LeBron James and Lance Stephenson, a timeline: Ear blowing, choke signs and a groin shot

One is in the argument for greatest basketball player of all-time.

The other was nearly out of the league after playing mostly ineffectively for five different teams in a three-year period before returning to Indiana and being transformed (again) into one of the most popular players in Pacers history.

LeBron James and Lance Stephenson.

Lance Stephenson vs. LeBron James.

Lance has flashed the choke sign at LeBron. Blown in his ear. Hit him in the groin. Sunday, Lance's two fouls on LeBron needed to be reviewed -- one became a technical -- and he head-butted the basket stanchion after a dunk.

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Here is a timeline of their run-ins over the years:

May 17-20, 2012: The Choke Sign

Stephenson was a reserve who played a grand total of 12 minutes in the 2012 playoffs but he introduced himself to James and the NBA.

The Pacers were in the process of taking a surprising 2-1 lead in their first-round series with the Miami Heat when Stephenson flashed the choke sign after James missed a free throw late in the Pacers' 94-75 Game 3 victory.

“Lance Stephenson? You want a quote about Lance Stephenson?” James said after the Heat’s practice the next day. “I’m not even going to give him the time. Knock it off.”

In Game 4, James scored 40 points, grabbed 18 rebounds and had 9 assists in a 101-93 victory. The Pacers would not win again.

Following Game 3, security had to keep members of the Miami Heat from going into the Pacers' locker room after Stephenson, according to Danny Granger, then a member of the Pacers. During a SiriusXM Radio program in 2016, Granger said Chris Anderson, Udonis Haslem and Juwan Howard were looking for Stephenson. Anderson, however, wasn't a member of the Heat that season so it's possible Granger is not clearly remembering the incident.

"They were protecting LeBron," Granger said. "They thought Lance had done something disrespectful to him."

Security did not allow the Heat players into the Pacers' locker room, keeping the situation from escalating.

May 25, 2014: Lance trash talks LeBron

With the Pacers trailing in the Eastern Conference Finals 2-1, Stephenson said the series was about to turn because James was trash talking to him.

"To me, it's a sign of weakness because he never used to say nothing to me," Stephenson said on an off-day. "I always used to be the one who would say, 'Ah, I'm gonna get under you, I'm gonna do something to try and make you mad.' Now he's trying to do it me. So I think it's a weakness. I feel like I'm doing something right. And I'm getting under his skin."

These comments would quickly be overshadowed (see below) but in Game 4, Stephenson shot 3-of-7 for 9 points and picked up 5 fouls while James hit 13-of-21 for 32 points with 10 rebounds and 5 assists as the Heat took a 3-1 lead. The Heat closed it out in Game 6.

May 28, 2014: Lance blows in LeBron's ear

This is the pinnacle of Lance vs. LeBron.

The iconic video speaks for itself.

Pinning down the exact moment is elusive but Stephenson tried to sneak into the Heat huddle with roughly 1:43 to play in the third quarter and the Pacers leading 57-52. He blew in LeBron's ear at some point after that.

After the game James told the media: "I'm just here to play basketball, man. All the extracurricular activities, I don't really get into."

James was then asked if he had ever blown in someone's ear as a "defensive tactic": "Probably my wife. I blew in my wife's ear before. That was definitely a defensive tactic."

Stephenson had little say about the ear-blowing after the game saying he "was just playing ball." On July 17, 2017, he told kids at a Jr. Pacers Hoops Tour event, "I was trying to frustrate him," according to video by vigilantsports.com.

James produced a career-low 7 points in the game, but played just 24 minutes due to foul trouble as the Pacers pulled to within 3-2 in the series with a 93-90 victory.

"(Stephenson) just competed," Vogel said after the game. "Nobody can stop or slow down LeBron. LeBron got out of rhythm because of foul trouble."

Stephenson was fined after the game for the second time in the series for flopping, adding a $10,000 fine to his earlier bill for $5,000. The effort did not draw a foul on James.

James and the Heat closed out the Pacers convincingly in Game 6, 117-92, as James scored 25 points with 6 assists.

