competed against each other in the NBA Finals (even with the aforementioned Kevin Durant bit in mind), as well as Curry tying James for NBA Finals championships won by the end of the 2021-22 season. As of may 2023, their head-to-head team record is 3-2 in Curry's favour, but in 4 out of those 5 series, LeBron outplayed Curry.

** Certain NBA fans also consider UsefulNotes/StephenCurry and the Golden State Warriors as this by comparison to [=LeBron=] James, primarily due to Curry's record against [=LeBron=] and the Cavaliers in the four straight years they competed against each other in the NBA Finals (even with the aforementioned Kevin Durant bit in mind), as well as Curry tying James for NBA Finals championships won by the end of the 2021-22 season.

** Wilt and LeBron both ended up playing (and winning titles) for the teams that represented their hometowns. Furthermore they won them after going back home after several years already into their careers (Wilt from San Francisco, LeBron from Miami).

** Wilt played for three franchises and ended his career with the Lakers, LeBron has so far played for three with the Lakers being his latest one.

** Wilt's rival was a smaller man who only played for one franchise. Steph Curry is smaller than LeBron and only played for the Warriors so far. Both also had losing finals records against their rivals.

[=LeBron=] Raymone James, Sr. (born December 30, 1984 in Akron, Ohio) is an UsefulNotes/{{N|ationalBasketballAssociation}}BA small forward for the Los Angeles Lakers. Previously, he played for the Cleveland Cavaliers and Miami Heat, winning championships for each team he's played (coincidentally, every time he left for another team he would win in his second year).

Considered to be the face of the league since at least the start of the 2010s, if not earlier than that, [=LeBron=] is the NBA's all-time leader in points scored and is the holder of four NBA championships and four NBA MVP awards. With numerous other awards such as four NBA Finals MVP awards, an NBA scoring title, selections to the NBA All-Star Game (all as a starter) in all but one of his 20 seasons in the league, records of 18 overall and 13 first-team All-NBA selections, a Rookie of the Year award, and two Olympic Gold Medals, he is considered by many to be the greatest basketball player since UsefulNotes/MichaelJordan (and some will argue that James is superior). Not to mention that he's the only individual to have been named Sportsperson of the Year by ''Magazine/SportsIllustrated'' three times.[[labelnote:*]]2012 and 2016 by himself; 2020 with four others in three sports[[/labelnote]]

He produced and starred in ''Film/SpaceJamANewLegacy'', the long-awaited sequel to ''Film/SpaceJam'' (which, fittingly, had starred Jordan). He likewise prominently features AsHimself in ''Film/{{Trainwreck}}'' and ''Film/{{House Party|2023}}'' (2023). His likeness also appeared in ''VideoGame/MultiVersus'', voiced by Creator/JohnEricBentley.

** Michael Jordan is this to him. While it's debatable who is the better player, Jordan has the accolades to back him up, winning as many Finals series as [=LeBron=] has lost. [=LeBron=] himself has stated that his main motivation is to catch "the ghost [who] played in Chicago". As time has gone by, Jordan's state as the undisputed #1 has come more and more under fire. Younger NBA fans tend to gravitate more towards James, while older ones tend to move towards Jordan.

In 2018 when he once again became a free agent and then signed with the Los Angeles Lakers fans were left sad, but not angered this time around, thanking him for leading the Cavaliers to four consecutive Finals appearances and one championship, Cleveland's first in over 50 years. In a sense, he accomplished his goal that he first set out for Cleveland back when he first joined the Cavaliers back in 2003, as noted back in the spoof of his "What should I do?" ad that the city of Cleveland responded to earlier in the decade.

** His fandom clashed with Kobe Bryant's in the late 2000s/early 2010s, particularly before [=LeBron=] started to win championships and firmly established himself as one of the best players to ever touch a basketball. This slowly waned when [=LeBron=] moved to the Lakers in 2018, at which point the strong personal friendship both shared helped improve his reputation as Kobe's successor in being the Laker superstar capable of bringing the organization more championship gold. [=LeBron=]'s later comments in the wake of Kobe's passing further established his dedication to the Lakers' cause further, culminating with a successful NBA championship run dedicated to the Black Mamba's memory.

[[caption-width-right:350:During his time with the Lakers.]]

