Jordan Bell was an incoming rookie for the Golden State Warriors when he had the chance to play against LeBron James in a pickup game in an open gym at UCLA. Like most youngsters, Bell was excited to finally experience what it was like to go against The King.
Bell matched up with James, and it didn’t take long before Bell’s excitement turned into disbelief. According to the Oregon alum, watching LeBron on TV is one thing and guarding him in a game is definitely another.
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“It’s different than what you see on TV,” Bell told NBC Sports Bay Area in 2017 of matching up against LBJ. “It’s waaaay different.”
LeBron is faster than most people think
As an undersized center, Bell was a good fit for the Warriors’ small-ball approach. At 6’8″ and almost 220 pounds, “Eraser” was significantly faster than most big men. However, that didn’t matter at all when he played against James.
Based on how Bell described it, LeBron possessed otherworldly quickness. He also pointed out that the four-time MVP had a strange yet highly effective way of attacking the basket.
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In sum, Bell never once figured out James the entire game. He began and finished the match in the same state, just completely in awe of Bron and clueless about what was happening.
“He was standing straight up, and I’m thinking he can’t go by me if he’s standing straight up,” Bell described. “I’m in a good defensive stance. He’s not crouching… I’m not going to say he got by me, but I didn’t realize he was so quick… I’d understand that quickness if he got lower, but I’ve never seen anybody so quick while standing straight up.”
“I thought I did a pretty good job on him, but he obviously hit some shots,” he added. “But he would get on the block, and I’m containing him, not letting him back me down, and he would fade away from the block to the 3-point line — and make it. I just played the best defense of my life. It didn’t matter.”
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Even Steph said the same thing about Bron
The Warriors were no strangers to what James could do with the basketball. For them, everything Bell said about guarding Bron was no longer a surprise.
In fact, even Warriors superstar Steph Curry once said almost the same thing about playing against LeBron. He emphasized that LBJ has a knack for keeping them guessing and frustrated in the end.
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“In terms of one guy being able to change the course of the game the way he can by controlling the pace,” Steph once said of James. “He does things that look like, ‘How did he do that,’ and it doesn’t matter how great of defense you play on him.”
Bell went on to face King James during his rookie season. He even had the opportunity to take on LeBron and the Cleveland Cavaliers in the Finals, and he even won an NBA title with the Warriors. Even though he never really torched James, Bell could at least say he technically beat The King.
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This story was originally published by Basketball Network on Apr 9, 2026, where it first appeared in the Old School section. Add Basketball Network as a Preferred Source by clicking here.