LeBron James showed his respect to James Harden and Russell Westbrook ahead of the playoff series between the Lakers and the Rockets.

James praised Harden for being incredibly durable and playing at a “high level for a lot of years”.

At the same time, the “King” called Westbrook an “assassin”, adding the former league MVP could care less what anyone thinks about his game.

Game 1 between Los Angeles and Houston is on Friday.