LeBron James has many different versions of his career that can be put up in different kinds of arguments. The teenager who carried the Cleveland Cavaliers before he was old enough to rent a car. The Miami years, when he finally got his rings, and half of the country did not like him for it. The return to Cleveland, which gave him maybe some of the most debated seasons of his entire career. And then the Los Angeles Lakers chapter, which is still being sorted out.
But when the Cavaliers fans talk about Lebron at his absolute ceiling, the conversation almost always lands somewhere between 2015 and 2018. Three seasons. Native city, one franchise and very different circumstances each time.
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And depending on who you ask, you’ll get a different answer about which version was the one. Iman Shumpert was there for all those years. He played alongside LeBron during that Cleveland run, so he has a firsthand opinion on which season was the best.
Shumpert picks LeBron’s scariest version
In a recent episode of Richard Jefferson‘s “The Richard Show,” Shumpert was put through a “Start, Bench, Cut” game using three versions of his former teammate. The choices were – 2015 LeBron, 2016 LeBron and 2018 LeBron.
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“2016 Bron, Start. 2018 Bron, come off the bench and then we’ll cut 2015 Bron,” Shumpert said. “2015 Bron was when we first got there, we was kind of figuring it out as a team.”
He then circled back to 2018 with a moment that came to his mind – the dunk against the Portland Trail Blazers, where LeBron went past the defense and threw it down on Jusuf Nurkic.
“That’s when he threw it in on Portland, threw that sh-t in,” Shumpert said, sounding like he still couldn’t believe what he saw.
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Shumpert’s answer is hard to argue with, and not just because he has a former teammate’s perspective. The 2016 version of LeBron James is one that broke the ceiling. His regular season numbers, 25.3 points, 7.4 rebounds and 8.8 assists, were as complete as it could get. But, honestly, the regular season almost feels average when you remember what came after it.
The Cavaliers were down 3-1 in the Finals to the Golden State Warriors after winning the Eastern Conference crown. TheStephen Curry-led Warriors that year had finished a 73-win season. Most of the Cavaliers fans had already moved on. LeBron had not. He ended up closing out Game 5, 6 and 7 by leading both rosters in points, assists, rebounds, blocks and steals.
In Game 7, he chased down Andre Igoudala’s layup and rejected it off the backboard, with the scores tied and less than two minutes left. That was peak read, reaction and will, all at once. Cleveland won its first title in 52 years. Maybe that’s why 2016 LeBron always starts.
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The 2018 and 2015 LeBron versions deserve their flowers
The 2018 version of LeBron was compelling enough to have it come off the bench. Kyrie Irving was gone. The roster around James was a work in progress, to put it kindly. He still played all 82 games, averaging 27.5 points, 9.1 assists and 8.6 rebounds. Operating as the entire offensive infrastructure of the team.
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Then, by himself, he went to the Finals and dropped 51 points in Game 1 against a Warriors team that had Kevin Durant. The fact that Cleveland lost does not really diminish what that version was doing individually.
As for 2015, the cut against the other two is justified. LeBron had just returned from Miami. The team was still finding itself as Shumpert suggested. Kevin Love and Irving both went down with injuries in the playoffs. He still averaged 35.8 points, 13.3 rebounds and 8.8 assists per game in the Finals against the Warriors. But eventually lost due to his poor shooting percentage.
That said, these three versions of “The King” would have been the best player on almost any other team in NBA history.
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This story was originally published by Basketball Network on Jun 7, 2026, where it first appeared in the Off The Court section. Add Basketball Network as a Preferred Source by clicking here.