The Greatest (And Funniest) 1v1 NBA Stories

I love 1v1 basketball.
Played it every day in my driveway growing up.
Owned Jordan vs Bird on Sega Genesis.
Looked forward to the Shaq vs Hakeem PPV event.
Got emotional watching Denzel play Ray Allen in HE GOT GAME
Wished it was an All-Star event when people still loved All-Star weekend.
And I don't see that wish ever being granted.

If egos and "brand protection" are preventing current stars from entering the NBA dunk contest, there's absolutely zero chance NBA stars would be willing to have their ankles broken during the dying weekend.

Spencer Dinwiddie agrees: "Guys won’t compete for the one-on-one title because if you lose the dunk contest, you didn’t have your legs. If you lose the three-point contest, you got a little nervous. If you lose 1v1, they will say they’re better than you."

Like the dunk contest, fans aren't going to want to watch non-stars compete in the event. They would rather watch great players do good things than good players do great things.

"I can be statistically one of the best one-on-one players, but the casual fan doesn't want to see me play one-on-one," Dinwiddie added. "I’m a very realistic dude. They want to see LeBron play Giannis, Luka play KD, Jokic play Embiid, and if they’re not going to commit, you ain't got nothing."

NOT REAL BASKETBALL

One mentioned star you can definitely count out is LeBron James. Austin Reaves said LeBron told him 1v1 is "not real basketball." And this is what the King had to say about 1v1 skills on his MIND THE GAME podcast:

“There’s a narrative of this thing called ‘I have a bag.’ It bothers the f**k out of me. Everyone thinks that just because you get a favorable matchup, that means it’s one-on-one time."

"Let's play ones. That's all you hear the kids talk about now. Want to play ones? What the f**k is this? This is not Jordan vs Bird Nintendo. It's five-on-five." - LeBron

One star you can count on (if healthy) is the player most people would put money on. That star is Kyrie Irving, who told Rachel Nichols that he's down for a 1-on-1 tournament.

"I'm open to it. When there's smoke, there's fire. I'm that fire in one-on-one."

The "most skilled player in the league" also gave a great answer at 2025 All-Star weekend when asked who he would want to go against.

"Everybody. I'm not ducking any smoke."

KYRIE CHALLENGES KOBE

Kyrie wanted smoke with the best as soon as he entered the league. During a Team USA practice in 2012, he challenged Kobe Bryant to a game of 1-on-1 for $50,000.

"This is not a high school kid coming to you like, 'Kobe, Kobe, Oh my God!'" Irving says. "This is me, coming to talk to you. One-on-one."

Kobe's response was worthy of being on a comedy roast.

"I'll cut it to 25. Just for you. I know your dad don't think you can beat me 1-on-1. Get your dad on the phone right now. Be like Pops, I'm trying to bet Kobe 50 grand, I can beat him 1-on-1. He'll be like, 'Son, are you crazy? Are you crazy?'"

Kyrie's response was telling the 9 x All-Defensive 1st Teamer that he would have to guard him and then the two continued their amusing banter.

Kyrie: "He thinks he's talking to a high school kid."

Kobe: "You just came out of high school, kid. You played two games in college!"

Kyrie: "Some people need 30 games, and some people need 11."

Kobe: "Easy money. Easy money. Easy money."

Kyrie: "You think you playing Bow Wow?"

Kobe: "You about the same size."

They never did have that 1v1, but Kyrie did have this incredible highlight vs Kobe, Kevin Durant, and LeBron James during one of those practice scrimmages.

KOBE VS TRACY MCGRADY

During a 2013 ESPN Q&A, Chris Palmer asked Kobe, "You versus LeBron? Who wins?"

"Me. No question. As far as one-on-one, I'm the best to ever do it." - Kobe

Palmer then told Kobe he always wanted to see Kobe play Tracy McGrady.

