“Bron…Bron was the only one that thought like a point guard that wasn’t a point guard where he wouldn’t score early or sometimes he would start scoring early, and he was smart enough to make the adjustment. I hated that,” said Derrick Rose, when discussing why LeBron James was the toughest matchup for him. If the 40-year-old continued giving trouble to rival players even in his recent season run, just imagine what he was like in his prime. We don’t have to, as the dominance he put out during his tenure with the Cleveland Cavaliers and Miami Heat is proof enough.

LeBron was so good that players had to find other ways to beat him. However, the same seemingly does not apply to Michael Beasley, who recently claimed to have beaten LeBron in a one-on-one. The former NBA player, along with Lance Stephenson, was the recent guest on a stream hosted by internet personality Adin Ross. During the conversation, the now 36-year-old was asked if he ever beat LeBron James in a 1v1.

He replied with a “Yeah”. Ross and his co-host were surprised, while Beasley added that “I mean, the story is told wrong, but just know it’s legit.” When Ross asked what the score of the matchup was, Beasley simply said, “A lot to a little.” As it turns out, there is more to Beasley’s claim than just his word.

While there is little evidence that he indeed blew out LeBron like he claims, even Gilbert Arenas had claimed to have heard that Beasley never lost a one-on-one with LeBron, despite playing the King a whopping 30 times. Michael Beasley is considered to be one of the best one-on-one players in recent history, and the two did have a run together on the same team, for Miami Heat.

Amid that run, a narrative began to circulate that Michael Beasley, the former No. 2 overall draft pick, outplayed LeBron James in a practice session when both were with the Heat. Beasley himself once claimed that he used to be “on James’ a– every day in practice.” Then, standing at 6-foot-9 and 235 pounds, Michael Beasley certainly had the physique and athleticism to match up with LeBron during scrimmages. Therefore, while hard, it is not impossible to believe that LeBron would have lost a 1 v 1 game.

NBA legends cannot be expected to be at their best at all times. Longtime NBA fans might remember how Shaquille O’Neal once got the better of Michael Jordan in a 1v1 session before the main game. Nevertheless, even if Beasley beat LeBron, it is still better than what Lance Stephenson did once to get an advantage over the now 40-year-old.

Lance Stephenson reveals the reason behind blowing in LeBron James’ ear: “I’ll do whatever I can”

During the interview with Adin Ross, one of Lance Stephenson’s most viral moments was brought up. It took place back in 2014, during Game 5 of the Eastern Conference Finals between the Miami Heat and Indiana Pacers. Stephenson, who was then with the Pacers, went viral after he was caught blowing in LeBron James’ ear. Slow-motion footage of the moment showed the player doing it on purpose, with LeBron dismissing it with a smirk and a shake of his head.

11 years later, people still remember that incident. Beasley revealed that, back then, everyone placed the now All-Time Scorer on a pedestal. Beasley wanted to kill that belief. Undertaking such great tasks often requires some unconventional thinking.

“I wanted to win the game so bad, and I would do whatever” said Stephenson. When asked if it worked, Ross added, “We won that game, (but) we didn’t win the series. We won that game. So I was like, “Man, Il do whatever I could to win that game”.

This wasn’t the first time Lance Stephenson revealed the real reason for doing what he did. Back in 2023, the former player told the same thing to Brandon “Scoop B” Robinson by saying, “Just playing hard, man. We were trying to win a Championship playing hard against one of the greatest players to ever play basketball, so you know I bring it all. I brought the New York out and trying my best to stop him. So we won that game, that’s all that mattered.”

For Adin Stephenson, anything that could be done to distract LeBron was worthwhile. Especially if it meant giving the Pacers an advantage. Almost a decade later, nothing has changed, as teams work hard to specifically plan on how to get the better of the 4x NBA champion during games. Fortunately, we haven’t seen anything as bizarre as ear blowing in recent days.