With four NBA championship titles to his name and a legacy as one of the sport’s greatest ever players, you would be forgiven for thinking LeBron James had little reason to hold long-term animosity towards his fellow NBA stars. However, one long-time rival of James insists that was far from the case, divulging the extreme measures the veteran would take to avoid him.
Many will point to Steph Curry as being King James’ biggest adversary, due to his prolific shooting displays during the Cavaliers-Warriors rivalry that was on show in four repeat finals between Golden State and Cleveland from 2015 until 2018.
While “Chef Curry’s” long-range jumper would often prove a huge problem for James and his then-Cleveland Cavaliers teammates to contend with, and no doubt cost him many more rings, LeBron had an even bigger issue with another Warriors star.
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James’ dislike of Golden State power forward Draymond Green ran so deep that he wouldn’t share a plane or accomodation with his adversary. Their rivalry peaked in Game Four over the 2016 NBA finals. James stepped over Green while the Warriors’ player was on the ground, which Draymond believed to be a disrespectful act.
As a result, Green swung his arm towards James’ groin region, leading to an ugly exchange on court. The bad blood hadn’t died down by the time the duo were invited on the same vacation after the 2017 All-Star Weekend.
LeBron James ‘Refused to Travel’ Alongside Draymond Green
‘King James’ arranged a separate flight to avoid his rival
Talking during an appearance on the Brownie and Rab Show podcast, Green went into detail on the feud and just how deep the issues between himself and James ran at the time of the group vacation – and explained why Lebron felt it necessary to make separate arrangements.
“I don’t know if there was no space on the plane or not, but I think Bron said ‘I ain’t flying on that plane’. He gets an entirely different plane, so I can fly with them. We had two houses on Four Seasons right next to each other. I also don’t think there was two houses there before. You know why I think Mav (vacation organiser Maverick Carter) got a whole other house? Because Bron said ‘that [expletive] ain’t staying in my house’.”
The flight in question came off the back of All-Star Weekend in early 2017, by which time the pair had been involved in two closely fought championship deciders alongside that controversial moment in 2016. The Warriors won the 2015 edition, 4-2, whereas Cleveland pipped Golden State to the trophy the following year in a seven-game thriller.
As the best in basketball converged on New Orleans, the season was poised for LeBron to do battle with his long-standing rivals after the 2016-17 season concluded once again with the saga poised to enter its third act. “DrayMagic” would go on to get the better of his adversary in that meeting and the one which followed. The 2017 edition by way of a convincing 4-1 demolition and once more in 2018 as the Golden State Warriors swept Lebron’s Cavaliers in humiliating fashion.
The power forward admitted the hatred during this time was reciprocated as the fellow four-time NBA Champion made his feelings for LeBron during that era of basketball common knowledge:
“I hated Bron. We didn’t have no relationship at all. I had a relationship with Mav (Maverick Carter) and Rich (Rich Paul), who I was really tight with…so just me being around Rich and Mav, me and Bron naturally ended up being around each other even more. And then we started to build a relationship because I was like ‘Dang, bro really just like me.'”
James and Green’s once-heated rivalry has simmered in recent times; Green even invited LeBron to his wedding as proof that the two have mended bridges. The lack of end-of-season make-or-break championship deciders between both men no doubt helped to cool the temperature. As does the fact that both men are coming to the end of what has been remarkable individual careers.
The pair have been able to put their differences aside away from the game and create a friendship built on mutual respect for their basketball exploits. Although, when it comes down to it, you can always count on those old feelings to reemerge whenever the duo are in competition.
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