Feb. 1, 2017: Lance and LeBron almost become teammates

Stephenson turned down a 5-year, $44-million contract offer from the Pacers after the 2013-14 season to sign with the Charlotte Hornets for 3 years and $27 million.

“I wish,” he would say later in reference to his 2014 departure for Charlotte, “I would have just stayed home.”

One disappointing season in Charlotte led to a trade to the Los Angeles Clippers then a trade to Memphis. Then he was released, signed by New Orleans and released again.

The led to Stephenson's tryout with the Cavaliers in early February of 2017.

"I just want to win, man," James said to media when asked about being Stephenson's teammate. "That's all that matters to me. I got no personal problems with nobody."

Alas, it didn't happen.

Instead, Stephenson signed two 10-day contracts with Minnesota and was cut again.

On March 30, 2017, he returned to the Pacers.

Nov. 1, 2017: Lance hits LeBron below the belt

For all of the delicious drama Stephenson has caused, you'll notice one constant:

LeBron wins.

Even after Stephenson returned to the Pacers last season, James won five consecutive games, including sweeping Indiana out of the playoffs and improving to 24-11 all-time against Stephenson.

In their first meeting during the 2017-18 season, that changed.

Midway through the second quarter on Nov. 1, James drove to the basket as Stephenson defended. Stephenson jumped wildly and swiped at the ball but hit James, well, you know where.

Stephenson was called for a Flagrant 1 foul for the play.

But the Pacers won, 124-107.

Jan. 12, 2018: 'Lance is just a little dirty'

IndyStar columnist Gregg Doyel on Lance vs. LeBron:

With the Pacers leading 83-82 midway through the fourth quarter after a Stephenson 3-pointer, Stephenson made some kind of contact with James, which caused James to shove Stephenson with a forearm, drawing a technical foul. Victor Oladipo hit the free throw for the 84-82 lead.

“Lance is just a little dirty, that’s all," James told the media after the game. "I mean, we got history, so I should’ve known, though. I’ve know since school that it’s not the guy who tells the joke who gets caught. It’s the guy who laughs. So they caught me on the retaliation. He played well.”

James played well — 27 points on 11-of-25 shooting, 8 rebounds, 11 assists, 5 turnovers — but Stephenson had one of his best games with 16 points on 6-of-11 shooting, 3-of-6 on 3s, 11 rebounds and 4 assists as the Pacers held on for a 97-95 victory.

April 15, 2018: 'He was a spark tonight'

Stephenson wasted little time in making an impact in Game 1 on Sunday. He gave James a really hard (but common) foul, drove for a monster dunk (and head-butted the basket support), hit a corner 3-pointer and more -- and that was all in the first quarter.

Stephenson clubbed James on the head late in the third quarter, drawing a personal and a technical foul, but it wasn't a flagrant foul.

Stephenson finished with 12 points and 5 rebounds in Indiana's 98-80 win.

"He was a spark tonight," James said of Lance after the game.

April 22, 2018: Lance gets physical

Stephenson generating multiple altercations with James in Game 4 but don't overlook one important fact: It didn't work.

Yes, he drew a technical foul on James with 6:12 left. James pushed Stephenson as the teams headed back to the benches on a timeout. Victor Oladipo's free throw gave the Pacers a 92-89 lead.

But James answered with a 16-foot bank shot after the timeout to pull Cleveland to within one. Then, the Cavaliers went on a 10-2 run as the Pacers' offense sputtered down the stretch.

"I should have never gotten a tech in the first place," said James after the game. "A timeout is called, this guy's fouling me to my bench. I give him a little nudge and he falls to halfcourt. But I should know better. But I've been dealing with this since elementary (school). It's like I tell you a joke, you laugh, you get caught. That's what happened. Lance told me a joke. I a laughed. Teacher caught me. Now I got to go see the principal."

Stephenson also forced James into a jump ball with 4:47 to go.

This article originally appeared on Indianapolis Star: Pacers vs Cavs: LeBron James vs Lance Stephenson timeline