Did LeBron EVER have to face a legitimate rival in his career?

[Kidbasketball20]

No. In terms of continually facing someone in the playoffs.


- Broken down Derrick Rose
- Old washed up KG and Pierce
- A silly no one takes seriously Lance Stephenson


Seriously.. Jordan had real rivals.... LeBron joined them. Him vs. Wade on even footing would have been a legitimate rivalry. Instead he PUSSIED OUT.

[riseagainst]

this won't end well.

[3peated]

welcome to the excuse era of basketball

[Mr.Kite]

Yea..his rival was a past his prime kobe bryant. Yet kobe won more rings than he did in the same period.

2/3 >>>>> 2/5

[SouBeachTalents]

Yea..his rival was a past his prime kobe bryant. Yet kobe won more rings than he did in the same period.

2/3 >>>>> 2/5

2 is more than 2?

[Soundwave]

http://media.nola.com/hornets_impact/photo/9676561-large.jpg

http://cdn.niketalk.com/1/19/500x1000px-LL-1961cd21_drose.jpeg

Bird-Magic ain't got nothing on that

[Trollsmasher]

Did Kobe?

Did Jordan?

[Spaulding]

Tim Duncan? I know he's old and stuff but Spurs as a whole are legit.

[CelticBalla32]

No modern day "rivalry" is anything like in the 80s/90s, but LeBron's personal history of battles with Boston is probably the closest thing to it.

Starting with Cleveland/Boston in the Conference Semifinals in 2008, where that series went 7. In 2010, the Celtics took out the Cavs for the last time before LeBron went to Miami. In 2011, Boston got destroyed but in 2012, they pushed Miami to 7 games in the Eastern Conference Finals.

All of those battles were exceptionally fun to watch. Pierce even had his first and only 50-point game of his career against LeBron/Cleveland.

But this is nothing like Celtics/Lakers back in the day or even Bulls/Knicks of the 90s, or Bulls/Bad Boys, etc. Guys are too sweet nowadays, every superstar is every other superstar's best friend.

[Kidbasketball20]

Tim Duncan? I know he's old and stuff but Spurs as a whole are legit.

If LeBron played in the West maybe and had to face the SPurs year in and year out in the playoffs.

[CelticBalla32]

Did Kobe?

Did Jordan?

Jordan absolutely did. The Bad Boys beat him up multiple times and brought the best out of him, and then the Bulls vs. Patrick Ewing's Knicks throughout the 90s was very intense. Lots of tempers flaring, lots of heated battles, altercations, they both wanted to destroy each other.

[iTare]

...durant?

[Nash]

PP
Boston big 3
Spurs
smashed the superstar big 3 of OKC

[I<3NBA]

Duncan would be the closest. He's faced Duncan 3 times in the Finals and have won 1/3. the 2 times he lost, one was a sweep, the other 4-1. that's brutal.

[Soundwave]

http://media-cache-ec0.pinimg.com/236x/d7/d6/e8/d7d6e8e345fa296cf9a778c679f664e8.jpg

https://thebestten.files.wordpress.com/2010/01/jordanrules1.jpg

http://cdn.hoop365.com/wp-content/uploads/hoop365_michael_jordan_rules-youtube.jpg

http://media.tumblr.com/tumblr_ld62maq5LZ1qdkzha.jpg

https://pbs.twimg.com/media/Bld4_uUCIAA3iiD.png

:oldlol: at some of the sh*t the Pistons were allowed to get away with.

[AirGauge23]

...durant?

Yep.

This is gonna be the one for the next 5 years.

[Brokenbeat]

https://pbs.twimg.com/media/Bld4_uUCIAA3iiD.png

:oldlol: at some of the sh*t the Pistons were allowed to get away with.

Laimbeer giving noogies :roll:

[KBaller33]

KD? Why would you just leave him out?

[zoom17]

The closest is Paul Pierce they both had playoff battles throughout the years with both winning against the other.

[3ball]

KD? Why would you just leave him out?
OKC in 2012 was too young - so wet behind the ears - they were a talented team that wasn't nearly ready.

[3ball]

.
Most of Jordan's main rivals in the East had Finals experience..


1) MJ beat the 2-time defending champion Bad Boys.

2) Ewing's Knicks made the Finals each time Jordan retired in 94' and 99' - they were championship-level teams that would have made 3 or 4 more Finals if they didn't have to go thru MJ during his 3-peats.

3) MJ swept Shaq and Penny's Orlando team that had been to the Finals the previous year - obviously, Shaq and Penny is a big step up from say, Roy Hibbert and Paul George.

4) MJ beat a very deep Pacer team in 1998, led by all-stars Reggie Miller and Rik Smits - this same Pacer team made the Finals in 2000 against Shaq and Kobe's Lakers.

5) MJ beat a 3 all-star Cleveland team with Mark Price, Larry Nance and Brad Daughtery (and Ron Harper at SG with All-defensive team Hot Rod Williams at the 4) - this team won 57 games and had the #2 ranked defense when MJ's Bulls upset them with "the shot" in 1989.

