LeBron James is a true legend of the orange ball and inevitably, many people want to challenge him one-on-one. The ultimate opportunity to cross swords with a potential GOAT… but one star in particular never makes it because the Lakers would do anything to prevent him, according to his own words.

How can you summarize LeBron James‘s career in a few words? You have four hours. More seriously, the winger’s NBA career is breathtaking: four championship titles and as many regular season and Finals MVPs, the most prolific scorer in history, rings in three different franchises…

Apart from Michael Jordan of course, no one can really compete with him.

Obviously, the King inspires absolutely enormous respect among his peers, in particular the younger generation of players who grew up following his exploits.

As the fierce competitors that they are, they want to express this admiration by rubbing shoulders directly with the Lakers superstar, like Anthony Edwards. Except that according to the Wolves star, the Purples and Golds would put obstacles in his way:

Anthony Edwards vs LeBron, a duel refused by the Lakers?

I always want to play 1-vs-1 against LeBron, but it never goes as planned because they keep double-teaming me. I always try to give LeBron a hard time because he’s the best player in the league right now, he’s been for a long time. So I think I want to smoke him more, him or KD. But they never defend 1-vs-1 against me.

We understand Ant’s frustration, but it’s hard not to understand the logic behind Los Angeles’ strategy. LeBron turns 39 in a few days and defending directly against the best forwards in the league isn’t doing him any favors, given his offensive responsibilities. On the other hand, Edwards would have faced quite a challenge if he had crossed paths with him 10 years ago, according to fans:

Of course you would want to smoke a 38 year old guy who would still lock you up anyway, but his talk about LeBron bonus you would be in prison bro

You wouldn’t smoke at all my guy

We tend to forget it, but LeBron James could be an elite defender when he put his heart into the work. Anthony Edwards is an ultra-talented scorer and this could therefore have made for a very good duel between the two men, if only the Chosen One was not already approaching forty. So, the Lakers are not hot…