LeBron James has been out with an injury recently and hasn’t played since February, but the conversation around him is hot as ever.
James’ former Miami Heat teammate Mario Chalmers recently said that players didn’t fear the thought of playing LeBron until they matched up against him, whereas people feared the thought of playing Michael Jordan. Former NBA player Chandler Parson has gone a step further by saying Kevin Durant is a scarier matchup than LeBron.
“When I was playing, I feared guarding Kevin Durant more than I feared guarding LeBron James just because of his ability to score in iso, the way he can break you off. The way you can play great defense, he can shoot over you. LeBron is more passive. He gets off by making the extra pass. He’s less aggressive.”
An NBA All-Star also anonymously compared the fear factor of LeBron James and Kobe Bryant. James’ propensity to playmaker in game-winning situations and find the best possible shot seems to have knocked his status in Parsons’ eyes.
Is It Fair To Say Players Don’t Fear LeBron James?
It’s quite damning to hear this conversation about LeBron, as he is the defining superstar of the last 20 years. Chalmers said players would fear LeBron when they were on the court, but Parsons is saying he’d still fear KD more.
James has a proven winning record in the NBA and has defined his career in the NBA Finals. Most players can only dream of getting to the stage, including Chandler Parsons, who never got that far in his career. Many people have been terrified of LeBron over his career, but many also maintain they never feared the all-time leading scorer.
Parsons was definitely accurate in describing KD and LeBron’s game while talking about the fear factor, as KD’s jumper and scoring arsenal should always put fear in the hearts of defenders. Unless LeBron is coming downhill like a battering ram, a player wouldn’t necessarily worry about him hitting a shot no matter how deeply contested. KD has that ability and that scares people. Kobe had that ability and Jordan had that ability, which goes to building their legacies in that situation.