LeBron James' record against every Hall of Famer he ever faced

The LeBron James vs. Michael Jordan debate will probably never reach a conclusion — unless, perhaps, the King and His Airness one day meet on the court for a game of one-on-one.

For now, we are left to dream about such a mythical battle and wonder which great would conquer the other. But when it comes to James’ track record against other basketball legends, we can pull up plenty of game tape from the Chosen One’s 18-year NBA career.

The four-time NBA champion and league MVP dueled a number of Hall of Fame inductees, from Shaquille O'Neal to Allen Iverson, and new Brooklyn Nets head coach Steve Nash. Some of LBJ’s most famous playoff games came against current and future Hall of Famers, including Tim Duncan, Manu Ginobili, Tony Parker, and the Boston Celtics’ Big Three.

Let’s look back at some of those matchups to see how well James fared against other NBA superstars, as we break down LeBron's regular-season and postseason records against every Hall of Famer he faced.

LeBron vs. Ray Allen

LeBron first squared up with Ray Allen — then with the Seattle SuperSonics — on Jan. 13, 2004, during James' rookie season.

The meeting resulted in a 104-96 win for LeBron and the Cleveland Cavaliers, but Allen would go on to lead the head-to-head series 4-2 while in Seattle.

Allen jumped to the Boston Celtics in 2007 and owned a losing record (5-6) against LeBron's Cavs in the regular season. Allen got his revenge in the NBA playoffs, however, by knocking out Cleveland in the Eastern Conference Semifinals twice (2008, 2010).

After LeBron joined the Miami Heat in 2010 and formed a Big Three of his own with Dwyane Wade and Chris Bosh, the Heat were nearly unstoppable in the postseason. Allen's Celtics met LeBron twice more and fell 4-1 in the 2011 Eastern Conference Semifinals and 4-3 in the 2012 Eastern Conference Finals.

To close out his career, Allen teamed up with LeBron in Miami and went 133-52 (.719 win percentage), including 29-14 in the postseason, as his teammate. The pair won a championship together in 2013. 

LeBron vs. Kobe Bryant

Amazingly, LeBron and the late Kobe Bryant never faced each other in the NBA Finals, despite one of the two playing in the championship series every season from 2007-16, before Kobe's retirement.

In the regular season, they met 22 times, with LeBron dominating the series 16-6.

They also competed with one another on Team USA and won the gold medal in men's basketball at the 2008 Beijing Olympics and 2012 London Olympics.

It wasn't until LeBron signed with the Los Angeles Lakers in 2018 that the pair began to grow close. In fact, Kobe became a huge supporter of LeBron and was quick to congratulate him the day James passed Kobe on the all-time scoring list — just one day before Kobe's untimely death in 2020.

LeBron vs. Tim Duncan

LeBron and San Antonio Spurs star Tim Duncan played each other 20 times in the regular season and split the series 10-10. In the postseason, the Big Fundamental won the overall war.

With the help of Manu Ginobili and Tony Parker, Duncan swept LeBron's Cavaliers in the 2007 NBA Finals.

The Spurs also encountered LeBron's Heat in back-to-back Finals in 2013 and 2014. The Heat won the first series 4-3, which marked LeBron's second-straight NBA title.

He fell short of a three-peat the next season, though, when Miami lost 4-1 to San Antonio. That Finals series included the infamous "cramp game," in which LeBron was forced to exit Game 1 because of severe leg cramping caused by warm temperatures in the AT&T Center, after the air conditioning malfunctioned.

LeBron vs. Allen Iverson

Growing up, LeBron's favorite player, behind Michael Jordan, was Philadelphia 76ers icon Allen Iverson. 

On Nov. 15, 2003, LeBron got to meet his hero on the court and handed AI a 91-88 overtime defeat. The two would go on to play each other 17 more times, including four games while Iverson played for the Denver Nuggets and another four while he played for Detroit.

Overall, Iverson was 10-8 against LeBron in the regular season and never faced him in the playoffs.

LeBron vs. Reggie Miller

Of all the Hall of Fame inductees LeBron has played at least once, Reggie Miller is the one he could beat the least.

In seven regular-season meetings, LeBron collected only two victories against Reggie. James also struggled against Yao Ming and Alonzo Mourning, as he compiled a 3-8 record against the Rockets center and a 3-6 mark against Miami's big man.

LeBron vs. Steve Nash

LeBron has a winning regular-season record against five Hall of Famers, including Nash. James defeated the former Phoenix Suns point guard 10 times and suffered eight losses, including two while Nash was a member of the Dallas Mavericks.

LBJ also holds a winning regular-season record against Kobe (16-6), Grant Hill (10-6), Tracy McGrady (10-8), and Dikembe Mutombo (6-4).

LeBron vs. Paul Pierce

James' longtime adversary, Paul Pierce, has scrapped with James on the court more than any other player.

In 69 games, LeBron was 35-34 against The Truth, including 17-13 in playoff clashes.

LeBron averaged nearly 30 points, 7.4 rebounds, and six assists in games against Pierce, while the Celtics small forward averaged 18.8 points, 5.3 rebounds, and 3.4 assists.

Pierce took down LeBron twice in the Eastern Conference Semifinals (2008, 2010), but lost the next three playoff series against James. Those series included the 2011 Eastern Conference Semifinals and 2012 Eastern Conference Finals, plus the 2014 Eastern Conference Semifinals when Pierce played in Brooklyn.

According to Pierce, one of James' most vocal critics, LeBron would own fewer titles had Pierce been the same age as him, back when they both competed in the league.

LeBron vs. Chris Bosh and Dwyane Wade

Back when LeBron was in Cleveland, he proved to Bosh and Wade it was better to join forces than stand on opposite sidelines.

James went 17-6 against Bosh, while Bosh played for Toronto, and 2-0 when LeBron rejoined Cleveland and took on Bosh with the Heat.

As teammates, Bosh and James were 257-99 and won two titles together in Miami.

Wade was 258-113 as LeBron's teammate. In addition to four seasons together in Miami, Wade also played half a season with James in Cleveland (2017-18), before he was traded back to the Heat.

LeBron vs. Vince Carter

James is 28-16 overall against recently retired veteran Vince Carter. The two met in the postseason just once, in the 2007 Eastern Conference Semifinals, where James beat Carter's Nets 4-2. James would go on to reach his first NBA Finals that season.

LeBron vs. Dirk Nowitzki

Another recently retired future Hall of Famer who handed James some of his most difficult battles is Mavs legend Dirk Nowitzki.

While LeBron got the better of Dirk in the regular season (16-10 record), the German wunderkind delivered a crushing blow in LeBron's first NBA Finals series with Miami.

In 2011, Dirk and company overthrew the Heat 4-2 in the first of four consecutive Finals series for Miami's Big Three.