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LeBron James Kirby Lee-USA TODAY Sports

Former Heat point guard says 'nobody fears' playing against LeBron James

By Colum Dell | Last updated 3/20/23

Nine-year veteran Mario Chalmers reached four consecutive NBA Finals and won two championships with the Miami Heat largely because of LeBron James' play. Nevertheless, Chalmers believes his former teammate isn't on par with six-time champion Michael Jordan.

Chalmers recently told Playmaker's "In Shambles" podcast that although James was as dominant as anyone in his prime, opponents didn't fear facing him as they would with Jordan.

"Nobody fears Bron," Chalmers said. "Nobody's like, 'Damn, I gotta go play against Bron tonight.' Nobody said that. I don't know why because I seen people be scared when they actually line up to him, but they're not scared thinking about that matchup."

"You hear anybody from that era talk about going against Jordan, there's a fear," Chalmers continued. "So when you have people that fear a player, then that tells you something different already. Like Jordan is just that guy. Like everything was, 'I want to be like Mike.'"

"Nobody fears Bron"

LeBron’s former teammate Mario Chalmers says NBA players aren’t scared to face Bron

(via @playmaker)pic.twitter.com/odNNa84oa1
— Bleacher Report (@BleacherReport) March 20, 2023

Despite Chalmers' shot at James, it's unsurprising that he praises Jordan, one of the most intense athletes ever. In an interview after his 1997 NBA Finals win against Utah, Jordan acknowledged that his opponents feared him but that it was because they also respected him.

"Along with fear comes respect," Jordan told SLAM Magazine. "You can tell just by the way they play and the way they approach the game. A lot of times, I can see it in their eyes."

However, for Chalmers to say opponents didn't fear James simply isn't true.

While Hall of Famers Paul Pierce and Kevin Garnett claimed to have been unconcerned about James, their former Celtics teammate Kendrick Perkins admitted otherwise. In June 2022, Perkins told JJ Redick that before Game 7 of the 2008 Eastern Conference Semifinals, he prayed that James got hurt because he was afraid to face him.

Kendrick Perkins prayed for a LeBron injury prior to a Game 7?! pic.twitter.com/kKA1akr60M
— ᗩᑎT ᗯᖇIGᕼT (@itsAntWright) June 25, 2022

After spending parts of his first eight seasons with the Heat, Chalmers was traded to the Memphis Grizzlies in 2015 before a ruptured Achilles derailed his NBA career.

The 36-year-old Chalmers last played in the Association in 2018 and has since alternated between the G League and overseas. In January, he signed with the Zamboanga Valientes of the ASEAN Basketball League and averaged 15.8 points and five assists in five games.

Given that James has won two more championships since leaving Miami, holds the NBA's all-time scoring record and continues to excel when healthy, Chalmers' dig likely doesn't phase him.

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