NBA legend has a shocking take on LeBron James' 1-on-1 skills

There are only a few things left to say about LeBron James at this point. The NBA community has run out of superlatives to describe the King's greatness. But the GOAT debate continues to drive conversation, and when using that metric, there are things that LeBron still receives criticism for.

Players from past NBA eras have criticized James for switching teams, load management, and 'having no bag.' All these takes have been debunked to some degree, but now Tracy McGrady, one of the greatest scorers in the game's history, has provided a criticism of his own.

Tracy McGrady says LeBron James would get ‘crushed’ in a one-on-one game against other NBA players

“I think LeBron has been amazing for 22 freaking years. And he’s been the best basketball player for, you know, God knows how long. But if you put him in one-on-one? I think he’ll… pic.twitter.com/UTRKkmVAEA
— NBACentral (@TheDunkCentral) April 3, 2025

“I think LeBron has been amazing for 22 freaking years. And he’s been the best basketball player for, you know, God knows how long. But if you put him in one-on-one? I think he’ll get crushed. Yeah, I think he’ll get crushed — amongst guys that are actually in the NBA," McGrady said.

"And I’m sure LeBron would tell you that, because his game is naturally built for five-on-five. He’s not a one-on-one basketball player. Kobe is a one-on-one basketball player. Kyrie is a one-on-one basketball player. James Harden — these guys are one-on-one basketball players. And LeBron can’t do anything with that.”

LeBron James dominates using his incredible athleticism as well as an absurdly high basketball IQ. So it figures that McGrady might say he is more suited to playing team ball. But considering that he's the all-time leading scorer in NBA history and a 6-time All-Defensive Team player, it's hard to imagine anyone beating him 1-on-1 either.

Kyrie may have better handles, Harden might be the king of isolation, but it's just hard to imagine any player matching up in every aspect with LeBron James. Even in a 1-on-1 scenario, no player in NBA history can be confident going up against the King.

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