Challenging 'The King': 4 notable LeBron feuds
Detroit Pistons rookie Stanley Johnson must not have been listening to LeBron James two years ago when the four-time NBA MVP stated: "You really can't get me out of my game."
Johnson has the unenviable task of guarding James during the Pistons' opening-round playoff series against the Cleveland Cavaliers, and stated Wednesday that he believes he's gotten inside "The King's" head.
What Johnson may not know, however, is that numerous players, coaches, and owners have tried to get into James' head before, with little success.
Here are four challengers worthy of recognition:
Lance Stephenson
One of the league's biggest pests, Stephenson pulled out all his tricks in an attempt to distract James during the 2014 NBA playoffs. The former Indiana Pacers guard flopped around the court, smacked James in the face, and even blew in his ear.
"It was uncalled for, for sure," James said of the slap. "That was - I don't know. I'm at a loss of words with that, but it was uncalled for, and I was able to move on from it. I let him know how I felt."
The Heat would win the series in six games before losing to San Antonio in the finals.
Dan Gilbert
There were few people who felt more betrayed by James taking his talents to South Beach than Cavaliers owner Dan Gilbert. Following the announcement that James would be signing with the Miami Heat, Gilbert wrote a scathing letter to Cavs fans ripping James.
"I PERSONALLY GUARANTEE THAT THE CLEVELAND CAVALIERS WILL WIN AN NBA CHAMPIONSHIP BEFORE THE SELF-TITLED FORMER 'KING' WINS ONE," Gilbert wrote.
Gilbert would later say he regretted writing the letter, and issued an apology before James returned to Cleveland.
David Blatt
Though James said he was surprised when the first-place Cavaliers fired David Blatt in January, the disconnect between star player and head coach dated back to the previous playoffs, when James outed Blatt for drawing up what he believed was the wrong play.
"To be honest, the play that was drawn up, I scratched that," James said. "I just told coach, 'Give me the ball.' We're either going to go to overtime or I'm going to win it for us. It was that simple."
James would hit the game-winning shot on the play that he himself called. It was believed Blatt's departure was largely due to James' preference to have Tyronn Lue be the team's head coach.
Joakim Noah
One of James' longest-running feuds is with Bulls forward Joakim Noah. The bad blood began in 2009, when Noah took exception to James dancing on the bench during a blowout loss over the Bulls, and the two have been issued multiple double-technical fouls during heated exchanges throughout their careers.
Things reached a contentious point last May, when Noah said something to James on the court that he considered crossing the line.
"I'm a father with three kids. It got very disrespectful," James said. "I'm OK with competing against Jo. I love the competitive nature, but we should leave it there. The disrespectful words that he said to me were uncalled for."