LeBron James, the Philadelphia 76ers forward, has blocked 601 players in his 23 years playing in the NBA. However, the person with the highest number of blocks from LeBron is now revealed thanks to a viral stat rundown.
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The basketball content account, @iknowballnetwork, has posted a Reel featuring Derek and Dante, ranking the 10 players that LeBron has blocked the most times. Paul Pierce, a former Boston Celtics forward, is number one on the list with 23 blocks ahead of names like Derrick Rose, Carmelo Anthony, and Stephen Curry.
LeBron has 1,185 blocks and, in 69 head-to-head games, is 39-30 all-time against Pierce, with 22-17 in the regular season and 17-13 in the playoffs.
The difference in the scoring numbers is evidence of LeBron’s dominance over Pierce in their games. The former has averaged 29.3 points, 6.7 rebounds, and 6.5 assists while Pierce has averaged 20.2 points, 5.6 rebounds, and 3.9 assists in their regular-season games.
Pierce’s public criticism of LeBron is nothing new, and his remarks about how the Celtics did not want anything to do with LeBron are part of that narrative.
“No, we don’t want him on the Celtics.”
This was Pierce’s statement to TMZ Sports during his discussion of LeBron’s free agency in the offseason, ahead of LeBron eventually opting to join the Philadelphia 76ers for two years at $8 million.
But there’s a little more history behind that dig as well. Before, Pierce had left LeBron out of his all-time top five and criticized the fact that playing for multiple teams throughout his career diminished his legacy.
The history between the two goes deeper than Pierce’s comments about LeBron’s legacy. Their rivalry was built during some of the biggest Eastern Conference battles of LeBron’s career. Boston eliminated Cleveland in the 2008 and 2010 playoffs, with Pierce scoring 41 points in the decisive Game 7 of the 2008 series. LeBron eventually flipped the matchup after joining Miami, with the Heat beating Boston in the 2011 and 2012 playoffs. The 2012 series was especially memorable because LeBron scored 45 points in Game 6 in Boston to put Miami into the Eastern Conference Finals.
LeBron James’s Blocks List Sparks a Wave of Social Media Reactions
Once the blocks list started making the rounds online, fans quickly connected Pierce’s No. 1 spot to his long history with LeBron. The reactions were less about the statistic itself and more about what fans believed it said about their rivalry.
“It all makes sense why Paul Pierce hate bron,” said a fan.
“We now see why he lives rent-free in Paul Pierce’s mind, his biggest hater,” another fan wrote.
This draws from Pierce’s own acknowledgment that ESPN’s continuous hype about LeBron was driving him crazy. Fans view the blocked shots list as the ultimate validation of their rivalry making an impact.
“I can see why Pierce hates LeBron,” read another reaction.
This is related to the 2008 Eastern Conference Semifinals Game 7, where LeBron posted 45 points, but Pierce responded with 41 points to take Boston past them. This incident has become an important one in their rivalry.
“I just KNEW Pierce was gonna be number 1,” a user commented.
James enjoys an overall record of 39-30 against Pierce, having averaged 29.3 to 20.2 points in games against him. There was no shock for his being on top of the rankings.
“Paul Pierce being at the top of the list brought a big smile to my face,” was another reaction.
The rivalry also had a different chapter in 2010, when Boston again eliminated Cleveland before LeBron eventually left for Miami. Two years later, LeBron got his postseason revenge against Pierce’s Celtics, scoring 45 points in the decisive Game 6 in Boston.
The reactions turned a simple statistical list into another chapter of the Pierce-LeBron rivalry, giving fans one more number to attach to a matchup that has lasted for nearly two decades.