** On January 15, 2023, James became the only other player in NBA history to reach the 38,000 point milestone barrier in a match against the Philadelphia 76ers. Less than a month later, on February 7, he surpassed Kareem Abdul-Jabbar to become the all-time leading scorer, a record that was once considered impossible for someone in the NBA to break back in the day. He scored 38 points (with the last basket made being a fadeaway jumpshot near the end of the third quarter) in front of a home crowd at the Crypto.com Arena that also featured Kareem himself in the stands in a match against the Oklahoma City Thunder. To put into perspective how incredible his moment was, it was done while James had to play in ''three different seasons shortened by factors completely out of his control'' (the first being cut to 66 regular season games due to the 2011 NBA lockout period and the last two being cut completely unexpectedly due to the UsefulNotes/COVID19Pandemic and the effects it had upon the world in the years 2020 & 2021 in particular, with the former (2019-20 season) having 71 regular season games played for the Lakers and the latter (2020-21 season) having 72 regular season games for everyone), meaning he could have legitimately gotten to those milestones of his a lot sooner than that had those other three seasons been more normalized by comparison! He also tied Kareem Abdul-Jabbar's All-Star record around that same period of time by being named an All-Star for the 19th straight time in a row, which he holds a record for most consecutive All-Star appearances in a row and most All-Star starting appearances in general. As another reminder, his only season without an All-Star selection to his name as of 2023 was his rookie season, where he showcased his talents well enough to have been named an All-Star that season also if he were allowed to have been one at that time.

** In terms of player profiles that compare more to [=LeBron=] by comparison, Kevin Durant is a more noteworthy comparison. Both players are forwards that have similar heights (6'9" for [=LeBron=], 6'10" for Durant, though the latter claims he's 7'0" in shoes), similar career averages, and similar builds and playing structures. In each NBA Finals appearance Kevin Durant was in before [=LeBron=] moved to the Western Conference for the 2018-19 season, he had to go through James and whatever team he was on at the time in order to get what he wanted, with Durant failing to lead the Oklahoma City Thunder to a championship in 2012 over the Big 3 that the Miami Heat had, but easily being able to beat the Cleveland Cavaliers' Big 3 in 2017 and the remnants of that squad in 2018 while with the Golden State Warriors. When Durant left the Warriors to join the Brooklyn Nets in the 2019-20 season, the rivalry between them was more limited in terms of productivity, with the closest competition between them outside of Lakers Vs. Nets matches being All-Star matches where each player was the team captain of their respective teams in that time. However, with Durant being traded to the division rivaling Phoenix Suns in 2023, it's very likely this particular rivalry will become a very heated one once more going forward.

** In terms of player profiles that compare more to [=LeBron=] by comparison, Kevin Durant is a more noteworthy comparison. Both players are forwards that have similar heights (6'9" for [=LeBron=], 6'10" for Durant, though the latter claims he's 7'0" in shoes), similar career averages, and similar builds and playing structures. In each NBA Finals appearance Kevin Durant was in before [=LeBron=] moved to the Western Conference for the 2018-19 season, he had to go through James and whatever team he was on at the time in order to get what he wanted, with Durant failing to lead the Oklahoma City Thunder to a championship in 2012 over the Big 3 that the Miami Heat had, but easily being able to beat the Cleveland Cavaliers' Big 3 in 2017 & 2018 while with the Golden State Warriors. When Durant left the Warriors to join the Brooklyn Nets in the 2019-20 season, the rivalry between them was more limited in terms of productivity, with the closest competition between them outside of Lakers Vs. Nets matches being All-Star matches where each player was the team captain of their respective teams in that time. However, with Durant being traded to the division rivaling Phoenix Suns in 2023, it's very likely this particular rivalry will become a very heated one once more going forward.

* NumerologicalMotif: He became the all-time leading scorer by getting point 38,388. On that day he scored 38 points. He was 38 years old. Kareem Abdul-Jabbar had the record for 38 years. This happened on the 7th of February.. a.k.a., the [[HolyshitQuotient 38th day of the year]].
* PowerupLetdown: The 2021-22 Lakers were considered exactly that, despite James doing everything he could to not let that happen to them. In addition to [=LeBron=] and Anthony Davis returning, the Lakers also acquired more (super)star caliber players like L.A. native Russell Westbrook, Carmelo Anthony, and [=DeAndre=] Jordan, as well as reacquired Dwight Howard once again to have a star-studded roster fitting to compete against what the Brooklyn Nets had done the previous two seasons with Kevin Durant, Kyrie Irving, and many other players of similar (super)star caliber talents like James Harden, [=DeAndre=] Jordan, Blake Griffin, [=LaMarcus=] Aldridge, Paul Millsap, Ben Simmons, Andre Drummond, and Goran Dragić (though not all of them played together with the Nets for fairly obvious reasons). Unlike those Nets teams, though, who at the very least played in the Playoffs in both of those seasons, the 2021-22 Lakers somehow managed to perform even worse than they did in [=LeBron=]'s first season in Los Angeles, despite having a much more talented looking roster on paper and a championship winning head coach in Frank Vogel. That season led to Vogel being fired after the end of it for the Lakers.

