Nick Young boldy claims LeBron James wouldn’t stand a chance against him in his prime in Drew League: “He knows I get buckets”
Nick Young and LeBron James battled it out 31 times throughout their respective NBA careers, creating plenty of exciting moments for fans over the years. At 38 years old, the careers of the two men overlapped considerably, with James entering the league in 2003 and Young entering the league in 2007.
Although Nick Young hasn't played in the NBA since 2018, having last appeared for the Denver Nuggets, the former LA Lakers and Golden State Warriors guard has been competing in the Philippines. He became NBA champion in 2018 with the Warriors.
While many players would be content to sit back and reflect on their careers after accomplishing all Young has, he can’t help but think back on his battles with LeBron James and wish they had more.
While talking with fans on Instagram Live, Nick Young expressed his desire for him and LeBron James to compete in the Drew League. Of course, the Drew League has already hosted a number of NBA players who have all been eager to compete in the intimate setting.
There, they face off against some of the toughest ProAm players in the country. If Young and James faced on the floor in the Drew League, 'Swaggy P' believes fans would vote him the league's greatest player.
"I guarantee if seen LeBron in front of me at the Drew League you wouldn't know who is the best player in the NBA. That's not crazy to me though."
"LeBron is a G.O.A.T; when come to that Drew back when I was Swaggy, that's how crazy it could be... He knows I get buckets. I love LeBron though. That's my dog!"
Looking at LeBron James and Nick Young's head-to-head stats
As previously mentioned, LeBron James and Nick Young played one another 31 times throughout their careers. As such, let's take a look at how the two stack up against one another in the head-to-head battle.
After 31 games played between the two, LeBron James has 20 wins to Young's 11. Of those, James leads the regular season battle 18 wins to 5, however, in the playoffs, Young holds a 6-2 lead when facing the future Hall of Famer.
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Despite that, it's LeBron James who leads the head-to-head battle in every major stat category. In points per game, James leads Young 27.0 to 10.2, while in the rebounding battle, James leads 7.9 to 1.4. Again, in the assist statistics, James averages 7.6 when matching up against Young, with Swaggy P averaging just 0.8.
On defense, James' abilities really stand out, with 1.3 steals per game compared to Nick Young's 0.5 in their head-to-head matchups. Similarly, when looking at the blocks per game, James leads 1.0 to 0.1.
Whether things would have been different in the Drew League, we'll never know.
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