Denver Nuggets veteran Paul Millsap knows what it’s like to face LeBron James, but he doesn’t know what it’s like to beat him in a playoff game.
Millsap and James have faced off eight times in the playoffs and Millsap has yet to win a game against him and has also yet to reach the NBA Finals, but he feels like this is the year that it will happen.
When he was with the Atlanta Hawks, Millsap got swept both times against James’ Cleveland Cavaliers in 2015 and 2016.
“I told him, ‘Man, I tried to get away from you in the East,'” Millsap said about James’ move to the Lakers last season. “‘Then you came to the West.’ But finally, we’re at this juncture in the Western Conference Finals fighting to get to the championship game. He’s got several championships and I’m trying to get my first and I feel like this is my time to do that.”
Along with the playoff history between them, Millsap and James are both 35 years old and still playing at a high level.
“You always have to have people like that, who set good examples, that you look up to,” Millsap said. “(LeBron) understands it. He wants to be the best. He wants to go out there and try to be the best every time he goes out there. So why not look at a guy like that who’s the same age and who’s doing really well in his career and in his life and take some of that with you?”