He produced and starred in ''Film/SpaceJamANewLegacy'', the long-awaited sequel to ''Film/SpaceJam'' (which, fittingly, had starred Jordan). He likewise prominently features AsHimself in ''Film/{{Trainwreck}}'' and ''Film/{{House Party|2023}}'' (2023). His likeness also appears in ''VideoGame/MultiVersus'', voiced by Creator/JohnEricBentley.

** On January 15, 2023, James became the only other player in NBA history to reach the 38,000 point milestone barrier in a match against the Philadelphia 76ers. Less than a month later, on February 7, he surpassed Kareem Abdul-Jabbar to become the all-time leading scorer, a record that was once considered impossible for someone in the NBA to break back in the day. He scored 38 points (with the last basket made being a fadeaway jumpshot near the end of the third quarter) in front of a home crowd at the Crypto.com Arena that also featured Kareem himself in the stands in a match against the Oklahoma City Thunder. To put into perspective how incredible his moment was, it was done while James had to play in ''three different seasons shortened by factors completely out of his control'' (the first being cut to 66 regular season games due to the 2011 NBA lockout period and the last two being cut completely unexpectedly due to the UsefulNotes/COVID19Pandemic and the effects it had upon the world in the years 2020 & 2021 in particular, with the former having 71 regular season games played for the Lakers and the latter having 72 regular season games for everyone), meaning he could have legitimately gotten to those milestones of his a lot sooner than that had those other three seasons been more normalized by comparison! He also tied Kareem Abdul-Jabbar's All-Star record around that same period of time by being named an All-Star for the 19th straight time in a row, which he holds a record for most consecutive All-Star appearances in a row and most All-Star starting appearances in general. As another reminder, his only season without an All-Star selection to his name as of 2023 was his rookie season, where he showcased his talents well enough to have been named an All-Star that season also if he were allowed to have been one at that time.

** On January 15, 2023, James became the only other player in NBA history to reach the 38,000 point milestone barrier in a match against the Philadelphia 76ers. Less than a month later, on February 7, he surpassed Kareem Abdul-Jabbar to become the all-time leading scorer, a record that was once considered impossible for someone in the NBA to break back in the day. He scored 38 points (with the last basket made being a fadeaway jumpshot near the end of the third quarter) in front of a home crowd at the Crypto.com Arena that also featured Kareem himself in the stands in a match against the Oklahoma City Thunder. To put into perspective how incredible his moment was, it was done while James had to play in ''three different seasons shortened by factors completely out of his control'' (the first being cut to 66 games due to the 2011 NBA lockout period and the last two being cut completely unexpectedly due to the UsefulNotes/COVID19Pandemic and the effects it had upon the world in the years 2020 & 2021 in particular), meaning he could have legitimately gotten to those milestones of his a lot sooner than that had those other three seasons been more normalized by comparison! He also tied Kareem Abdul-Jabbar's All-Star record around that same period of time by being named an All-Star for the 19th straight time in a row, which he holds a record for most consecutive All-Star appearances in a row and most All-Star starting appearances in general. As another reminder, his only season without an All-Star selection to his name as of 2023 was his rookie season, where he showcased his talents well enough to have been named an All-Star that season also if he were allowed to have been one at that time.

