Rich Paul pushed back on one of the NBA’s longest-running debates while speaking on the Game Over podcast, offering a blunt assessment of LeBron James’ supposed rivalry with Carmelo Anthony. According to Paul, the matchup fans wanted never truly materialized, and for a very particular reason.
“You have to meet in the playoffs or Finals,” Paul said. “Over time, it definitely wasn’t a rivalry because LeBron skipped over to people that weren’t even his peers. He was being held to the standard of people who weren’t even his peers. One was gone, he was the ghost in Michael Jordan. The other one was Kobe. We all wanted that matchup in 2009.”
Early in their careers, LeBron and Carmelo were often grouped as the faces of a new generation. They entered the league one year apart, shared Olympic experiences, and were constantly compared as elite scorers and franchise cornerstones. On paper, the ingredients for a rivalry were there, but the paths never properly aligned.
In reality, there was always a wide gap between him and LeBron, and that disparity extended to the success of their respective teams. Compared to James’ status as a four-time champion and four-time MVP, Anthony has far less to show for his NBA tenure despite averages of 22.5 points, 6.2 rebounds, 2.7 assists, 0.7 steals, and 0.8 blocks per game on 44.1 percent shooting (37.5 percent from three).
Famously, they clashed only a handful of times in the playoffs, where LeBron holds an 8-2 record against Anthony. Their first major showdown came in 2012, when James’ Heat faced Anthony’s Knicks with both stars in their prime. They also met in the 2020 playoffs, when the Lakers eliminated the Trail Blazers in the first round.
For Carmelo, postseason success was always the missing piece, and it is why he never truly had the opportunity to challenge LeBron when it mattered most. Despite his scoring brilliance, his teams consistently fell short in the playoffs, with deep runs being rare and fleeting. That lack of sustained postseason impact prevented the type of head-to-head battles that define true rivalries in NBA history.
According to Paul, LeBron’s true rival was always Kobe Bryant. As a five-time champion, former MVP, and Lakers legend, his legacy was the only one that could compare to Kobe’s at the time. LeBron was measured against Bryant from day one, not because of proximity in age or circumstance, but because of expectations tied to greatness and legacy.
The LeBron-Kobe dynamic carried real weight, even without a Finals matchup. Their overlap defined an era, with fans and media constantly debating styles, leadership, and championship pedigree. The showdown everyone wanted in 2009 never came, due to LeBron’s Cavaliers getting bounced in the Eastern Conference Finals by the Magic, but it still leaves fans wondering about the clash that never was.
In the end, Paul’s perspective reframes a debate that has lingered for years. Rivalries are built on moments that collide at the highest stage, and LeBron never truly shared that stage with Carmelo in the way history demands. Instead, his journey was defined by chasing ghosts and measuring himself against legends, leaving what could have been a rivalry as nothing more than a comparison that never fully came to life.
