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When former Cleveland Cavaliers forward LeBron James left the team in free agency in 2018, Denver Nuggets forward Paul Millsap could have been as upset as any Cavs fan at the news.
In an interview with The Athletic, Millsap spoke about that frustration as he and his Nuggets teammates prepare to face James and his Los Angeles Lakers team for the Western Conference title.
“I told him, ‘Man, I tried to get away from you in the East,'” Millsap told The Athletic. “‘Then you came to the West.’ But finally, we are at this juncture of the Western Conference Finals struggling to get to the championship game. He has several championships and I’m trying to get the first one and I feel like this is my time to do it. “
During Millsap’s four seasons with the Atlanta Hawks, he faced James and the Cavaliers twice and saw his team get swept each time.
In 2015, that loss came in the Eastern Conference finals, followed the following year by another sweep in the conference semifinals.
After the 2016-17 season, Millsap left free agency to sign with the Nuggets and was apparently free of James as an enemy of the conference. That changed when James joined the Lakers a year later.
Millsap, 35, is certainly motivated to defeat his longtime enemy, especially given the frustrating results of the past.
“I’d be lying if I said no,” Millsap said of having a personal goal of beating James in the conference final.
“I felt like we had really good teams and we always fell short and at the end of the day I’m tired of falling short in those situations, especially against him,” Millsap said. “Nothing personal, but you want to compete against the best and beat the best and I’m ready to take the next step.”
Game 1 of the series begins Friday night, and the Nuggets are hoping the momentum of two dramatic 3-1 comebacks in their first two playoff series will lead to victory.
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