One of LeBron James’ greatest team rivalries has been with the Golden State Warriors over the years. The 40-year-old future Hall of Famer has faced off against the Dubs on numerous occasions, including four straight showdowns in the NBA Finals between 2015-2018. LeGOAT briefly spoke about his history with the Warriors during an interview with filmmaker Ryan Coogler, who was promoting his newest feature, Sinners.
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Coogler may be an artist, but he knows ball. The 38-year-old aurteur grew up in Oakland and was an athlete himself at St. Marie’s in California, where he was a wide receiver. Later, he would attend USC’s film program, prompting him to begin his filmmaking career. Coogler has directed several of the biggest films of the last decade ever since then, including Black Panther, Creed, and now Sinners, which is being hailed as a masterpiece.
So when James and Coogler started talking film and sports, Coogler’s fandom peaked through. He revealed that he fell in love with the Warriors when Steph Curry emerged within the team, a player LBJ knows very well. Coogler even joked that he was “tired of LeBron beating up on his n***as,” which is a tribute in a way to the King having a very good record against the Dubs.
While LeBron ended up on the losing in three out of the four NBA Finals in the mid to late 2010s to the Warriors, he found his footing against them while being with the Lakers. He played a crucial role in eliminating the defending champions in the 2023 Western Conference semifinals.
In their last 4 clashes, LeBron has averaged approximately 28 points per game and his contributions played a role in the Lakers winning three of those games. But LeBron chose to divert the discussion to Draymond Green being the reason behind his success in the rivalry.
“It’s Draymond [Green]’s fault. Draymond’s always talking shit,” James responded, jabbing at the Warriors longtime superstar defender. There’s no lie in that as Dray would probably have said the same thing himself.
The wars that James’ Cavaliers and later James’ Lakers have had with the Warriors would always be neck-to-neck. Green has a thing for necks, particularly going for them. He probably would have done well in Coogler’s Sinners, considering it’s a vampire movie.
Draymond used to have disdain for LeBron, but it turned into respect
Draymond has not been shy about speaking about LeBron. On an old interview with the BARS podcast, the four-time NBA Champion admitted that King James was no King of his.
“I hated Bron. We had no relationship at all,” said Draymond.
“I had a relationship with Mav [Maverick Carter] and Rich [Paul].” That disdain lasted for quite a while for Dray. Fortunately, it eventually transitioned into respect for LeGOAT.
“I realized, ‘Dang, bro really just like me. He use the same lingo I use, he’s from a place just like me'” Green realized.
The good news for fans of ball is that there’s a good chance that the Lakers and the Dubs meet once again in the 2025 NBA playoffs. The Lakers would first have to get through the red-hot Timberwolves and its superstar guard, Anthony Davis.
The Warriors don’t have an easy path either. They’ll have to best the No. 2 ranked Houston Rockets, but the Dubs are coming in with momentum after winning a tough Play-in game against the Grizzlies, and breaking their Play-in streak.
Let’s hope for some luck with these brackets, because another LeBron vs Draymond series would be a cinematic-level event. Hell, maybe Coogler could even direct it!
