Jan 13, 2017; Sacramento, CA, USA; Cleveland Cavaliers forward LeBron James (23) and forward Richard Jefferson (24) react to a call from referee Mitchell Ervin (27) during the second quarter at Golden 1 Center. Mandatory Credit: Sergio Estrada-USA TODAY Sports

'Playing With LeBron Sucks' – Former Cleveland Cavaliers Player Gets 100% Honest on Having LeBron James as a Teammate

Originally posted on Hardwood Heroics | By Jordan Samar | Last updated Jul 16, 2025 10:00 AM ET

Former Cleveland Cavaliers player Richard Jefferson recently opened up on what it’s like being teammates with LeBron James during their short stint together from 2015 to 2017.

Jefferson admitted he felt a lot of pressure to keep up with James, which is actually a veiled compliment for the former Cleveland Cavaliers franchise player.

“Hell yeah, there’s cons. You want to know what the con is? Here are the cons. Playing with LeBron sucks because you’re trying to win a championship. That he’s one of the most competitive human beings in the history of American sports and sports in general,” Jefferson explained on the Road Trippin’ Podcast.

Lakers News: LeBron James Jealousy Over Luka Doncic Debunked By Ex-Laker 8 Mar 25, 2018; Brooklyn, NY, USA; Cleveland Cavaliers small forward LeBron James (23) and center Kevin Love (0) celebrate during the fourth quarter against the Brooklyn Nets at Barclays Center. Mandatory Credit: Brad Penner-USA TODAY Sports

“And it’s like, yeah, those are the cons, but there were cons for playing with Jordan. There were cons to playing with Kobe. There were cons to playing with players who were so great that they demanded excellence. There were cons for playing for Pat Riley or Popovich, or Spoelstra. There’s always cons,” he added.

Richard Jefferson’s brief tenure with the Cleveland Cavaliers

Richard Jefferson was at the tail end of his NBA career when he joined the Cleveland Cavaliers in 2015 as a free agent. In his two seasons in The Land, the former 13th overall pick went to the NBA Finals twice and won his lone championship in 2016.

Cleveland Cavaliers forward Richard Jefferson reacts to a call during an NBA Finals match against the Golden State Warriors.Credit: Getty Images

He embraced his bench role in Cleveland, averaging 5.6 points and 2.2 rebounds on 45.2 percent shooting from the field across 153 regular season games.

After the 2016-17 season, Jefferson was traded to the Atlanta Hawks but was immediately waived. He eventually joined the Denver Nuggets on a one-year contract and announced his retirement in 2018 before becoming an analyst on ESPN.