The concept of ‘fearing players’ in basketball is something that many associates with former opponents of Michael Jordan describing what it was like to play against him.
In the modern era where LeBron James has been the greatest, many believe players don’t fear him as they did Jordan. An anonymous NBA All-Star has reportedly compared the fear of playing LeBron to Kobe Bryant, calling Bryant Mike Tyson and LeBron Floyd Mayweather.
An anonymous All-Star guard compares Kobe Bryant and LeBron James to Mike Tyson and Floyd Mayweather
“You know you're going to lose to both because they're both great, but it's going to hurt more to fight Tyson than Floyd. Floyd will beat you, but he's not going to hurt you.… pic.twitter.com/alfMnCmb1s
— NBACentral (@TheDunkCentral) March 22, 2023
This is an interesting analogy. Floyd has an impeccable record inside the ring, never losing a single fight in his entire career. But Floyd didn’t make his name by being scary or explosive, but by being a skilled fighter that would beat you with impeccable technique. Tyson was a power puncher and a legendary knockout artist. However, Tyson did have his fair share of losses, including legendary upsets.
Nobody Fears LeBron James?
LeBron James has never set out to make opponents fear him. He is generally likable and polite to players in the league with him, often becoming good friends with top stars around the league. Kobe Bryant is an example as well, as LeBron and he shared a strong relationship.
There are clear instances of players being terrified to go up against LeBron. George Hill once famously said only God was scarier than LeBron James. There are 14 teams in the Eastern Conference that had no hope for success for 8 consecutive years because LeBron would beat them all and go forth to yet another NBA Finals. The Toronto Raptors are probably the best example of a team falling apart at the simple thought of playing LeBron.
The Golden State Warriors allegedly recruited Kevin Durant for the sole reason of avoiding another final upset in 2017 and beyond like they faced in 2016 as the greatest regular season team of all time. Andre Iguodala has said the Warriors would not have been able to beat LeBron again after what happened in 2016 if they didn’t have KD.
Fear of certain players is overrated. If the player doesn’t have a crew behind them, you wouldn’t fear that player with respect to their chances of beating you. Basketball is a team sport, but these larger-than-life superstars do create a mental hurdle that needs to be overcome to beat them.
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