Some LeBron James fans say he never had teammates who had his back, which is incorrect, as James has had several top-notch NBA teammates, including Kyrie Irving, Kevin Love, Dwyane Wade, Chris Bosh, Anthony Davis and Russell Westbrook. Those teammates helped King James earn his four championship rings.
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However, it must be admitted that LeBron James also had some very bad teammates, some of them did not belong in the NBA, and it's hard to understand how they made it to the NBA. So, without further ado, here's a look at the 10 worst NBA teammates LeBron James ever had.
10 Ira Newble
You may not have even heard the name Ira Newble, but he had a forgettable NBA career. In eight years, this small forward and shooting guard played 380 NBA games, averaging 5.1 points, 2.9 rebounds and 0.9 assists per game, with a dismal 9.6 player efficiency rating.
Newble was LeBron James' teammate with the Cleveland Cavaliers between the 2003-04 and 2007-08 seasons. In that period, Newble averaged 4.2 points per game and had a -1.5 Value Over Replacement Player.
9 Avery Bradley
Avery Bradley played 45 games as a starter with the Los Angeles Lakers in the 2021-22 season, which highlights the lack of depth that the squad had, and that was precisely one of the reasons why they did not make the playoffs, being one of the biggest disappointments of the season.
Avery Bradley was one of the worst starters in the entire league, averaging 6.4 points, 2.2 rebounds, 0.8 assists, with a 42.3 field goal percentage, and a 7.8 Player Efficiency Rating. Avery Bradley has undoubtedly been one of the worst teammates LeBron James has ever had.
8 Eric Snow
Eric Snow peaked with the Philadelphia 76ers, having three good seasons, but immediately after (2004-05 season) Snow was signed by the Cleveland Cavaliers.
Then Eric Snow's decline began, as in 267 games with the team, Snow averaged 4.0 points, 2.1 rebounds and 3.9 assists, with a Player Efficiency Rating of 8.3. Eric Snow showed flaws in his game both as a starter and coming off the bench.
7 Sasha Pavlović
Sasha Pavlović was born in Montenegro, he worked hard to get to the NBA, staying 10 years in the league, but going unnoticed.
This shooting guard and small forward played five seasons alongside LeBron James for the Cleveland Cavaliers, playing 302 games, averaging 6.1 points, 1.9 rebounds and 1.1 assists per game, with a -1.3 Value Over Replacement Player, and a 9.1 Player Efficiency Rating. Evidently, Sasha Pavlović contributed little to nothing to LeBron James' effort to lead the Cavs to the championship.
6 Joel Anthony
Joel Anthony had a 10-year NBA career, but how did he manage to stay in the best basketball league in the world for so long? That's a mystery. This center had mediocre career averages of 2.2 points, 2.8 rebounds, 0.2 assists and 1.1 blocks per game, with a Player Efficiency Rating of 9.7.
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Anthony was a teammate of LeBron James playing for Miami Heat, between the 2010-11 and 2013-14 season, and his performance was as mediocre as ever, in 234 games recording 2.1 points, 2.9 rebounds, 0.2 assists and 1.0 blocks per game, with a 9.0 PER.
5 J.R. Smith
Maybe J.R Smith and LeBron James are friends, but from an objective standpoint, Smith could be considered one of LeBron James' worst teammates. Aside from J.R Smith's infamous mistake in Game 1 of the 2018 NBA Finals, he contributed little to nothing to the Cleveland Cavaliers' cause.
While they were teammates, J.R Smith averaged 10.2 points, 2.9 rebounds and 1.8 assists per game, with a 2.3 Value Over Replacement Player and a 10.0 Player Efficiency Rating.
4 Markieff Morris
In the 2020-21 season, Markieff Morris was enshrined as one of the worst NBA teammates LeBron James has ever had. In 61 games, 27 as a starter, Morris recorded 6.7 points, 4.4 rebounds and 1.2 assists per game, with -0.2 Value Over Replacement Player and a 9.3 Player Efficiency Rating.
In the playoffs his performance was even worse, scoring just nine points, with four rebounds and three assists in 37 minutes played in the series against the Phoenix Suns.
3 Juwan Howard
Juwan Howard had a very good NBA career, averaging 13.4 points, 6.1 rebounds, 2.2 assists and 0.7 steals per game in 1208 games over 19 seasons. Admittedly, however, Howard was one of LeBron James' worst teammates.
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Howard played the last three years of his career with the Miami Heat, and by that time his skills had already deteriorated greatly. In 92 games with the Heat, Howard had a Player Efficiency Rating of 7.4, -0.7 VORP and a -5.1 box plus/minus. In terms of traditional stats, Howard recorded 2.2 points, 1.9 rebounds and 0.4 assists per game.
2 Joe Harris
Joe Harris is one of the players with the best 3-point field goal percentage in NBA history, and he's played pretty well for the Brooklyn Nets, but it wasn't always that way. When Harris made his NBA debut in a Cleveland Cavaliers uniform, he was very green, he struggled to adjust to the league.
In the 2014-15 season Harris 5.6 Player Efficiency Rating and -5.6 box plus/minus, averaging just 2.7 points per game. Joe Harris was undoubtedly one of the worst teammates LeBron James has ever had.
1 Norris Cole
Norris Cole and LeBron James were teammates for three seasons with the Miami Heat. In that span, this point guard played 227 games, averaging 6.2 points, 1.7 rebounds and 2.4 assists per game, with -4.5 box plus/minus, -3.1 Value Over Replacement Player and 8.3 Player Efficiency Rating, which is simply terrible.
Norris Cole had a forgettable NBA career, but thanks to LeBron James he has two championship rings.