"I played T-Mac," Kobe replied. "I cooked him. Roasted him. Wasn’t even close. Ask him, he’ll tell you. When I was about 20, we were in Germany doing some promotional stuff for that other sneaker company and we played basketball every day. We were in the gym all the time. We played three games of one-on-one to 11. I won all three games. One game I won 11-2. After the third game he said he had back spasms and couldn’t play anymore."

As expected, T-Mac took to Twitter to deny the story.

“LOL Hell no! That’s far from the truth. No one in the NBA is playing 1 on 1. Me and KB never went to Germany together either.”

Six years later, Rachel Nichols asked them about the 1v1 during a sit-down interview for ESPN's THE JUMP.

T-Mac: "We didn't play one-on-one."
Kobe: "We did!"
T-Mac: "We weren't keeping score."
Kobe: "Who wasn't keeping score?"
T-Mac: "Kobe, we were working on our footwork in the post."
Kobe: "If somebody is playing in a work out and if they score, they keep the ball. What is that?"
T-Mac: "We wasn't keeping score?"
Kobe: "11-3."
T-Mac: "I don't remember that."
Kobe: "I'm not going to pull a number out of thin air. I may forget a lot of things but one thing I'm not going to forget is the score."
T-Mac: "It wasn't 11-3."
Kobe: "It was. It's OK. You had an off day. It happens."

KOBE VS JR RIDER

In 2016, a few of Kobe's former teammates shared their favorite Kobe stories for a THE PLAYERS' TRIBUNE piece called How We'll Remember Kobe. Brian Shaw brought up the day Isaiah "J.R." Rider told Kobe, "Don't get it twisted. I'm a star too, and I used to give you buckets."

Kobe responded, “Man, you really think you could take me? Alright, after practice, me and you. One-on-one.”

Phil Jackson decided to end the practice early just so the two could go at it.

Shaw: "They played to 10 by ones. Kobe just absolutely demolished him. This is 22-year-old Kobe. Crazy athletic. Unlimited stamina. I mean, he kicked his a**. He pulled out everything in his bag — dunk, up-and-under, pull-up, crossover. We were on the sidelines gassing it up. People are laughing, yelling, 'Hey J.R., be careful what you wish for.'"

Ron Harper: "Guys were waving white towels, yelling, “Stop the beatdown, please! Please stop!”

Horace Grant: "It got to a point where J.R. basically said, No más. No más. J.R. had his tail between his legs for the first time in his life. He wanted to fight everybody in the gym."

During an appearance on Paul George's podcast, Shaw said Kobe destroyed a lot of guys in practice, including Lindsey Hunter, Jim Jackson, Aaron McKie, Hall of Famer Mitch Richmond, and Defensive Player Of The Year Ron Artest.

Rider on the ALL THE SMOKE podcast confirmed the story and said he wouldn't make excuses but was out of shape. He also said Kobe told Phil that he wanted Rider to guard him in practice for the rest of the year.

MICHAEL JORDAN VS COREY BENJAMIN

MJ was once asked which past or present players he would want to play 1-on-1. His answer:

• Jerry West
• Elgin Baylor
• Kobe Bryant
• LeBron
• Dwyane Wade
• Carmelo Anthony

He then said, "I don't think I would lose except for Kobe Bryant because he steals all my moves."

I wish we had a great 1v1 story about MJ and Kobe, but we settle with this amusing one about MJ and Corey Benjamin, another high flyer from Kobe's 1996 high school class.

According to Skip Bayless (when he was a Chicago Tribune writer before becoming the most famous LeBron hater on TV), a retired MJ stopped by a Bull practice in 1999 to accept an "ill-advised challenge" sent by the Bulls guard.

"I was the young guy, and I was always nagging guys like Randy Brown who would talk to MJ," said Benjamin about how the challenge started. "I said something like I could beat him."

This is where I like to remind people of Kendall Gill's quote about MJ:

"Calling out the devil is one thing; facing him is another."

