LeBron James has his fair share of both haters and die-hard defenders. Many consider The King to be the greatest basketball player in history, and the fact that he made eight consecutive NBA Finals appearances and 10 total throughout his career is used to justify that. For a sizable portion of his career, James was playing at the highest level in the biggest games, regardless of if he was with the Miami Heat, Cleveland Cavaliers, or Los Angeles Lakers.
However, some critics look at James 4-6 record in the championship series to discredit his resume. Saying that James has struggled in the NBA Finals is just plain wrong, as he has some of the best production, moments, and accolades in NBA Finals history. However, a sub-.500 record in the series will always be used as a stain on his career by some. It makes sense, though, as James did nothing but take on legends and Hall of Famers in the NBA Finals, oftentimes when his team was outmatched. So, who are the best players that The Chosen One played against in the championship series throughout his career?
15. Jason Terry
NBA Finals vs. LeBron James: 2011 Dallas Mavericks
The biggest blemish on James' NBA Finals resume was his loss to the Dallas Mavericks. With the Heat, James promised not one, not two, not three, etc. championships, but he failed to deliver in his first year in Miami. The Mavericks' championship run is memorable, but a loss to Dallas was inexcusable for James because he wasn't playing as many stars as normal.
More on the Mavericks best player later, but Dallas' second-leading scorer was Jason Terry. The undersized guard nicknamed JET was known as one of the game's great bench scorers, but not necessarily one of the greatest players in the NBA overall. Still, he was a former Sixth Man of the Year award winner who got hot at the right time to provide the scoring punch the Mavericks needed off the bench.
Terry scored 18 points per game in the NBA Finals, which included a dagger over James in Game 5. He also had a game-high 27 points in the series-clinching Game 6 victory. Terry wasn't the superstar that the other 14 players on this list are/were, but he had a performance for the ages in the 2011 NBA Finals.
14. Bam Adebayo
NBA Finals vs. LeBron James: 2020 Miami Heat
One of the most standout NBA Finals series in history, and certainly during James' career, was the Lakers 2020 matchup against the Heat. That series took place during COVID-19, so players played in the Disney bubble without fans. Because there were no fans or distractions, many have said it was the purest form of basketball that the NBA has ever had.
Real hoopers were allowed to just go out there and hoop, and Bam Adebayo is certainly a baller of the purest form. The center can do a little bit of everything. He defends the paint, can score from all three levels, and has an advanced handle and playmaking abilities for a big man.
Look no further than his 83-point game to justify Adebayo's basketball abilities. Now, Adebayo wasn't at his best in the NBA Finals. His averages of 15.3 points, 6.3 rebounds, and 2.5 assists were below his career averages. The center also got hurt in Game 1 and had to miss two games. Even so, Adebayo is clearly one of the best players James has faced in the NBA Finals.
13. Andre Iguodala
NBA Finals vs. LeBron James: 2015-2018 Golden State Warriors, 2020 Miami Heat
It caught everyone off guard when Andre Iguodala won the NBA Finals MVP award in 2015. Iggy is one of the only non-superstars to ever win the award, and while many would argue Stephen Curry deserved it in 2015, Iggy certainly had a case. For starters, the veteran swingman was a defensive menace on LeBron James.
During the 2015 NBA Finals, Iguodala limited James on offense, as The King could only shoot at an inefficient clip of 33% with the former Warriors wingman guarding him. Throughout the Finals series, James was taking a lot of tough jumpers in isolation with the shot clock winding down, as Iggy forced him into difficult spots.
Although Iguodala managed to get three championships over The King with the Warriors, LeBron James made a case that he was the better player when he made an iconic block on Iguodala during the crucial moments of Game 7 in the 2016 NBA Finals, which led to a Kyrie Irving go-ahead triple that sealed the Cavs’ historic comeback. The chase down block was one of the most iconic moments in championship history.
James and Iguodala would also rekindle their rivalry when the Lakers met the Heat during the 2020 NBA Finals. Although the Heat were hoping Iggy would slow down James once again, the Lakers star proved to be too much, as James logged in 29.8 points on 59% shooting overall alongside 41.7% from deep, which earned The King his fourth NBA championship and NBA Finals MVP trophy.
Iguodala and James butted heads in five NBA Finals matchups. Iggy didn't typically put up huge numbers, but he was a constant X-Factor and deserves to be labeled one of James' best championship foes.
