LeBron James' best teammates of all time, ranked
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Early in his career, LeBron James was known for shouldering a heavy burden, as there wasn’t a lot of talent around him on his Cleveland Cavaliers teams during his first stint there. Since then, the all-time great NBA player has regularly played with megastars. He somewhat invented the superteam when he joined the Miami Heat, and Luka Doncic is the latest star to join forces with The Chosen One.
Doncic was traded to James’ Los Angeles Lakers in a shocking trade for Anthony Davis. It is one of the biggest and most surprising deals in sports history, not just in the NBA. Doncic’s presence certainly gives the Lakers a dynamic duo, but where does the former Dallas Maverick rank among James’ best teammates ever?
This is not a ranking of the entire careers of James’ teammates. Instead, we are only looking at what these players produced during their time with James or are expected to produce while playing with him. For example, James did team up with Shaquille O’Neal on the Cleveland Cavaliers, but The Diesel was well past his prime and he won’t make this ranking because of that, even though O’Neal is arguably a top 10 player of all time. Doncic, though, will appear on this list because we think he can make a huge impact before James finally hangs ’em up.
1. Dwyane Wade
Seasons as LeBron’s teammate: 5
Years/teams together: Miami Heat, Cleveland Cavaliers – 2010-11 to 2013-14, 2017-18
The biggest free agent move ever saw LeBron James leave the team that drafted him for the Miami Heat. There, he promised not one… not two… but multiple championships with his new star teammate, Dwyane Wade. Wade already had a championship to his name as the number one option in Miami, and the duo ended up becoming as electric has promised.
James and Wade only played four years together in Miami, but the team became a borderline dynasty during that time. They made highlight after highlight together, and they won two championships in the process. James and Wade are arguably the most iconic duo of the 21st century since Shaquille O’Neal and Kobe Bryant.
James and Wade were nearly unstoppable together. They could both get to the rack with ease, and they were dominant in transition. Wade averaged 22.2 points, 5.3 rebounds, and 4.7 assists per game while paired up with James in Miami. James eventually left the Heat to go back to the Cleveland Cavaliers, but Wade ended up re-joining his ex-teammate there for a brief point in time, although Wade’s Cleveland stint was far from memorable. The legendary shooting guard was traded back to the Heat at the trade deadline of his first season with the Cavaliers.
James has four championships to his name, but two of them came with Wade, who was the Robin to James’ Batman. James played with good players before joining the Heat, but Wade was his first true great teammate.
2. Anthony Davis
Seasons as LeBron’s teammate: 6
Years/teams together: Los Angeles Lakers – 2019-20 to 2024-25
LeBron James’ time with his Miami Heat big three is super nostalgic, and perhaps that plays a part in why we ranked Dwyane Wade higher than Anthony Davis when it comes to James’ best teammates. Davis actually played more seasons with James, as he wasn’t traded to the Dallas Mavericks in the Luka Doncic trade until his sixth season with James and the Lakers.
Davis is the only player who has made fans question if The King was the best player on his team. During their first year together, en route to winning the NBA Finals during the COVID-19 shortened season, Davis was actually the team’s leading scorer. He averaged 26.1 points per game to James’ 25.3. No other teammate has outscored James during a season on a per-game basis.
At the time, Davis was looking like an MVP candidate. He could score inside or outside, and he was a dominant force protecting the rim on defense. While Davis was still elite over the rest of his time sharing the court with James, he was never as good as he was in that first Lakers season. Davis’ injuries started to limit their time on the court together, and they never made it back to the NBA Finals.
Still, six seasons shared is more time together than James had with any other bonafide All-Star talent. James eventually took the reigns back as Los Angeles’ clear-cut top dog, but there was a brief point in time where you had to wonder if Davis was a better player than James.
3. Kyrie Irving
Seasons as LeBron’s teammate: 3
Years/teams together: Cleveland Cavaliers – 2014-15 to 2016-17
Unfortunately, Kyrie Irving and LeBron James only played three years together before the point guard decided he was tired of playing second fiddle and being in the shadow of his megastar teammate. The two’s time together was certainly fun while it lasted, though. LeBron James has always done LeBron James things, but Irving brought a whole new dynamic to the James-led team.
Irving is arguably both the best ball handler ever and the best below-the-rim finisher ever. He scored 4,485 points has James’ teammate despite the limited time together. Irving and James also had one of the best rivalries ever against Stephen Curry’s Golden State Warriors during this time. The Cavaliers went 1-2 in the NBA Finals with Irving and James as teammates, although Irving missed nearly the entirety of their first championship series together because of an injury.
4. Chris Bosh
Seasons as LeBron’s teammate: 4
Years/teams together: Miami Heat – 2010-11 to 2013-14
We already discussed the great duo that was LeBron James and Dwyane Wade, but the Heat actually had a big three. It was Chris Bosh’s presence on the roster that led to some calling the Heat the first superteam ever. The former Toronto Raptor had to sacrifice for the betterment of his team while he played for the Heat, so his numbers took a hit.
There was no doubting that he was still one of the best players in the NBA, though. His rebound and kick out to Ray Allen in Game 6 of the 2013 NBA Finals is one of the most memorable NBA plays ever. All in all, Bosh scored 4,976 points alongside James. While his production dipped in Miami, he can’t complain about the two championships that resulted from his sacrifice.
5. Zydrunas Ilgauskas
Seasons as LeBron’s teammate: 8
Years/teams together: Cleveland Cavaliers, Miami Heat – 2003-04 to 2010-11
The best player LeBron James played with during his first stint with the Cavaliers was Zydrunas Ilgauskas. The 7-foot-3 center has become a forgotten legend since his playing days, but he was underrated even when he shared the court with James. The 641 games they played together are by far the most between James and any of his teammates.
