LeBron James is gearing up for his 21st season in the NBA, which is a testament to his unparalleled longevity when it comes to playing the game of basketball. Over the years, James' game has gone through a handful of changes due to the changes of the game itself, leading to several different versions of James throughout the course of his career. That led Tim Hardaway Jr. to offer an interesting take on his favorite version of James.

Hardaway has gone up against James quite a bit throughout his career, but he's never played on the same team as the legendary forward. Despite that, Hardaway, like many other players in the NBA, have a great appreciation for James and his style of play. When it comes to his favorite version of James, though, Hardaway picked out 2012 LeBron as his favorite version of one of the best players in the history of the game.

James spent four seasons with the Miami Heat, which is the era Hardaway highlights here, and considering how he won two championships during these years, you can make a case this was the best version of James to play in the NBA. James had a lot of help, but it's also worth noting he was in the prime of his career during 2012, and his impressive feats of athleticism made him extremely fun to watch.

While James has had more impressive individual versions of himself due to necessity with the Cleveland Cavaliers, there was simply no stopping him on the Heat, and Hardaway is impressed by how impactful he was on a nightly basis while playing alongside Dwayne Wade and Chris Bosh. There are a lot of great versions of LeBron James, and Tim Hardaway Jr. makes a very good case to this being the best of them all.