12. James Harden
NBA Finals vs. LeBron James: 2012 Oklahoma City Thunder
James Harden became an 11-time All-Star, former MVP winner, three-time scoring champion, and two-time assists leader during his 18-year career. He wasn't that caliber of player quite yet when he played in the NBA Finals on a young Oklahoma City Thunder team. Back in 2012, Harden was still a bench player.
He was the best bench player in the NBA back then, though. After averaging 16.8 points per game, Harden would win Sixth Man of the Year honors, and he'd show he was going to do so much more going forward when he helped lead the Thunder to a championship appearance.
Now, Harden is one of the best shooting guards in NBA history. He only ranks 12th amongst James' NBA Finals opponents because he was just getting going when the two squared off.
11. Manu Ginobili
NBA Finals vs. LeBron James: 2007, 2013-2014 San Antonio Spurs
Speaking of sixth men, unlike Harden, Manu Ginobili spent basically all of his career coming off the bench. This wasn't because he wasn't a star, nor one of the key pieces to the San Antonio Spurs dynasty, though. Gregg Popovich had Ginobili come off the bench by design, and he happened to turn into arguably the best sixth man in NBA history.
In Ginobili's three finals matchups against James, he averaged 17.8, 11.6, and 14.4 points per game, respectively, and he took home the Larry O'Brien Trophy in two of those years. While Argentinian, Ginobili played with a European flair that made him so tough to guard. His Eurostep was revolutionary, and his willingness to make the right pass resulted in a lot of winning for the Spurs. Still, he was never better than the third or fourth best option in San Antonio.
10. Russell Westbrook
NBA Finals vs. LeBron James: 2012 Oklahoma City Thunder
James faced Russell Westbrook in the 2012 NBA Finals. An all-time great point guard who would go on to become the NBA's all-time leading triple-double getter, Westbrook was a freak athlete who played with ferocious intensity. He'd hit the glass hard, get his teammates involved, and attack the rim with aggression.
In 2012, Westbrook was just getting going. He'd go on to become a nine-time All-Star, two-time scoring champion, three-time assists leader, and the 2017 MVP. Westbrook just retired this offseason, and he went down as one of the best players ever without a championship trophy. He came oh so close in 2012 during a series in which he averaged 27 points, 6.4 rebounds, and 6.6 assists per game.
9. Jimmy Butler
NBA Finals vs. LeBron James: 2020 Miami Heat
When the Heat faced LeBron and the Lakers in the 2020 NBA Finals, it looked like the Lakers would easily blow out the Heat with injuries to Goran Dragić and Bam Adebayo. However, Jimmy Butler stepped up and defiantly extended the series to six games with his efficient scoring, as he torched James and the Lakers in the midrange. Furthermore, his leadership and all-around game convinced everyone at certain parts of the series that the Heat were capable of pulling the rug from under the fire power that was the Lakers.
In Game 3 of the NBA Finals, Butler put up 40 points, 11 rebounds, and 13 assists to prevent the Heat from falling to a 0-3 hole. With that herculean effort, Butler became just the third player in NBA Finals history to log in those numbers, alongside Jerry West and no other than his rival in that series, LeBron James. Aside from this, Butler had another big game in Game 5 when he and his team delayed the championship celebration of the Lakers. He logged in 35 points, 12 rebounds, and 11 assists, becoming just the second player to have more than one 30-point triple double performance in the NBA Finals. Once again, the only other player to ever did that was LeBron.
Sure, Butler and the Heat eventually conceded to the Lakers. However, there was no question that Butler was a triple-double threat and a nightmare to defend in the midrange, which certainly gave James and the Lakers a run for their money in the recent NBA Finals.
8. Draymond Green
NBA Finals vs. LeBron James: 2015-2018 Golden State Warriors
The Golden State Warriors were a feared team in the league during their dynasty, and there was no question that they were a thorn in LeBron’s NBA Finals stints. A part of that is because of Draymond Green. The Warriors forward may not have the elite shooting of his teammates in Stephen Curry or Klay Thompson, but he possessed a polished all-around game and the ability to lockdown multiple positions.
There is no question that Green was one of the toughest players that James faced in the Finals, as the Warriors forward did all he can to limit James’ production. The most memorable moment these two star players had together was an altercation in Game 4 that led to James stepping over Green, which aggravated the latter and led to his suspension in the 2016 NBA Finals.
