The San Antonio Spurs and No. 1 overall pick Victor Wembanyama host the inaugural NBA In-Season Tournament champions Los Angeles Lakers on Friday.
Wembanyama received high praises from LeBron James in October 2022.
“Everybody’s been a unicorn over the last few years. Well, he’s more like an alien,” James said of the Spurs’ current leader in points, rebounds, steals and blocks.
The matchup continues an impressive streak for IST MVP LeBron James, who entered the NBA as the No. 1 pick in 2003 out of high school.
He has faced every No. 1 pick since 1990, except 1991 top overall pick Larry Johnson, who retired after the 2000-01 season, and boasts an 18-12 record in such matchups.
Here’s how James has fared in his first meetings against No. 1 NBA draft picks.
Hall of Famers
Shaquille O’Neal (1992), Chris Webber (1993), Allen Iverson (1996), Tim Duncan (1997), Yao Ming (2002)
Shaquille O’Neal recalls the first time he faced Yao Ming, getting rejected three times. Allen Iverson remembers facing off against Shaq , saying, “If I can school over Shaq, I can school over anybody.”
James played against five Naismith Basketball Hall of Famers over a 10-year span. He is 2-3 in these games and had his top performance against the Lakers and O’Neal, 1992’s No. 1 overall pick, with 32 points, four rebounds and four assists. However, he missed the potential game-winning jumper as time expired in regulation and was bested by O’Neal who registered 37 points, 12 rebounds, six assists and two blocks in the Lakers’ 111-106 OT win over the Cleveland Cavaliers.
Fathers with NBA sons
Glenn Robinson Jr. (1994), Kenyon Martin (2000)
James has faced nine father-son duos in his 21-season NBA career — and two of the fathers happened to be former No. 1 picks.
He put up 36 points, five assists, four rebounds and four steals in a win against Robinson Jr. and the Philadelphia 76ers. Robinson Jr.’s son, Glenn Robinson III, was drafted 40th overall by the Minnesota Timberwolves in the 2014 NBA draft and won the NBA slam dunk contest in 2017. He currently plays for the Milwaukee Bucks’ G-league affiliate, the Wisconsin Herd.
James accounted for 14 points, nine assists and four rebounds in a loss to Martin and the New Jersey Nets. Martin totaled 16 points, 13 rebounds, five assists, five steals and three blocks. His namesake, Kenyon Martin Jr., began his career with the Houston Rockets and is in his first season with the 76ers.
Teammates
Joe Smith (1995), Dwight Howard (2004), Andrew Bogut (2005), Greg Oden (2007), Derrick Rose (2008), Kyrie Irving (2011), Anthony Davis (2012)
Through his stints with the Cavs, Heat and Lakers, James has a 4-3 record against teammates who were the top pick. He surpassed 30 points in all four victories. First, with a 34 point, 14 assist and seven rebound game in a win against Oden’s Portland Trail Blazers. The next occurrence was when he tallied 36 points (13-20 FG, 7-10 3-pt FG) six assists, four rebounds and two steals in a victory over Davis and the New Orleans Hornets.
He had the second 50-point game of his career against Bogut and the Bucks with a showing of 52 points, seven assists and seven rebounds in a 111-106 loss.
James recorded 41 points, nine rebounds, six assists and four steals to defeat Rose and the Bulls.
Active players
John Wall (2010), Irving, Davis, Andrew Wiggins (2014), Karl-Anthony Towns (2015), Ben Simmons (2016), Markelle Fultz (2017), Deandre Ayton (2018), Zion Williamson (2019), Anthony Edwards (2020), Cade Cunningham (2021), Paolo Banchero (2022)
LeBron James laughs at a reporter’s softball question about Ben Simmons’ performance, then discusses how Philadelphia fans are rowdy through the good or bad.
James is 12-1 in his first meetings against active players that were No. 1 picks, and is on a five-game winning streak in such games. He put up a triple-double in his only loss, with 44 points, 11 rebounds and 11 assists. The 76ers defeated the Cavs 132-130 and Fultz contributed off the bench with 10 pts (5-8 FG), four assists and two steals.
More recently, Cunningham became the only No. 1 pick to record a triple-double against James with 13 points, 12 rebounds and 10 assists in the Detroit Pistons’ 121-116 loss to the Lakers.
Rest of the field
Derrick Coleman (1990), Michael Olowokandi (1998), Elton Brand (1999), Kwame Brown (2001), Andrea Bargnani (2006), Blake Griffin (2009), Anthony Bennett (2013)
James’ played his first game against another No. 1 pick nearly two months into his NBA career, facing Brown and the Washington Wizards. The Cavs came out on top and James nearly put up a triple-double with 17 points, nine assists and eight rebounds.
ESPN Stats and Information contributed to this story.
