According to former [Cleveland Cavaliers](https://cavaliersnation.com/) small forward Richard Jefferson, franchise icon LeBron James used to play alongside the team’s second unit in scrimmages against the squad’s other starters.
On one occasion, it apparently didn’t end well. Things allegedly got heated, as Jefferson said that there were “punches thrown.”
The details of the altercation as to who threw the punches, who received the punches and when exactly the punches were thrown is unclear, but it’s of note that Jefferson was a member of the Cavaliers for two seasons, from the 2015-16 season through the 2016-17 campaign.
> “Bron would run the second unit,” Jefferson said. “So, they would do one or two reps with the starters, but they knew that the starters have it. So, then Bron would come to the second unit. So, then Bron would run that, and we would play against the rest of the starters.
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> “Yeah, during one of those, let me say, there were punches thrown. There were punches thrown at one point in time, and it was like — and an apology given later — but it was respect and brotherhood, though.”
Jefferson is arguably an overlooked member of the Cavaliers team that won the first title in franchise history in 2016. He didn’t put up the gaudy numbers that the likes of James or fellow star Kyrie Irving did, but he still suited up in all of the Cavaliers’ 21 games in the 2016 NBA Playoffs and even logged a pair of starts.
He averaged 5.4 points and 3.5 rebounds per contest while shooting 39.3 percent from 3-point range during Cleveland’s playoff run that ended in glory.
He spent a majority of his time as a member of the Cavaliers coming off the pine, so it’s quite possible he was playing alongside James when the perennial All-Star suited up with the reserves in the scrimmage in question.
As Jefferson told the story, he was speaking with a pair of former players who also were James’ teammates during his second stint with the Cavaliers in big men Channing Frye and Kendrick Perkins. Perkins’ time with the Cavaliers was brief, and he was not a member of the title team in 2016, but Frye was and spent numerous seasons with the Cavs near the end of his career.
Whatever fight that Jefferson is referring to seemingly didn’t have a real impact on Cleveland’s collective success, as the team reached the NBA Finals in each of the two seasons Jefferson was on the roster. Those two trips to the championship series were part of a four-year stretch in which the team made it that far every single season.