6) MJ beat Pat Riley's 61-win Heat in the ECF in 5 games - those Heat had the #1 ranked defense and two all-stars in Alonzo Mourning and Tim Hardaway.


This was just to get out of the East..

How do Lebron's Eastern foes compare?... they don't - only one of them (the pre-Garnett-injury Celtics) had any Finals experience and they were old (post-Garnett-injury) when Lebron beat them.
.

[MiseryCityTexas]

Yeah these nba players aren't in love with the game like they claim to be in the tv commercials. players these days are more superficial than ever before, and basketball is just a job for them now instead of actually having fun, competing playing basketball. "we just wanna chill" - Clit Bosh.

[riseagainst]

Most of Jordan's main rivals in the East had Finals experience..


1) MJ beat the 2-time defending champion Bad Boys.

2) Ewing's Knicks made the Finals each time Jordan retired in 94' and 99' - they were championship-level teams that would have made 3 or 4 more Finals if they didn't have to go thru MJ during his 3-peats.

3) MJ swept Shaq and Penny's Orlando team that had been to the Finals the previous year - obviously, Shaq and Penny is a big step up from say, Roy Hibbert and Paul George.

4) MJ beat a very deep Pacer team in 1998, led by all-stars Reggie Miller and Rik Smits - this same Pacer team made the Finals in 2000 against Shaq and Kobe's Lakers.

5) MJ beat a 3 all-star Cleveland team with Mark Price, Larry Nance and Brad Daughtery (and Ron Harper at SG with All-defensive team Hot Rod Williams at the 4) - this team won 57 games and had the #2 ranked defense when MJ's Bulls upset them with "the shot" in 1989.

6) MJ beat Pat Riley's 61-win Heat in the ECF in 5 games - those Heat had the #1 ranked defense and two all-stars in Alonzo Mourning and Tim Hardaway.


This was just to get out of the East..

How do Lebron's Eastern foes compare?... they don't - only one of them (the pre-Garnett-injury Celtics) had any Finals experience and they were old (post-Garnett-injury) when Lebron beat them.
.

:bowdown:

[Hey Yo]

OKC in 2012 was too young - so wet behind the ears - they were a talented team that wasn't nearly ready.
They were young, but only took them 15 games to win 12 and make the Finals. They were also favored by Vegas before tip-off of game one of the Finals.

They were ready.

[3ball]

They were young, but only took them 15 games to win 12 and make the Finals. They were also favored by Vegas before tip-off of game one of the Finals.

They were ready.
OKC's offense left a lot to be desired...

A lot of teams that DIDN'T win when they got to the Finals probably wish they could have played against OKC's "ok, your turn to go 1-on-1 off-the-dribble" offense instead.

No surprise that this was Lebron's only convincing championship win out of his 5 tries.

[GODbe]

No. LeBald only chose to rival a couple role players throughout his career, such as DeShawn Stephenson, Jason Terry etc. He always stayed away from trying to anger a legend like Godbe. Regardless, Godbe never shows him mercy:applause: .

http://www.hypun.com/lollibs/gallery_thumbs_l/15197323.gif
http://www.landinails.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/11/kobe-bryant-blocks-lebron-james-ernns1ai.gif
http://31.media.tumblr.com/fb7cda7af67162ff51b05829f44301f8/tumblr_n14euzsAHI1qcmnsoo2_400.gif

[Hoopz2332]

LeBron joined them. Him vs. Wade on even footing would have been a legitimate rivalry. Instead he PUSSIED OUT.


LBJ and Wade were rivals? This is news to me.:oldlol: before the big 3 came together the heat were a sh1tty team and the Cavs were winning 60 games. Bosh was in Toronto losing/getting kicked out the 1st round.

[DaSeba5]

Paul Pierce and the Celtics?

[raprap]

Paul Pierce? Paul George? Tim Duncan and the great Spurs?

[selrahc]

LeBron's biggest rival was himself in the fourth quarter

[SCdac]

2012 ... the year Lebron had "redemption" in mind, after falling flat in the 2011 Finals... Lebron improved his post game and range and came out hungry.

http://i.dailymail.co.uk/i/pix/2012/06/13/article-0-1394D3A7000005DC-28_634x417.jpg

[Meticode]

Pierce comes to mind. It literally took it him years to get pass Boston. Father time caught up to them and he assembled with the Heat.

[K Xerxes]

OKC's offense left a lot to be desired...

A lot of teams that DIDN'T win when they got to the Finals probably wish they could have played against OKC's "ok, your turn to go 1-on-1 off-the-dribble" offense instead.

No surprise that this was Lebron's only convincing championship win out of his 5 tries.

They put up a decent points per game total. Their offense could have been improved for sure, but the main problem was their defense - mainly that they didn't make adjustments to LeBron destroying them in the post.

[DonDadda59]

A geriatric Tim Duncan. He's 1-2 against him in the finals. That one being the result of a miracle from Jesus himself. Everything else has been pure domination by Old Man Riverwalk.