Revealed: NBA All-Stars’ Favorite Opponents (And Who They Can’t Beat)

The NBA season is heating up as the playoffs approach, and as teams gear up for the postseason, fans will start trying to figure out who their team is set to face, and analyzing individual matchups to see who will come out on top.  

So, we at Sidelines decided to crunch the numbers to find out how the current crop of NBA All-Stars perform against individual opponents, to discover who they have the best record against, and who they have struggled against. 

We looked at the NBA odds of each of the players selected as 2023 NBA All-Stars and analyzed all the opponents who they’ve played at least 20 games against in the league.  

The results revealed that the player with the highest win percentage against any other opponent is LeBron James, followed by Steph Curry in second, and Kevin Durant in third. These three are the only players of the current All Stars who have a win percentage of at least 90% against a player they have faced at least 20 times. 

Let’s take a look at the top three based on their favorite opponents, and their least favorite: 

The King has played against Kemba Walker 31 times, and has won an amazing 30 of their encounters, including a sweep of four victories in the Eastern Conference First Round between the Miami Heat and Charlotte Bobcats in 2014. None of the All-Stars in the study has a higher win percentage against another player in at least 20 games.

James’ next best opponent is Cody Zeller, against whom he has a 95.7 win percentage over 23 games, and Michael Kidd-Gilchrist (95.5% wins over 22 games). James is so dominant that he has the top five highest win percentages against single opponents.  

Conversely, LeBron’s worst record is against the Cavaliers’ Danny Green. The pair, who won a title together in the 2020 bubble,  have faced each other 25 times, and James has been on the losing side 17 times, giving him a win percentage of 32%. The NBA’s all-time leading points scorer has also struggled against Kawhi Leonard, with 35.7% wins in 28 games, while his third worst record is against Klay Thompson, on 35.9% wins in 39 games. 

Steph Curry’s favorite opponent is former Timberwolves, Suns, Lakers and Clippers guard Wesley Johnson. The two-time MVP played against Johnson 24 times and won 22 of them for a win percentage of 91.7%. Curry has also racked up a 90% record against point guard Ramon Sessions, who averaged 23 minutes per game during his 11-year, eight-team NBA career. The Golden State superstar’s third best record is against Anthony Davis – he has won 87.5% of his 32 games against the Lakers big man. The two players may meet up in the postseason again (perhaps the play-in tournament) this season.

At the other end of the scale, Curry’s lowest win percentage out of the players he’s faced at least 20 times is against Tim Duncan. Curry played 21 games against ‘the big fundamental’, and only won five of them, or 23.8%. The splash brother’s next two worst opponents are also former San Antonio Spurs – Matt Bonner, against whom Curry has six wins in 20 for a 30% win record, and Tony Parker (27 games, 37% wins). 

Kevin Durant has faced French guard Evan Fournier 20 times, and emerged victorious 18 times, a 90% win rate, making the current New York Knick his favorite opponent. Wesley Johnson – Steph Curry’s most beaten opponent – is also Durant’s second favorite opponent, as Durant has won in 21 of the 24 games they have played (87.5% wins), while Michael Beasley places third on 85.7% (18 wins in 21). 

Durant’s worst opponent was Derek Fisher, who he faced 21 times when they were both in the NBA, winning only five times, a victory rate of just 23.8%. That includes a 4-2 playoff loss in the 2010 Western Conference first round. Durant has the second lowest win rate against Jordan Farmar, with six wins in 21 games, while his third worst opponent was Leandro Barbosa (eight wins in 27 games). 

All-Stars not included in the study as they have not played at least 20 games against a single opponent: