The stats behind LeBron's rivalry with the Warriors

Micah Adams

The stats behind LeBron's rivalry with the Warriors image

When LeBron James stepped on the floor on Christmas Day to take on the Golden State Warriors, it marked the 50th time in his career that he's played against what has become his biggest rival.

Though it's a label once worn by the Boston Celtics, four straight meetings in the NBA Finals has cemented Golden State as the single most iconic foe for LeBron.

Here's a look through some of the biggest stats to know from over the years.

5,497: That's how many days it's been since James first laced up the kicks against the Warriors. On January 15, 2009 - 16 days after his 19th birthday - James scored 29 points in a loss at Oracle Arena. The leading scorer in that game? Clifford Robinson who scored 35 for the Warriors.

LeBron James drives on Jason Richardson in his first game against Golden State

106: The total number of teammates to appear alongside James in a game against the Warriors either with the Clevelando Cavaliers, Miami Heat or Los Angeles Lakers. The player to go to battle against the Warriors most often alongside James? Tristan Thompson who played in 29 of the 50 meetings.

4: Teammates to appear with James as a member of more than one team. Dwyane Wade, Mike Miller, James Jones and Zydruna Ilgauskas played against Golden State with James as members of both the Heat and Cavaliers.

93: Different Warriors to play against LeBron James. Both Stephen Curry and Klay Thompson have faced James 35 times, the most by any Warriors player.

4: Different players appeared in a LeBron-Warriors game both as a teammate of James and as a member of the Warriors. The four? Anderson Varejao, Richard Jefferson, Erick Dampier and Toney Douglas.

41: LeBron James has been his team's leading scorer in 41 of the 50 games. His teammates to outscored James in any game against Golden State? Kyrie Irving (3x), Dwyane Wade (2x), Drew Gooden, Timofey Mozgov and Kyle Kuzma earlier this year on Christmas when James scored 17 points in 21 minutes (Kuzma finished with 19 in 31).

2: Game-winners in the final 10 seconds: January 23, 2009 and February 12, 2014. Both came in Oracle Arena.

30.0: LeBron's scoring average against the Warriors. The only player to average more PPG in these 50 matchups - regardless of how many games played - is Kevin Durant who has averaged 30.4 across 14 games with the Warriors.

51: The most points LeBron has scored against the Warriors, doing so in Game 1 of the 2018 NBA Finals which the Cavaliers lost in overtime. That's his only 50-point game in 50 career games against the Warriors. It's also the most points any players has ever had in a loss in the NBA Finals.

14: The most assists LeBron has ever dished out against the Warriors. It came in Game 2 of the 2017 Finals in a game that James finished with a 29-point triple-double in a loss.

8.0: LeBron's assists per game against the Warriors. The only player to average more assists in the LeBron-Warriors games is Rajon Rondo who dished out 10 of them earlier this season, the only one of the 50 that he has played in.

LeBron vs The Warriors
Team W-L PPG RPG APG
Overall 22-28 30.0 9.7 8.0
Cavaliers 17-25 30.7 10.0 8.0
Heat 4-3 27.7 7.6 7.9
Lakers 1-0 17.0 13.0 5.0

22-28: LeBron's record against the Warriors. He is 15-13 in the regular season and 7-15 in the NBA Finals

Micah Adams

Micah Adams Photo

Micah Adams is a Managing Editor and Head of Affiliate and Commercial Content at Sporting News. Prior to joining SN in 2021, Adams spent over a decade producing and leading content teams at ESPN, DAZN and The Social Institute. Adams graduated from Duke University in 2009 and remains a Cameron Crazie at heart well into his 30s. When not losing sleep or hair over the Blue Devils, Kansas City Chiefs, Chicago Bulls, and USMNT, Adams enjoys chasing his two small children around along with his wife, losing golf balls, spending time outdoors and binging terrible movies.