Lakers News: Ex-Comrade Picks Best Hall of Fame LeBron James Teammate

Will it be fellow L.A. Hall of Famer Anthony Davis?

Mar 18, 2024; Los Angeles, California, USA; Los Angeles Lakers forward LeBron James (23) and forward Anthony Davis (3 celebrate against the Atlanta Hawks in the second half at Crypto.com Arena. Mandatory Credit: Kirby Lee-USA TODAY Sports / Kirby Lee-USA TODAY Sports

20-time All-NBA Los Angeles Lakers combo forward LeBron James has played with a variety of Hall of Famers in their absolute primes. But which was his best-ever teammate, between Miami Heat shooting guard Dwyane Wade and power forward/center Chris Bosh, Cleveland Cavaliers point guard Kyrie Irving and power forward Kevin Love, and Lakers center/power forward Anthony Davis?

James has also played with a variety of additional Hall of Famers who were past their primes, including Shaquille O'Neal, Dwight Howard, and Carmelo Anthony.

During a new conversation with Brandon "Scoop B" Robinson on his Scoop B Radio podcast, Perkins made his pick for James' all-time best colleague.

"AD in the bubble [during L.A.'s 2020 title run] was putting up Shaq-type numbers. I want to say it’s AD and I wanna say it’s Ky next. Man, to be down 3-1 and to pull out something that’s never been in NBA history [in winnning the 2016 NBA Finals against the 73-9 Golden State Warriors]," Perkins said.

"So here’s the thing about D-Wade, right? The thing that’s throwing off about D-Wade is when I’m hearing so many guys come out and start saying stuff like Chris Bosh was the most important player to their success as far as them winning the two championships… and now it’s getting back to me like, is D-Wade the No. 2 or was Bosh the No. 2? You know what I’m sayin’? It’s a real question to ask. I don’t really give a damn because D-Wade got it done by himself with Shaq when he won Finals MVP, but at the end of the day it’s like who was really that co-star to LeBron James? Was it Bosh or was it Wade? I understand it was ‘Wade County’ but did Wade take a backseat-backseat? Because even when we go back to looking at Paul [Pierce], [Kevin Garnett] and Ray [Allen] we knew it was Paul and KG, and Ray kind of fell in between but it was still the Big 3. At first I thought it was ‘Bron and Wade. After I started hearing [Udonis Haslem] talk about it and the other guys that played they were like, 'Bosh was the most important player.' and I was like, ‘Damn. Then who really was the Robin?’ And it’s no shade to D-Wade whatsoever, I’m just sayin’. Does that make sense?"

It's fascinating that Perkins doesn't even opt to mention Love — himself also a clear first ballot Hall of Famer — whom he played alongside as a member of the Cavaliers during the 2014-15 season. Perkins returned to the Cavs in 2017-18. At that point Irving had already forced his way to the Boston Celtics via trade.

Davis' tenure with James has been more inconsistent than any of the other stars, but at their peak together, the two frontcourt stars have looked quite lethal.

More Lakers: Post-Firing Darvin Ham Visits Coach of Another LA Staple