Although Green managed to win three of the four times they met in the Finals, his absence in Game 5 of the 2016 edition was enough to give James and the Cavs momentum to successfully make a historic comeback from a 1-3 series deficit, which gave James his lone series win against the Warriors and his third overall NBA championship.
Nevertheless, Green is no question one of the players James doesn’t really want to face in the NBA Finals. With his defensive presence on the court, the King admitted he makes the Warriors a great defensive unit.
In 2018, James said in an interview, “Draymond is a catalyst and the anchor of their defense. Very, very smart defensively. He knows pretty much every set. He kind of flies around and dictates their defense, either on the perimeter or protecting the rim as well.”
7. Klay Thompson
NBA Finals vs. LeBron James: 2015-2018 Golden State Warriors
Part of the Warriors’ success was Klay Thompson. The deadeye shooter was simply unmatched when it comes to accuracy and consistency from long range during his prime. Because of this, James and his Cavaliers teams were always on their toes, as they often hoped that Thompson’s long range bombs don’t find their way through the net.
Thompson has been a consistent third leading scorer throughout the Finals clashes against James, as he averaged at least 15 points per outing. Aside from James’ and Thompson’s battles on the court, their rivalry has at times even spilled off the court as they would take verbal jabs at each other during press conferences.
In their first Finals meeting, Thompson implicitly made a swipe at LBJ when he referred to Stephen Curry as the best player in the world after James proclaimed himself as such. In another occasion, Thompson told the media how James’ feelings were “hurt” after the heated altercation between Green and The King that saw the latter step over the former.
6. Tim Duncan
NBA Finals vs. LeBron James: 2007, 2013-2014 San Antonio Spurs
Aside from the Golden State Warriors, another team that tormented LeBron James’ title quest is the Spurs. There is no question that one of the players who made the Spurs a formidable team was Hall of Famer Tim Duncan.
The former Spurs big man was one of the crucial pieces for the Spurs that helped prevented James from wrecking havoc in the paint especially during the 2007 NBA Finals, after The King had a breakout series against the Detroit Pistons in the Easter Conference Finals.
Duncan was no doubt a double-double machine that LeBron had to face in the three occasions they met in the NBA Finals stage. Although James and the Heat defeated the Spurs in 2013 for James’ second straight NBA title, Duncan and the Spurs stopped James from winning two more NBA titles.
In the 2007 edition, Duncan helped the Spurs sweep a young LeBron James. The former Spurs big man only had had high hopes for James. The two shared a moment after the Spurs clinched the title, as Duncan told James that he would be the next big thing in the league.
James became who he is now and there is no question that facing an all-time great in Duncan helped him accomplish all that he has. Unfortunately for James however, Duncan gets the last laugh when it comes to NBA Finals series wins with their last encounter seeing Duncan and the Spurs taking the trophy in 2014. They finished James and the Heat in five games.
5. Kawhi Leonard
NBA Finals vs. LeBron James: 2013-2014 San Antonio Spurs
Another Spurs player that gave James a hard time when the Heat and the Spurs met in the Finals is Kawhi Leonard. Coming into the Finals, no one would expect Leonard to keep in step with James. In 2013, The Claw gave a good account for himself in his first NBA Finals appearance by averaging a double-double in points and rebounds as he logged 14.6 points and 11.1 boards per outing.
However, it was in the succeeding NBA Finals where Leonard proved to everyone in the league that he was a legit superstar at the forward position. Despite being surrounded with the Spurs’ version of the Big Three and tasked to matchup against arguably the greatest NBA player, Leonard locked down LeBron James pretty much during the entire series. Although James was slowed down by cramps and still managed to average 28.2 points, Leonard definitely played an integral part in forcing James to commit at least three turnovers per game during the 2014 NBA Finals.
Aside from his defense, Leonard emerged as a scoring threat that proved too much to handle for James and the Heat as he put up 17.8 points per outing, including a 29 point explosion in Game 3 that gave the Spurs enough momentum to finish off the James-led Heat. Because of his effort on both ends on the floor in that series, Leonard was declared the NBA Finals MVP, which was the first of two in his career.
4. Tony Parker
Article Continues BelowNBA Finals vs. LeBron James: 2007, 2013-2014 San Antonio Spurs
One of the toughest guards James ever had to deal with in the NBA Finals was no doubt Tony Parker. The cat quick guard was instrumental for the Spurs franchise that denied James two NBA championship rings.
