If Dwight Howard is able to earn his way onto the opening night roster for the Los Angeles Lakers, he will combine with Anthony Davis to become the seventh and eighth former No. 1 Draft Picks that LeBron James has played with during his NBA career. The first No. 1 overall pick that James played with was Joe Smith, who arrived in Cleveland as a Cavaliers teammate of LeBron’s via trade from the Chicago Bulls in 2008.
The best No. 1 overall duo LeBron has formed thus far is alongside Kyrie Irving, who he teamed up with in 2014 after returning to the Cavs. James and Irving helped lead Cleveland to the 2016 NBA championship, a level of production that might be rivaled this season with Davis in Los Angeles. For now, though, we’ll look back at each of the top draft picks LeBron has played with while looking forward to the upcoming season alongside AD and Dwight.
Joe Smith – 2008 & 2009 (Cleveland Cavaliers)
The Golden State Warriors made Joe Smith the No. 1 overall pick out of Maryland in 1995. He’d go on from there to play 16 seasons in the NBA for 12 different franchises. In 2008, he first teamed up with LeBron as a member of the Cleveland Cavaliers. He’d then begin the next season with the Oklahoma City Thunder before returning to finish the 2008-09 campaign in Cleveland. As a teammate of LeBron’s, Smith averaged 7.4 points and 4.9 rebounds while also appearing in 26 postseason games over those two years.
Shaquille O’Neal – 2009-10 (Cleveland Cavaliers)
During Shaquille O’Neal’s introductory press conference in Cleveland, he said that his goal with the Cavaliers was to win a ring for the King. He wouldn’t deliver on that mission, but he did help LeBron win a lot of games during the only season they spent together as teammates. The former first overall pick of the Orlando Magic in 1992 averaged 12 points and seven rebounds during his season with the Cavs while also appearing in 11 postseason games. The LSU product would spend the following year of his career in Boston before retiring from the NBA.
Greg Oden – 2013-14 (Miami Heat)
Greg Oden was selected with the first overall pick in the 2007 NBA Draft by the Portland Trail Blazers. Unfortunately, injuries derailed what many projected to be a promising professional career after starring on the collegiate level at Ohio State. After struggling through five disappointing seasons in Portland where he only appeared in a total of 82 games, Oden joined LeBron James as a member of the Miami Heat in 2013. He’d only make 23 appearances for Miami that season, however, before concluding his NBA career.
Kyrie Irving – 2014-17 (Cleveland Cavaliers)
Kyrie Irving had just emerged as a perennial All-Star when LeBron James returned to Cleveland in 2014. The two dynamic stars would combine to offer one of the best one-two punches in recent NBA history while playing together with the Cavaliers. With Irving and James leading the attack, Cleveland would advance to three-straight NBA Finals appearances while winning it all together in 2016. By the end of this upcoming season, we may say that Anthony Davis is the best No. 1 overall pick that LeBron has ever played with during the time they were teammates. But for now, that title belongs to the first overall pick of the 2011 NBA Draft out of Duke, Kyrie Irving.
Andrew Bogut – 2017 (Cleveland Cavaliers)
The Australian center who arrived in the NBA by way of the No. 1 overall pick in the 2005 draft was technically only a teammate of LeBron James for one minute. After joining the Cleveland Cavaliers in 2017, Bogut unfortunately broke his leg 56 seconds into his first game alongside LeBron. The longtime NBA veteran who won a championship with the Golden State Warriors in 2015 would be waived by Cleveland later that year and never appear in another game with the Cavaliers.
Derrick Rose – 2017-18 (Cleveland Cavaliers)
The No. 1 overall pick of the 2008 Draft and 2011 NBA MVP would team up with LeBron James while battling back from a series of injuries during the 2017-18 season. He’d play in only 16 games as LeBron’s teammate in Cleveland, though, averaging 9.8 points per contest before joining the Minnesota Timberwolves. Rose would eventually have a comeback year in Minnesota during the 2018-19 campaign where he averaged 18 points and 4.3 assists.
Anthony Davis – 2019-20 (Los Angeles Lakers)
LeBron has never played a game with Anthony Davis but there’s reasons to believe that he could become the best No. 1 overall pick that LeBron James has ever played with. While winning championships with Kyrie Irving and Dwyane Wade, LeBron has never had the second best player on his team be an interior presence like AD. It seems that James ability to handle the basketball and facilitate for others sets up to be a more natural fit with a player like Davis who doesn’t need to be handling the ball on the perimeter to be effective. It will be fun to see just how far LeBron and the first overall pick in the 2012 NBA Draft out of Kentucky will be able to carry the Lakers together.
Dwight Howard – 2019-2020 (Los Angeles Lakers)
Dwight Howard still has to make the best of his non-guaranteed contract opportunity by actually earning his spot on the active roster this season for the Lakers. But if he is able to get his mind right and approach the game professionally, he seems to possess the tools even at this late stage in his career to be a difference-maker around the rim at times for Los Angeles. After becoming the first overall pick of the Orlando Magic in the 2004 NBA Draft–the year after LeBron was selected first by Cleveland–Howard went on to become an eight-time All-Star and five-time All-NBA First Team performer. The Lakers won’t need that from his this season, but they will need him to be healthy, active and a quality teammate if they hope to accomplish their goals as a franchise.
