Superstar LeBron James has been dominant for a long time, and he has been consistently good on all the teams he has been on. Due to his longevity, many fans have wondered which version of the superstar is the best on the court.

LeBron James’ former teammate, Iman Shumpert, recently weighed in on which version of LeBron James he thinks is the best. The guard claimed that 2012 LeBron James on the Miami Heat was the “scariest” after losing to Dirk Nowitzki in the 2011 Finals, noting that he and Dwyane Wade would consistently attack the rim.

“You remember the year that Dirk won… That next year they came back when him and D-Wade vowed to not shoot, not settle for 3s… They was just attacking. It was vicious. I was like bro, what the f*** are we supposed to do?… I feel like that was the scariest Bron to deal with.”

There is no doubt that prime LeBron James attacking the rim was a tough assignment for even the best defenders. We saw Metta Sandiford-Artest admit that LeBron James dominated when they faced off against one another, and he was one of the best defenders in his era. James, at his peak athletically, was borderline unstoppable at the rim, and it is easy to see why Shumpert thinks the 2012 version of him is the best one.

During the 2011-12 season, LeBron James averaged 27.1 points per game, 7.9 rebounds per game, and 6.2 assists per game, while shooting 36.2% from 3PT range. The box score stats don’t necessarily do him enough justice, and James was clearly on a mission that year.

LeBron James Had A Great Mentality After Winning The 2012 Championship

There is no doubt that winning the first title of his career in 2012 took a large weight off of LeBron James’ shoulders, and it seems as though he had some great thoughts after the win. James claimed that it is impossible to be perfect, and added that one has to be able “to live” with their mistakes as well as grow from them.

This is some great advice not only for basketball but for life as well. We have to continuously improve and learn from the things that go wrong, and it is clear that LeBron James learned from his loss to Dirk Nowitzki in 2011. That loss was a stepping stone to his ultimate success, and it is fair to say that he has been a top-tier player ever since, winning four championships since then.

Hopefully, we see LeBron James continue to dominate with the Los Angeles Lakers during the 2023-24 season. The team is definitely a contender with him present, and we’ll see how they do in the future.