Parker was at his best in 2007, as James and the Cavs simply had no answer for the 6’2 guard and his ability to break down defenses. Furthermore, he also took advantage of James’ inexperience in the NBA Finals at that time. The former Spurs guard had a field day in the NBA Finals in that edition as he averaged 24.5 points and 5.0 dimes per game. He also shot an efficient 56.8% overall from the field. Because of this, he was declared the Finals MVP in 2007.
Although James would have his way in 2013, as the Heat put away the Spurs in seven games, Parker continued to be a thorn in LeBron’s championship quest in 2014 as Parker went to his scoring ways, averaging 18 points per game, which led his team in scoring. As a result, the french playmaker is no doubt one of the toughest players LeBron ever faced in the Finals.
3. Kevin Durant
NBA Finals vs. LeBron James: 2012 Oklahoma City Thunder, 2017-2018 Golden State Warriors
Kevin Durant is arguably one of the most lethal players in the NBA today because of the combination of his size and scoring talent. With that being said, he is arguably the toughest forward that matched up with James in the NBA Finals.
The two battle tested forwards first met in 2012 where Durant had his NBA Finals debut while James was leading the Heat’s Big Three to its first ever NBA Championship together. As history unfolded, James would win this one, although it is worth noting that Durant was no push-over. Despite the Thunder losing in five games, Durant had a monster showing, as he averaged 30.6 points and 6.0 rebounds per outing.
Durant and LeBron met again in the Finals after five years. But this time, Durant was leading the Golden State Warriors while James was in a Cavs uniform.
There was no question that James had to deal with an enormous amount of firepower against the Warriors that was spearheaded by KD. James battled with Durant for two straight years in the Finals with KD coming out on top on both occasions. He also took home the Finals MVP Trophy twice.
Durant is tough to handle one on one, however he became even more dangerous alongside stars like Thompson and Stephen Curry. Although a lot of fans were not happy with Durant joining the star-studded Warriors, there’s no doubt that Durant’s talent is unmatched. Because of his presence, he made the Warriors a dynasty that overshadowed James’ iconic individual performances in the Finals stage.
2. Stephen Curry
NBA Finals vs. LeBron James: 2015-2018 Golden State Warriors
Aside from Parker, another guard that haunted LeBron in the NBA Finals was Stephen Curry. The spitfire guard is no question a major threat from long range. The hot shooting floor general is the face of the Warriors that faced LeBron James’ Cavaliers for four straight years. Although Curry has never won the Finals MVP Trophy during those years, guarding him was arguably one of the toughest jobs LeBron ever had to do in his career. Luckily, Curry's much-deserved Finals MVP trophy did come when the Warriors bested the Boston Celtics in 2022.
Although James did succeed once during the Cavs’ miracle comeback in 2016, Curry’s shooting helped the Warriors win three championships at the expense of James and the Cavs. In the four NBA Finals they met, Curry always averaged at least 22 points per game while shooting an accurate 38% to 40% from deep.
1. Dirk Nowitzki
NBA Finals vs. LeBron James: 2011 Dallas Mavericks
Not a lot of players can match what Dirk Nowitzki did in the 2011 NBA Finals. The German forward gave the Heat and the Big Three a rough debut in the NBA Finals stage. Furthermore, it is worth noting that Dirk and Terry are the only players on this list that James never beat in the Finals.
Nowitzki put up an incredible scoring display throughout the entire NBA Finals. The former Mavericks stretch big put up 26.0 points and 9.7 boards per game against the Miami Heat. Furthermore, he shot 41% overall from the field, 36.8% from beyond the arc, and a whooping 97.8% from the free throw line. The 7’0 big was often seen making his signature one-legged fadeaway midrange jumper, which even James himself could not stop.
James also had a tough Finals series going against Nowitzki and the Mavericks, as he put up only 17.8 points, 7.2 rebounds, and 6.8 assists per outing. Although these numbers weren’t terrible, everybody expected more from The King. There was no question that Nowitzki was the critical piece that helped the Mavericks upset the Big Three of the Miami Heat, as the German star was named the 2011 NBA Finals MVP.
Because of Nowitzki’s exemplary performance against James and the Heat in the 2011 NBA Finals, he sits at the top spot of this list. Although Nowitzki and James will never meet again in the NBA Finals with the former hanging up his sneakers in 2019, Nowitzki’s title conquest over James in 2011 is considered as one of the best underdog stories in NBA history.