After knocking off the Memphis Grizzlies, LeBron James and the LA Lakers have advanced to the Western Conference semifinals. Next up for them is a meeting with an extremely familiar foe.
During his time with the Cleveland Cavaliers, LeBron James had a storied history with the Golden State Warriors. Now, he will be adding another chapter to their rivalry. Thanks to a 50-point performance from Steph Curry in Game 7, the defending champs were able to beat the Sacramento Kings.
Ahead of this series, a discussion broke out on "Undisputed" about this being the best rivalry of this generation. Skip Bayless chimed in with his thoughts on why that isn't the case.
While some might agree that LeBron vs. the Warriors is this generation's rivalry, Bayless sees it as completely one-sided. Since the LA Lakers star's numbers are so much greater, he feels it should be disqualified:
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"I'm going to disqualify this as a one-sided rivalry, becauase I'm all about LeBron in this rivalry. Seriously."
Instead of going with Steph Curry vs. LeBron, Bayless feels that the San Antonio Spurs are his biggest rival. They beat him in his first NBA Finals appearance with the Cleveland Cavaliers back in 2007, and battled multiple times during his time with the Miami Heat.
Is Skip Bayless right when it comes to LeBron James' biggest rivals?
Skip Bayless might not feel this way, but Steph Curry and the Golden State Warriors should most certainly be seen as LeBron James' main rivals. They've battled it out in countless finals games and delivered some all-time moments in NBA history.
For four straight years, LeBron and Curry squared off in the NBA Finals. The Warriors won three, with the Cavaliers winning in 2016 after completing a 3-1 comeback. This matchup dominated the late 2010s and should be viewed as one of the greatest rivalries in history.
One reason why the San Antonio Spurs shouldn't be seen as LeBron's main rival is because of how the matchups unfolded. In 2007, the Spurs swept a young LeBron on the game's biggest stage. They faced off again six years later, and LeBron was able to get his revenge thanks to a miracle shot from Ray Allen.
The final time LeBron would square off with the Spurs was in the 2014 NBA Finals. Not only did San Antonio win in five games, but each of their victories was by double digits. Seeing as how they dominated the matchup, they shouldn't be regarded as his top rivals.
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