5 opponents LeBron James will relish facing more than others during the 2021-22 NBA season

3. Giannis Antetokounmpo

LeBron James #23 attacks Giannis Antetokounmpo #34.

The newly crowned king in the NBA is Giannis Antetokounmpo and LeBron James knows this. The Greek Freak was dominant in the 2021 NBA Finals en route to an epic series while capturing his first championship.

Meanwhile, LeBron James could only watch while his sprained right ankle continued to rest and recuperate from the beating it took during the last few games of the season. James congratulated Antetokounmpo on social media, though he internally wished he was the one hoisting aloft the Larry O’Brien Trophy.

Correction to an earlier note: LeBron James is 16-5 (.762) in his career vs Giannis Antetokounmpo.That's tied for the 2nd-best by one MVP vs another (min. 20 games):*Kareem Abdul-Jabbar had a .783 win pct vs Hakeem Olajuwon*Bill Russell had a .762 win pct vs Willis Reed pic.twitter.com/Ng46rTNC8i

— ESPN Stats & Info (@ESPNStatsInfo) January 22, 2021

LeBron James will relish taking the crown away from Giannis should they meet in the NBA Finals next season, but he will also be motivated enough to try and beat the 2021 Finals MVP in the regular season. They will only meet twice before the playoffs so expect James to be hyped for those two games if only to prove that he is still the King.

2. Kevin Durant

LeBron James #23 controls the ball against Kevin Durant #35.

LeBron James is 1-2 against Kevin Durant in the NBA Finals and they could meet for a fourth time if the Brooklyn Nets and LA Lakers reach the championship round next season. James would love nothing more than to tie the Finals series between them and perhaps break the tie in the next few years.

Many hail Durant as the best player in the game and it’s an unofficial title that LeBron James would love to reclaim in the eyes of his critics and some of his supporters, too.

Kevin Durant vs LeBron James in the NBA Finals 🔥 It doesn’t get any better than this. You still have time to appreciate what we witnessed in 2012, 2017 and 2018. The two best of the post Kobe era. pic.twitter.com/Ml7E1DkQD0

— Ball Don't Stop (@balldontstop) July 6, 2021

Their rivalry dates back to the 2012 Finals when James won his first-ever championship, with Durant’s Oklahoma City Thunder as his first victim. The 2014 MVP has since repaid his counterpart when he nailed dagger 3-pointers in the face of LeBron James two years in a row when the Warriors won the title in 2017 and 2018.

They’ll meet in the 2021-22 regular season twice, and after that, the only time they will meet again in the postseason is if the Brooklyn Nets and LA Lakers meet in the NBA Finals.

A Nets-Lakers series for all the marbles is the marquee matchup that everyone wants to see, and it’s no doubt the one that LeBron James wants more than any other matchup.

1. Kyrie Irving

LeBron James #23 looks to get around Kyrie Irving #11.

Just when you thought Kyrie Irving and LeBron James had moved past their differences after the two played on Team LeBron in 2018, the former questioned the latter’s “clutchness” during last year’s NBA Finals.

"This is the first time in my career where I can look down and be like, 'That motherf----- can make that shot, too," Irving said in praising new teammate Kevin Durant.

That blatant shot at his former teammate was uncalled for and it didn’t have any basis despite LeBron James making go-ahead shots and buzzer-beaters during their time together on the Cleveland Cavaliers.

Later, LeBron James told Richard Jefferson how he felt about that statement from Irving.

Damn... @kingjames addresses Kyrie’s statements made during the NBA Finals. SUBSCRIBE to get it when it drops ⁦@RoadTrippinPod ⁦@channingfrye⁩ ⁦@RealAClifton⁩ ✊🏾✊🏾. https://t.co/3t6kFNCOC4 pic.twitter.com/KcHfjqkf91

— Richard Jefferson (@Rjeff24) December 8, 2020

“We were still able to win a championship, and we could never align, but I only cared about his well being, both on and off the floor,” James said during an episode of the

Road Trippin’

podcast. “And it kind of hurt me a little bit."

Since then, and even despite Irving’s seeming clarification of his statement later on (which wasn’t that good anyway), the two former Cavs have been cold with one another.

Now that they each have a Big 3 of their own, expect LeBron James to be more than motivated to stick it to Irving every game they play against one another, and that includes the All-Star Game.

If they meet in the NBA Finals next year, expect a vengeful and fiery LeBron James to play like a man possessed as he faces not just one, but two of his bitterest rivals in the game.

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