MJ showed he still had game and would say things like, "You reach. I teach" before hitting his trademark turn-around jumper. When the game was over he told Benjamin to "sit down" and not call him out again.

If you look at the videos from that day, you might think MJ whooped him 11-0. Benjamin told me the score was 11-9 and said, "I thought Steve Kerr was the best shooter on the team. MJ was shooting like Kerr."

BONUS MJ VIDEOS

• 59-year-old MJ challenges Magic Johnson to a game of 1v1 at the NBA75 celebration
• MJ vs Damon Wayans on the TV show MY WIFE AND KIDS
• MJ vs Fans compilaton
• MJ vs Sheryl Swoopes
• MJ vs Charlie and Martin Sheen
• MJ bullying teammate Scott Burrell in practice

BONE COLLECTOR CHALLENGED IVERSON?

While Corey Benjamin was learning his lesson about challenging the GOAT, I was learning about And1 Mixtapes and a new generation of streetballers. One of the biggest stars from this movement in the early 00s was Larry Williams, aka The Bone Collector, aka The Most Dangerous Streetball Player In The World.

The Rucker Park MVP was so confident that he reportedly challenged Kobe Bryant and Allen Iverson to a game of 1-on-1 for $50,000. When Iverson reportedly declined, Bone said, "he was smart."

Over the past two decades, I've seen Bone break countless ankles and piss off a lot of defenders with his trademark bounce the ball off the forehead move. But in 2018, I got to witness his "be careful who you challenge" moment at the Ballislife All-American Game.

After embarrassing some kids in the crowd, Bone looked across the All-Americans and called out Mac McClung, who recently broke Allen Iverson's Virginia single-season scoring record and was heading to AI's alma mater. Bone didn't know that or about the jumping ability of the future 3 x NBA Dunk Champion until Mac swatted his layup. Mac then singled that it was over and said, "I play real basketball."

BONUS STREETBALL VIDEOS

• Bone Collector vs Jamaal Tinsley at Rucker
• Hot Sauce vs Darren Rovell
• Skip vs Alimoe battle mixtape
• Professor vs Chicago Baller (while holding chicken)

PAY-PER-VIEW: DR. J VS KAREEM (1992)

Before the And1 Streetball movement, when I thought of "streetball," I thought about the iconic photo of people sitting in trees and on top of buildings to watch Julius Erving play at Rucker, where he was known as "The Claw."

Erving was retired by the time I started watching basketball, and the only opportunity I had to watch him play basketball was in 1992. It was a 1-on-1 game against Kareem Abdul-Jabbar in a Pay-per-view event called CLASH OF THE LEGENDS. Since I had $2 to my name and my parents were not going to spend $19.95 on this, I missed out on watching the 45-year-old Lakers legend easily beat the 42-year-old Erving 44-21. Erving did have the highlight of the game, which was a 1-hand poster on Kareem.

The original billing for this event was Wilt Chamberlain vs Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, but Wilt dropped out for some reason, and Erving was a last-minute replacement. What would have been more exciting is if they had Erving play George "Iceman" Gervin, who went against Nate Archibald as the undercard.

PAY-PER-VIEW: SHAQ VS HAKEEM (1995)

A similar situation happened four years later when Shaquille O'Neal and his idol, Hakeem Olajuwon, were supposed to have a 1995 NBA Finals rematch in a PPV event.

The marketing was brilliant. A month after the Rockets beat the Magic in the NBA Finals, Taco Bell created a "secret campaign" that started with a full-page ad in the USA TODAY newspaper. The ad was a one-on-one challenge from Shaq to Hakeem.

"The series may be a done deal, but it ain't over between you and me. Sure, you're pretty good with your team behind you, but I want you one on one - Shaq."

A week later, Taco Bell started dropping commercials with the two centers and announced they were going to compete in a PPV event for $1 MILLION.

A day before the event, Hakeem dropped out due to a "sore sacroiliac from lifting weights." The event scrambled for a replacement and even considered a tag team of 5'3" Muggsy Bogues and 5'7" Spud Webb. They eventually canceled the event, and promoter Donald Trump (yes, Donald Trump) hinted the NBA was behind it.

