Few players are as qualified as LeBron James is to talk about the all-time great basketball players from a historical perspective. James is not only arguably the greatest player ever, but his longevity makes him more informed to compare multiple eras. Strong play from 2003 to 2025 has seen LeBron suiting up against every active player from that time.
The Mind the Game podcast conversation this week focused on James discussing the most dominant player he’s ever played against. LeBron told co-host Steve Nash that Nikola Jokic is both the most dominant and the most complete player he’s had to oppose since joining the NBA.
“I will say this. There has not been a more dominant, complete player that I’ve played against, in the sense of all the attributes,” James said about his battles against Jokic during his Los Angeles Lakers stint. The praise from LeBron is high since he’s faced over two decades of tremendous players from varying eras of NBA greatness.
LeBron Rates Jokic Above Past Rivals
The most interesting thing about this topic is that many fans would have guessed other names ahead of Jokic. James’ 2000s run established him as a star against many all-time icons. Kobe Bryant, Shaquille O’Neal, Tim Duncan, and Kevin Garnett all competed at the highest level when he entered the league.
O’Neal is often considered the most dominant player of all-time, but LeBron thinks Jokic dominated in more ways than just scoring like Shaq. The 2010s featured Stephen Curry and Kevin Durant both emerging as top rivals to James. Multiple NBA Finals meetings against both were not enough to rank them above Jokic.
Bryant, Curry, and Durant are the top names that would be in the mix with Jokic for this specific discussion. LeBron getting eliminated multiple times in the postseason by Jokic and the Denver Nuggets likely impacted his answer. Jokic prevented James from having a couple of deeper playoff runs, which helped establish him as an all-time great and earned LeBron’s respect.
LeBron Listed Many Reasons For Jokic
Recent conversations around the NBA media world have seen names like Stan Van Gundy and Marcus Morris listing where they think Jokic ranks historically. Both sides have valid points, but a name like LeBron arguing for him sways the debate. James is commended for his versatility and ability to contribute to the game in many ways, so it makes sense he values the same thing in Jokic.
LeBron shared the following to further explain his comment:
“From the passing, to the shooting, to the rebounding, to the attention. There’s nothing he cannot do on the offensive end. Like, nothing at all. Nothing. You try to double him, he’s going to make you pay. You try to play him single coverage, he’s going to make you pay. He even brings the ball up the floor, they outlet the ball to him.”
James and Jokic are considered two of the smartest minds in NBA history to continue bonding them as similar players in more than one way. Jokic has proven he is truly among the all-time elite NBA players and LeBron believes he deserves a high rank all-time for it.
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