"Had more than enough battles": LeBron James finally names the best player he has even defended and it's not Steph Curry or Kevin Durant

LA Lakers star LeBron James is set to begin his 23rd NBA season, further cementing his legendary status. Despite facing some of the game’s all-time greats, James recently revealed the toughest player he’s ever had to guard and surprisingly, it’s not a household name.

On Thursday, during Complex’s show 360 with Speedy, James opened up about his toughest opponent. Skipping big names like Steph Curry and Kevin Durant, he instead pointed to a hometown friend as the player who challenged him the most.

"A kid that we grew up with, it's like our brother now, his name is Derek Tarver," James said (Timestamp: 17:06 onwards). "He's like two or three years older than me. Same age as Maverick, but like he was just stronger than everybody at like f*cking 10. Like, 10 years old, lefty brolic, stronger than everybody. And you knew what he was going to do, and there was no way you was going to stop it."

Continuing to express his views on his strongest opposition, James revealed that Tarver used to "cook" him, but now said he is the better player.

"He still thinks he can cook me now," James said. "And when he sees this, he's going to be like, I can still cook you now. He can't cook me anymore, though."

Tarver later reposted James' admission on his story, which earned a reaction from the Lakers forward.

"🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣 We had more than enough battles, growing up for damn sure," James wrote.

LeBron James reposts Tarver's story on Instagram (Source: @kingjames/IG)

Despite playing some NBA greats during his career, James named Tarver as his toughest opposition as he was asked to name "the best player" he has guarded at "any level."

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LeBron James opens up about his retirement plans amid his recent off-court endeavors

LeBron James will enter the final year of his contract with the Lakers this season, with many believing this could be his final season in the NBA. During his interview with Complex, James was questioned about his future in the league amid his various off-court endeavors, which include golfing and the Forever King Tour.

Despite many speculating that his off-court activities signal a possible retirement, James made it clear that’s not the case.

"I'm not about to play another 23 years. That's for damn sure. And I'm not about to play another 10. So, I'm definitely gearing up to where the end is. I'm not there yet," James expressed. (Timestamp: 18:12 onwards)

"It's like, oh, I seen this mother f*cker with chopsticks. Oh, he's retiring. Oh, I seen he wear a t-shirt that's too big. Oh, retirement. Oh s*it he picked up golf. Retirement. It's like it's just something I want to do. It's just a little hobby."

LeBron James' recent comments will reassure his fans who are worried about him retiring