"There's a rumor out there that the NBA had something to do with it. But it's just a rumor," said Trump to the LA Times.

In 2016, I asked Hakeem about the event during an interview. He said he couldn't remember, and before I could say my follow-up question, Robert Horry interrupted and said,

"He wanted more money."

Not only did we miss out on a great battle between two of the greatest centers of all time, we missed out on some great undercards: Nick Van Exel vs Kenny Anderson and No. 1 Draft pick Joe Smith vs straight out of high school draft pick Kevin Garnett.

BONUS SHAQ VIDEOS

• Shaq shooting jumpers vs Dream Team 3
• Shaq vs Ahmad Rashad on INSIDE STUFF

KEVIN GARNETT VS TEAM USA

At least once a year, a video of Kevin Garnett going one-on-one against his 2000 Olympic teammates crosses my timeline. Here's what KG had to say about the viral video on his KG CERTIFIED podcast.

"Jason Kidd had a drill called One-on-One Full Court. The cameraman was in the corner, and we were just getting it in. What he got was the first game. It was a bunch of s**t talking and me and Shareef (Abdur-Rahim) almost got to fighting. We played three games and as we got deeper into those games, it got more intense. So much, that Larry Brown had to take the ball and Rudy had to shut the gym down and it get us out of there. It started getting into some personal parts."

The most viral KG moment from this Olympics wasn't him winning two of the three games but him almost getting punched by Vince Carter as Vince celebrated his "Dunk of Death" over 7'2" Fred Weis.

KEVIN GARNETT VS AUSTIN RIVERS

My favorite 1v1 story involving KG is about him playing a cocky Austin Rivers during Austin's High School Mixtape legend days. Since his Dad was the Coach of the Celtics, Austin would occasionally stop by the practices and play 1v1 against the players.

"He was playing guys to five. I think he beat Perk 5-0. I come in from the weight room with my shoes untied, and he rolled the ball and hit my toes. I'm like, 'What?' He said, 'Check!' I'm a dragon, bro. I know your dad the coach so I got to be real careful how I let this dragon out. This a kid. He in high school with a lot of confidence. But I'm a dragon."

Austin ended up dunking on the first play.

KG then got serious and tied his shoes as Paul Pierce and Tony Allen started yelling, "Tie them shoes, killer!"

The killer proceeded to score five straight. Austin was so mad he threw the ball and acted as if wanted to fight KG.

"Boy, if you don't get out of here before I smack...I was a Dragon." - KG

BRANDON JENNINGS VS EVERYBODY

From one high school mixtape legend to another. Brandon Jennings is one of the main reasons 1v1 has been a trending topic for the past month. The buzz started a few weeks ago when he said, "Jrue Holiday was never better than me in the game of basketball. He has a better career than me. But he is not better than me.”

You can debate his specific claim, but the topic of "best player" vs. "best career" is interesting and often misunderstood. For example, I think Penny Hardaway was a "better player" than John Stockton. But Penny's resume of 4 All-Star teams can't compete with Stockton's incredible career with 10 All-Star appearances, 9 years leading the league in assists, and two major NBA records (Assists and Steals) that will never be broken.

Jennings then called out 3 x NBA 6th Man of the Year Lou Williams and the guards from his 2009 Draft class: “If me and Lou Will play 1-on-1, I’m winning. Teague, whoever. If anyone wants to play 1v1, let’s go.”

As expected, they each had a response.

LOU WILLIAMS

"BJ, if you think for one moment you going to wake up and challenge me and think I’m not going to respond, I’m down to do it whenever, wherever, whatever. Line it up. We got to get that straightened out."

JEFF TEAGUE

"You know I would bust Jenning's a**. He too little. He is 165. I'm a grown-a** man. I told him you off your achilles and skinny. This is a Shark. I be clowning and acting like I was handicapped when I hooped. N****, I'll bust your a** for real. I've been wanting smoke since 09."

