Getty Lakers superstar LeBron James
Los Angeles Lakers small forward LeBron James said he wants to play with a four-time All-Star and three-time champion.
In the trailer for Season 5, Episode 4 of HBO’s “The Shop,” James told co-host Maverick Carter that he would want to play for the Golden State Warriors if he could pick a team from the 2022 playoffs to join. The four-time MVP said he would love to be teammates with Draymond Green.
“It would be Golden State,” James said. “I would love to get into a pissing match with Draymond. I love when someone cussing me out.”
The Warriors are taking on the Boston Celtics in the NBA Finals. Green, Stephen Curry and Klay Thompson are looking to win their fourth championship as a trio. Their previous three rings came against James and the Cleveland Cavaliers in 2015, 2017 and 2018.
James led the Cavaliers to the 2016 championship over the Warriors in seven games. Cleveland became the first team in NBA history to erase a 3-1 series deficit in the Finals, with James winning his third title and third Finals MVP.
James Has Previously Talked About Playing on Warriors
Discussing Curry’s incredible shooting skills, James said on the April 14 episode of “The Shop” that Curry was the one superstar he would want to play with.
“Steph Curry is the one I want to play with, for sure, in today’s game,” James said. “Lethal, man. When he gets out his car, you better guard him right from the moment he pulls up to the arena. Soon as he gets out of his car, you better guard his a**. You might want to guard him when he gets out of bed. Swear to God.”
James and Curry are friends despite facing each other in four Finals. James is also pals with Green, even after what happened in Game 4 of the 2016 Finals, when a fierce altercation between the two led to Green’s Game 5 suspension.
Green Is a Huge Fan of James
Green is a big fan of James, who is the only player in NBA history to rank top 10 all-time in points and assists. In March, the Warriors forward said James was just as much of a GOAT as Chicago Bulls legend Michael Jordan was.
“Everyone talks about when LeBron passes Kareem [Abdul-Jabbar] does that make him the GOAT. I don’t think him becoming the No. 1 scorer makes him any more of the GOAT than he already is,” Green said on the March 25 episode of his self-titled podcast. “What I don’t like to get into is, ‘Oh, is LeBron the GOAT over Michael Jordan?’ No, LeBron is a GOAT and Michael Jordan’s a GOAT and they’re both incredible and they never played against each other. So how can we ever settle that?
“Like, it’s all subjective, and I hate that in sports. Like, no one’s running around talking about, ‘Well Google’s a better company than Apple’ or ‘Apple’s a better company than Amazon.’ No, we all just appreciate those companies for what they bring to this world. But yet we get in sports and we get in basketball and it gotta be LeBron James against Michael Jordan as the GOAT and who’s the best. They’re both incredible. They’re both great. They’re both GOATs.
“So when talking about the GOAT and which one, like man, that’s bull****. Like I respect both of those guys. I appreciate both of those guys, and at some point, I hope this world of basketball catch up and appreciate that as well.”
If the Warriors defeat the Celtics in the 2022 Finals, Curry and Green will be four-time champions like James.