During that time, Ilgauskas scored 7,400 of his 10,976 career points. Big Z was an impressive interior scorer due to his size, but he had more skill and mobility than you’d expect, too. Ilgauskas had a nice little mid-range shot and a variety of post moves down low. He was, of course, a solid rim protector as well.
When James left the Cavaliers for the Heat, Ilgauskas actually followed him for one season in Miami before he retired. Unfortunately, the Heat lost in the NBA Finals that year, so the Lithuanian ended his career ringless. He did make two All-Star Games, though, one of which came alongside James.
6. Kevin Love
Seasons as LeBron’s teammate: 4
Years/teams together: Cleveland Cavaliers – 2014-15 to 2017-18
Dominant stretch power forwards have to take somewhat of a backseat when they play with LeBron James. Like Chris Bosh, Kevin Love was a statistical force on his first team (Minnesota Timberwolves), but he had to do more off-ball work and spot up shooting when he became the third option on a James-led team.
Again, it resulted in an NBA Finals victory. We have Love ranked as the sixth-best James teammate ever, which ranks below Ilgauskas only because the center played double the amount of seasons with James as Love did. Love was certainly a better player than Big Z, though, so he has a case to rank even higher.
7. Luka Doncic
Seasons as LeBron’s teammate: Just traded to James’ Lakers
Years/teams together: Los Angeles Lakers – 2025
Luka Doncic and LeBron James have played exactly zero games together so far. The NBA season is already halfway over, and it wouldn’t come as a surprise to anybody if James retired at season’s end. After all, he’s already had the longest NBA career ever and is 40 years old.
Still, this duo has too much potential not to mention. James is clearly one of the greatest NBA players ever. He is the all-time scoring leader with 41,531 points and counting, his 21 All-Star nods are the most ever, and he has been an All-NBA member a record 20 times. Doncic, meanwhile, is only 25 years old, but he already has a borderline Hall of Fame career, considering his first seven years in the league were arguably the best beginning-of-career stretch ever.
Doncic has a number of records to his name, including being the first player with a 60-20-10 game and the first teenager with multiple triple doubles. The already all-time great point guard led the Dallas Mavericks to the NBA Finals last season, yet they inexplicably traded him to the Lakers just days before the 2025 NBA trade deadline.
This duo’s time together might not end up being long, but the sky is the limit for what they can do before James retires. Who knows, maybe The King still has multiple years left in the tank. After all, he hasn’t shown too many signs of regression. James is still a freak of nature, even at age 40, and he is still one the best active NBA players. Not to mention, he has to enjoy playing with his son, Bronny James, and he could even be waiting to play with his younger son, Bryce.
In terms of the Doncic-James duo, though, opposing teams are going to have a tough time guarding the Lakers. Both James and Doncic are jumbo facilitators with great basketball IQ who thrive at getting their teammates involved. They can also both score seemingly at will; James thanks to his physical attributes and Doncic because of his high skill level and fundamentals. This ranking may end up being too high in hindsight, but if the Lakers win a championship, it may also end up being too low.
8. J.R. Smith
Seasons as LeBron’s teammate: 5
Years/teams together: Cleveland Cavaliers, Los Angeles Lakers – 2014-15 to 2017-18, 2019-20
Unfortunately, J.R. Smith’s time with LeBron James is most known for his 2018 Game 1 NBA Finals blunder. In the final seconds of a tie game, Smith secured a rebound and could have put up a game-winning shot. Instead, he dribbled the ball out and nearly let time expire in front of a visibly frustrated James. The Cavaliers eventually lost that game in overtime and the series as a whole in four games.
The mistake doesn’t define Smith’s career or his time as James’ teammate, though. The NBA legend was clearly not too upset with Smith, either, considering he brought him on board for one season with the Lakers after the fact. Smith was a great dunker and three-point shooter, and that was valuable for a playmaker like James.
9. Austin Reaves
Seasons as LeBron’s teammate: 4
Years/teams together: Los Angeles Lakers – 2021-22 to present
Despite being undrafted, Austin Reaves has turned into a pretty good player. He is the only player on this list who has/had spent his entire career as James’ teammate. Reaves showed flashes as a rookie, and he has been the Lakers’ third-best player ever since. The Oklahoma product is a reliable three-point shooter, but he can also take some of the playmaking burden off of James’ shoulders. It will be interesting to see how Reaves’ role changes with Luka Doncic in town.
10. Mo Williams
Seasons as LeBron’s teammate: 3
Years/teams together: Cleveland Cavaliers – 2008-09 to 2009-10, 2015-16
Mo Williams and LeBron James didn’t spend a lot of time together (two seasons during James’ first Cleveland stint and one season when he returned to the Cavaliers), but Williams was in his prime while playing alongside James. In his first season as James’ teammate, Williams averaged 17.8 points per game and made the All-Star team.
HM. Mario Chalmers
Seasons as LeBron’s teammate: 4
Years/teams together: Miami Heat – 2010-11 to 2013-14
A lot of players had a case for the final spot on this list of LeBron James’ best teammates, but we gave the nod to Mario Chalmers. They played 358 games together, which is the fifth-most of anybody. With 8.6 points and 3.4 assists per game during that time, Chalmers was a reliable point guard to have on the floor.
James is so dominant and such a great passer that he took a lot of the typical lead guard duties away from Chalmers, but the Kansas product was able to adapt. He could serve as a catch-and-shoot threat when James was running the show, and he could also run the offense when James was off the court.
Heat fans will remember how often James and Wade would get frustrated with Chalmers, but he was still a pretty solid player as their teammate.
The post LeBron James’ best teammates of all time, ranked appeared first on ClutchPoints.