* EarnYourHappyEnding: The unexpected 3-1 upset comeback in the 2016 NBA Finals over UsefulNotes/StephenCurry and the Golden State Warriors can be considered that to both James and fans of the Cleveland Cavaliers. After dealing with tons of heartbreak as a team and then seeing [=LeBron=] leave for the Miami Heat, the Cavaliers easily fell into the doldrums of mockery once again... at least for one season. From there, they drafted Kyrie Irving, who was perceived as their next superstar in the making, and even after winning two championships with the Heat, [=LeBron=] felt like he saw something in that team to come back to them for a second run over staying with Miami and their aging duo of Dwyane Wade and Chris Bosh. After trading Cleveland's last two #1 picks (Anthony Bennett & Andrew Wiggins) to the Minnesota Timberwolves for Kevin Love (thus creating a new Big 3 in Cleveland), the Cavaliers faced significant injuries in their return to the NBA Finals, losing a 4-1 series to the Golden State Warriors in 2015. To make matters worse for them, not only did Golden State improve themselves to legendary team status with a 73-9 NBA record (surpassing even UsefulNotes/MichaelJordan and the 1995-96 Chicago Bulls' all-time best record of 72-10) that also overcame a 3-1 upset series comeback themselves in the Western Conference Finals, but Cleveland fired head coach David Blatt (someone who was well respected as a basketball coach in Israel) and replaced him with a then-unproven interim head coach in Tyronn Lue (someone that some fans probably would best remember as being mocked by Allen Iverson in the 2001 NBA Finals) during the season. Despite these unexpected setbacks, however, the Cavaliers not only returned to the NBA Finals once again, but dealt with serious adversity early on that series before a reversal of fortunes ended up changing fate for the Cavaliers, giving them the unexpected upset over an all-time great team and letting [=LeBron=] fulfill his original destiny of winning a championship for Cleveland at long last.

* EarnYourHappyEnding: The unexpected 3-1 upset comeback in the 2016 NBA Finals over UsefulNotes/StephenCurry and the Golden State Warriors can be considered that to both James and fans of the Cleveland Cavaliers. After dealing with tons of heartbreak as a team and then seeing [=LeBron=] leave for the Miami Heat, the Cavaliers easily fell into the doldrums of mockery once again... at least for one season. From there, they drafted Kyrie Irving, who was perceived as their next superstar in the making, and even after winning two championships with the Heat, [=LeBron=] felt like he saw something in that team to come back to them for a second run over staying with Miami and their aging duo of Dwyane Wade and Chris Bosh. After trading Cleveland's last two #1 picks (Anthony Bennett & Andrew Wiggins) to the Minnesota Timberwolves for Kevin Love (thus creating a new Big 3 in Cleveland), the Cavaliers faced significant injuries in their return to the NBA Finals, losing a 4-1 series to the Golden State Warriors in 2015. To make matters worse for them, not only did Golden State improve themselves to legendary team status with a 73-9 NBA record (surpassing even UsefulNotes/MichaelJordan and the 1995-96 Chicago Bulls' all-time best record of 72-10), but Cleveland fired head coach David Blatt (someone who was well respected in Israel) and replaced him with a then-unproven interim head coach in Tyronn Lue (someone that some fans probably would best remember as being mocked by Allen Iverson in the 2001 NBA Finals). Despite these unexpected setbacks, however, the Cavaliers not only returned to the NBA Finals once again, but dealt with serious adversity early on that series before a reversal of fortunes ended up changing fate for the Cavaliers, giving them the unexpected upset over an all-time great team and letting [=LeBron=] fulfill his original destiny of winning a championship for Cleveland at long last.

** In terms of player profiles that compare more to [=LeBron=] by comparison, Kevin Durant is a more noteworthy comparison in terms of exactly that. Both players are forwards that have similar heights to each other (6'9" for [=LeBron=], 6'10" for Durant, though the latter claims he's 7'0" in shoes), similar career averages, and similar builds and playing structures that make them easily comparable to each other. In each NBA Finals appearance Kevin Durant was in before [=LeBron=] moved to the Western Conference for the 2018-19 season, he had to go through James and whatever team he was on at the time in order to get what he wanted, with Durant failing to lead the Oklahoma City Thunder to a championship in 2012 over the Big 3 that the Miami Heat had, but easily being able to beat the Cleveland Cavaliers' Big 3 in 2017 & 2018 while with the Golden State Warriors. When Durant left the Warriors to join the Brooklyn Nets in the 2019-20 season, the rivalry between them was more limited in terms of productivity, with the closest competition between them outside of Lakers Vs. Nets matches being All-Star matches where each player was the team captain of their respective teams in that time. However, with Durant being traded to the division rivaling Phoenix Suns on February 9, 2023, it's very likely this particular rivalry will become a very heated one once more going forward.

