LeBron James hasn't been very kind to the Raptors throughout his career.
Over his 11 seasons with the Cavaliers, James went a combined 40-12 against the Raptors. That includes the playoffs, where The King's Cavaliers eliminated the Raptors not once, not twice, but three times, two of which ended in sweeps.
The Raptors didn't fare much better when James took his talents to South Beach, losing — are you sitting down for this? — all 13 matchups against him with the Heat.
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It's no wonder why ESPN once dubbed Toronto "LeBronto," a nickname that has since taken on a life of its own. It's not just that James has had success against the Raptors. It's that he's had some of the more memorable moments of his legendary career against them.
Remember when someone sitting courtside riled him up, leading to James going off for 24 points in the fourth quarter to lead a double-digit comeback?
What about the time he held his own game of H-O-R-S-E in the middle of a playoff game?
Surely you didn't forget about his game-winning runner, which — no joke — got a whole SportsCenter Top 10 dedicated to it.
You've never seen a #SCtop10 like this. pic.twitter.com/ymd6rna07X
— SportsCenter (@SportsCenter) May 6, 2018
Oh, and what about when he did this?
LeBron so disrespectful 😂 pic.twitter.com/3GWsnY6RTy
— Bleacher Report (@BleacherReport) May 4, 2017
There's more where all that came from, too.
Safe to say, James has given Raptors fans a lifetime of memories and then some. Fortunately for the Raptors, the tables have turned lately.
On May 7, 2018, James scored 29 points, dished out 11 assists and grabbed eight rebounds in a blowout win over the No. 1 seeded Raptors in Game 4 of the Eastern Conference Semifinals to knock them out of the playoffs for the third straight season. The significance of that game? It's the last time James defeated the Raptors.
That offseason, James joined the Lakers. He's played against the Raptors six times since then, each of which ended in a loss for Los Angeles.
Not only that, but the last few meetings between James and the Raptors haven't been particularly close, with Toronto's average margin of victory being 11.5 points. Of the six losses the Raptors have handed James in the purple and gold, only two were decided by single digits.
LeBron vs the Raptors (reg. season and playoffs)
— Josh Lewenberg (@JLew1050) March 15, 2022
With Cleveland: 40-12
With Miami: 13-0
With Lakers: 0-6
The crazy thing with James is that he's one of only two active players from the 2003 NBA Draft and yet he's still one of the best players in the league. While the Lakers have been this season's biggest disappointment, he's in the race to win the second scoring title of his career with an average of 29.5 points per game.
James recently joined Kobe Bryant, Michael Jordan and Jamal Crawford as the only 37-year-olds in NBA history with a 50-point game. He then became the first 37-year-old with multiple 50-point games a few days later.
LeBronto may have taken a new turn, but even Year 19 LeBron shouldn't be taken lightly.
