Looks like a job for the G.O.A.T.

Over the course of the ‘07 playoffs, one thing has become clear when it comes to LeBron James: In a 1-on-1 situation, it’s virtually impossible to stop King James from getting where he wants to go and, often times, doing whatever he wants to do. LeBron has all but single-handedly led his Cavs — one of the most flawed NBA Finals teams in recent memory — past two tough and more-experienced teams (Jersey and Detroit) on his way to where he stands today; four wins away from the first of what could be a handful of rings. And there’s no way Cleveland would be sniffing the Finals if not for LeBron being the toughest 1-on-1 matchup possibly of all-time. We took a look back through history to see, hypothetically, who could give the King the most problems on the defensive end …

5. Michael Cooper — Tayshaun Prince is skinny, but Coop looked like he weighed about 82 ounces. Still, he locked guys up on the defensive end. The ‘87 Defensive Player of the Year would give ‘Bron a little trouble because of his quickness, and long arms that could affect LeBron’s jumper.

4. Bruce Bowen — Known to shut down a scorer or two, but the next two weeks will be the biggest test of Bruce’s career. Dirty or not, he knows what he’s doing, and it’s been working … well enough to land him on the All-Defensive first or second team for the last six years. He’s listed at 200 pounds — which means he’s giving up about 40-50 pounds to ‘Bron — but Bowen plays a lot stronger than he looks.

3. Dennis Rodman — He has two Defensive Player of the Year trophies on … well, we were gonna say on his mantle, but who knows where The Worm keeps anything. They could be at the bottom of a pool in Reno. Anyway, in addition to his physical gifts (Rodman was one of the best-conditioned athletes the game has seen) and size (6-8, 230), The Worm would also try his hardest to get into LeBron’s head. And don’t rule out a kick or a head-butt sneaking it’s way in there.

2. Scottie Pippen — Physically, Scottie would be the best matchup. He had the size (6-7, 230), quickness and length to stay in front of LeBron and not get bullied. We would have loved to see Pip in his prime and ‘Bron going head-to-head in an Eastern Conference Final.

1. Michael Jordan — Aside from Rodman’s gorilla tactics, MJ is the one guy on this list who would have given LeBron legitimate fits. Physically he had all the tools, but maybe more importantly, Mike had that hyper-competitive streak and iron will; he wasn’t gonna let anyone just give him an eyeful of buckets. Not only that, ‘Bron would have a tough enough time trying to keep up when Mike had the rock, he wouldn’t be able to conserve his energy for offense.

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