Many have made a case for LeBron James to be the greatest player of all time. James has made the most of his 20 years in the NBA and is one of the most accomplished players to ever step foot in the league. He a 4-time NBA champion and a 4-time Finals MVP. He had made 10 NBA Finals appearances altogether, including 8 in a row from 2011 through 2018. He has cemented his legacy amongst the greats such as Michael Jordan, Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, and Magic Johnson.
- LeBron James’ Best Records vs. Individual Opponents
- LeBron James Has Interesting Head To Head Records Against Other Great Players Of His Era
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As far as individual records go, LeBron James has a perfect record against 332 different players. I will touch on some of the more overwhelming undefeated records rather than touch on all 332. Otherwise, you may not see me publish another article until the 4th of July. Remember that these individual undefeated records are simply for the fun and love of the game. None of this will move the needle in either direction as far as LeBron James’ all-time ranking goes. In the end, we will cover some of the more interesting records against some of the greats he has faced off against at the small forward position as well, undefeated or otherwise.
Here are LeBron James’ most outstanding undefeated records against NBA rivals.
*Rule: Players must have played at least 8 games against LeBron James to qualify for this list
LeBron James’ Best Records vs. Individual Opponents
14-0 vs. Chris Douglas-Roberts
12-0 vs. Andrew Nicholson
11-0 vs. Wesley Johnson
10-0 vs. Jordan Hill
9-0 vs. Hollis Thompson
9-0 vs. Craig Smith
8-0 vs. Christian Wood
8-0 vs. Jamario Moon
The opponent that LeBron James dominated most in his career was Chris Douglas-Roberts at a whopping 14-0. Douglas-Roberts lasted just 7 seasons in the NBA and had stints with 5 different teams, including the Nets, Bucks, Mavericks, Hornets, and Clippers. In these 14 games, Douglas-Roberts started just 2 of them and averaged 9.5 PPG and 1.8 RPG. James, on the other hand, dominated the games between them, averaging 30.1 PPG, 8.4 RPG, and 7.9 APG. Douglas-Roberts retired in 2015 after 7 years of NBA service at 28 years old.
The next best-undefeated record that James had against any opponent was 12-0 vs. Andrew Nicholson. Andrew Nicholson was a 6’9’’ power forward who played in the NBA for 5 seasons with the Magic, Nets, and Wizards. He spent 4 seasons with Orlando until he was released and signed by the Wizards in 2016. He was traded to Brooklyn midway through that season and retired shortly after. In head-to-head competition, Nicholson averaged 4.8 PPG and 2.8 RPG while being in the starting lineup 3 times. James averaged 23.6 PPG, 6.5 RPG, and 8.4 APG in the 12 games in which they faced off.
LeBron James also went 11-0 against Wesley Johnson. He was a shooting guard/small forward that played 9 seasons in the NBA with 6 different teams. For his career, Johnson averaged 7.0 PPG and 3.2 RPG in 609 career contests. Johnson started 6 games against James and averaged 8.8 PPG and 3.0 RPG. James dominated the competition between the two, averaging 26.9 PPG, 7.7 RPG, and 7.2 APG. Most of these contests came when Johnson was a member of the Timberwolves during James’ Miami Heat days.
James’ next most defeated opponent was Jordan Hill. Hill was a highly-touted prospect out of Arizona but never seemed to find his place with any NBA franchise he played for. Most notably, Hill was with the Lakers from 2012 through 2015. In these 10 games against LeBron, Hill averaged 9.3 PPG and 5.2 RPG while making 6 starts. James used to kill the team that Hill played for by averaging 30.1 PPG, 8.0 RPG, and 6.2 APG. Hill did have a 20-point game against LeBron back in 2015 when he played for the Lakers but he never did enough to secure his team a win.
The final opponent that LeBron James never lost to that we will discuss today is Craig Smith. Smith was a 6’7’’ power forward that played just 6 seasons in the NBA from 2007 through 2012. He spent time with the Timberwolves, Clippers, and Trail Blazers, and his best season came in 2009 when he averaged 10.1 PPG and 3.8 RPG. In 9 games against James, Smith averaged 9.0 PPG and 4.7 RPG. James was his usual dominant self against Smith, averaging 33.6 PPG, 8.1 RPG, 6.8 APG, and 2.2 SPG. in 8 of the 9 games against Smith, James poured in 30 or more points.
LeBron James Has Interesting Head To Head Records Against Other Great Players Of His Era
While we have discussed the undefeated records against certain opponents for LeBron, what about some of the less-than-memorable records? Paul Pierce has often been critical of James during his post-playing career as an NBA analyst. James and Pierce met 69 times in their career, with James gaining a 1-game advantage with a 35-34 record against Pierce. One of the few losing records that James had in his career came against Rasheed Wallace. James and Wallace met 51 times in their career, with Wallace winning 27 of the games compared to James’ 24.
As teammates, Danny Green and LeBron James won a championship together in 2020. As opponents, Green’s teams own a staggering record of 17-8 against James’ teams. In 38 games against Klay Thompson and the Warriors, James has been highly unsuccessful as well as Klay has a 25-13 record in his career against him. Again, these records mean almost nothing when you consider that basketball has always been and will always be a team sport. However, isn’t it at least a bit fun to see who James has dominated and who has dominated him?