TY LAWSON

“I don't know why I'm catching a stray, but I got Nate Robinson texting me, 'Yo, you gonna let Brandon Jennings say this?' You not nicer than me in the NBA. And yeah, you can't even see me now. How about that?"

MARCUS THORNTON

“You talk like you averaged 40 points a game in the league and were a multiple-time All-Star. You wasn’t like that, bruh.”

All of the trash-talking got one of the greatest shooting guards of all time to chime in and defend Jennings:

“We all are Hoopers, and we all understood a lot of what Brandon Jennings was saying." Said Dwyane Wade. "When he said that a lot of guys in the NBA, he was pretty much like, they’re not better than me. Lace them up. One-on-one.”

The big questions now are, who is willing to back up the trash talk, and how long do we have to wait to see this?

There's no shortage of companies that would gladly host and promote the event. Cam'ron said, "I would love to see this game. I'll put up the money out of my own pocket."

PATRICK BEVERLEY

The always outspoken Pat Bev said he's not only willing to organize a 1v1 tournament with eight ex-NBA players competing for $100K, but he would win it.

"Some of those guys haven't played basketball in 4-5 years." Said Pat Bev on his podcast. "For you to pick up a basketball and think you can just compete against a conditioned athlete. I just played a month ago. Secondly, all those motherf**** too little. Every last one of them. When it comes to mano a mano, you don't want to be put in a cage with me. You have to play defense. I do that very well. You have to get a bucket. I get a bucket 1v1 very well."

MICHAEL BEASLEY VS LEBRON

Another player who can get a bucket very well will soon be competing for $100K. Michael Beasley, aka "Your favorite player's favorite player," recently announced that he will play Lance Stephenson in a 1v1 tournament this summer.

I spent last summer with Beasley on the BIG3 tour, where I watched the 2024 MVP cook his teammates in ones every weekend during practice. According to NBA writer Tom Haberstroh on the Back-to-Back podcast, this was also a normal thing back in Beasley's NBA days:

"I would watch these practices where LeBron and Michael Beasley would go at it one-on-one. And Beasley would beat him every time. He’s so good."

When asked about beating Bron, Beasley on the OG's podcast said, "It's some truth to the essence of that story, me and Bron, we ain't ever played 1 on 1, in front of people... I used to be on his ass in his a** practice. Everything thing he did, I'm guarding you. One day he came in practice, and he was tired. He just yelled out, 'Mario Chalmers is guarding me today!' Looked me dead in my face. I got into my defensive stance, and he looked at me, 'Mario Chalmers is guarding me today!' Mario came and brushed me to the side, and I just went over there and guarded Bosh. You know the reporter told the story, so the essence of the story is kind of true, but me and Bron played 1-on-1, but never in front of people."

Considering Udonis Haslem said he's never seen Beasley lose a 1v1, and Beasley said the only person ever to beat him 1v1 is Bam Adebayo, it's safe to assume who won those games.

THIS AND THAT

The following are a few recent 1v1-related things I would find interesting and/or amusing.

• Carmelo Anthony said Joe Johnson is the most underrated 1v1 player of his era. I asked Iso Joe for his pick, and he said Flip Murray
• Matas Buzelis challenged 2024 No. 1 Draft pick Zaccharie Risacher to a game of 1v1. The Bulls rookie said Risacher's agent won't let him do it.
• Jeff Teague's picks for an NBA 1v1 tournament: LeBron beats Kevin Durant. SGA beats Anthony Edwards, and Jayson Tatum beats Donovan Mitchell.
• The new UNRIVALED basketball league hosted a 1v1 event that saw WNBA rookie Aaliyah Edwards destroy WNBA legend Breanna Stewart 12-0. And this is why a lot of NBA All-Stars do not want to compete in a 1v1 event during the All-Star weekend.