* TheRival: UsefulNotes/StephenCurry. The rivalry practically writes itself. As if it's not enough that James' Cavaliers and Curry's Warriors are the only two teams in NBA history to meet in four consecutive Finals series (no other pair of teams has done it more than twice), James and Curry are almost the complete antithesis of one another as players. Curry is a masterful shooter who, by NBA standards, is nothing special physically and relies on scoring from the outside. [=LeBron=] is arguably the most physically gifted NBA player of all time who scores primarily at the rim. The two get bonus rivalry points for the fact that [[https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/early-lead/wp/2015/05/28/lebron-james-and-steph-curry-were-born-in-the-same-akron-hospital-39-months-apart/ they were born in the same hospital 3 years apart]], Curry to a millionaire NBA player father and [=LeBron=] to a single mom on public assistance; the difference is almost comic book-like. Even as recent as the 2021 play-in tournament, [=LeBron=] and Curry had to compete hard against each other to earn a playoff spot for that season, with James and the Lakers making it in and Curry and the Warriors failing to enter that season.

** In terms of player profiles that compare more to [=LeBron=] by comparison, Kevin Durant is a more noteworthy comparison in terms of exactly that. Both players are forwards that have similar height to each other (6'9" for [=LeBron=], 6'10" for Durant, though the latter claims he's 7'0" in shoes), similar career averages, and similar builds and playing structures that make them easily comparable to each other. In each NBA Finals appearance Kevin Durant was in before [=LeBron=] moved to the Western Conference for the 2018-19 season, he had to go through James and whatever team he was on at the time in order to get what he wanted, with Durant failing to lead the Oklahoma City Thunder to a championship in 2012 over the Big 3 that the Miami Heat had, but easily being able to beat the Cleveland Cavaliers' Big 3 in 2017 & 2018 while with the Golden State Warriors. When Durant left the Warriors to join the Brooklyn Nets in the 2019-20 season, the rivalry between them was more limited in terms of productivity, with the closest competition between them outside of Lakers Vs. Nets matches being All-Star matches where each player was the team captain of their respective teams in that time. However, with Durant being traded to the division rivaling Phoenix Suns on February 9, 2023, it's very likely this particular rivalry will become a very heated one once more going forward.

** In terms of player profiles that compare more to [=LeBron=] by comparison, Kevin Durant is a more noteworthy comparison in terms of player profiles. Both players are forwards that have similar height to each other (6'9" for [=LeBron=], 6'10" for Durant, though the latter claims he's 7'0" in shoes), similar career averages, and similar builds and playing structures that make them easily comparable to each other. In each NBA Finals appearance Kevin Durant was in before [=LeBron=] moved to the Western Conference for the 2018-19 season, he had to go through James and whatever team he was on at the time in order to get what he wanted, with Durant failing to lead the Oklahoma City Thunder to a championship in 2012 over the Big 3 that the Miami Heat had, but easily being able to beat the Cleveland Cavaliers' Big 3 in 2017 & 2018 while with the Golden State Warriors. When Durant left the Warriors to join the Brooklyn Nets in the 2019-20 season, the rivalry between them was more limited in terms of productivity, with the closest competition between them outside of Lakers Vs. Nets matches being All-Star matches where each player was the team captain of their respective teams in that time. However, with Durant being traded to the division rivaling Phoenix Suns on February 9, 2023, it's very likely this particular rivalry will become a very heated one once more going forward.

* TheRival: UsefulNotes/StephenCurry. The rivalry practically writes itself. As if it's not enough that James' Cavaliers and Curry's Warriors are the only two teams in NBA history to meet in four consecutive Finals series (no other pair of teams has done it more than twice), James and Curry are almost the complete antithesis of one another as players. Curry is a masterful shooter who, by NBA standards, is nothing special physically and relies on scoring from the outside. [=LeBron=] is arguably the most physically gifted NBA player of all time who scores primarily at the rim. The two get bonus rivalry points for the fact that [[https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/early-lead/wp/2015/05/28/lebron-james-and-steph-curry-were-born-in-the-same-akron-hospital-39-months-apart/ they were born in the same hospital 3 years apart]], Curry to a millionaire NBA player father and [=LeBron=] to a single mom on public assistance; the difference is almost comic book-like. Even recently, in the 2021 play-in tournament, [=LeBron=] and Curry had to compete hard against each other to earn a playoff spot that season.

** By the time Anthony Davis was traded to the Lakers in 2019, he established this relationship with [=LeBron=] - one that actually had roots in the distant past when a younger Davis once traveled to Ohio to attend a basketball seminar ran by James. Their subsequent season saw them perform to such a great degree that their collective statline made them rival some of the greatest duos in Lakers' franchise history, such as Kobe Bryant and Shaquille O'Neal, and Magic Johnson and Kareem Abdul-Jabbar.