Los Angeles Lakers star LeBron James is considered by many as the greatest basketball player in the world.
According to Golden State Warriors guard Juan Toscano-Anderson, James called himself as such in the Lakers’ play-in battle against the Warriors late in May.
Juan Toscano-Anderson details his trash talk with LeBron in a recent matchup between the Warriors and Lakers:
JTA: "I'm here. What's up? You gotta score on me, you gotta show me."
Bron: "Man, that was great defense but I'm the best player in the world."
("The Real Ones" Pod) pic.twitter.com/wI5IY82k0p
— NBACentral (@TheDunkCentral) June 7, 2021
In that contest, James and Anthony Davis helped Los Angeles come back from a 13-point halftime deficit. The superstar pair was reportedly fueled by trash talk from Toscano-Anderson and teammate Jordan Poole.
The Lakers earned the No. 7 seed in the playoffs after that win and faced the Phoenix Suns as a result.
Unfortunately, Los Angeles could not overcome Davis’ injury and was eliminated in six games. James, who was not fully healthy himself, did all he could to carry the Lakers in the hope of pulling an upset.
The four-time MVP averaged 23.3 points, 7.2 rebounds, 8.0 assists and 1.5 steals per game in the first-round series. However, it was not enough as only Davis and point guard Dennis Schroder were able to average double digits in scoring.
