I guess when you sign a four-year, $63 million restricted free agent contract, your sense of self inflates just a tad.

Gordon Hayward, the Utah Jazz swingman, has claimed that he's the best athlete in the world. He penned a blog post titled "THE BEST IN THE GAME," (yes, he used all caps). He said that a 1-on-1 battle against LeBron James would be "a straight up annihilation." Hayward claims that he could take on any five NBA players and destroy them all.

...in League of Legends.

It's always interesting to hear about professional athletes playing video games in their spare time. After all, these are people who make their money being extremely physically active, the exact opposite of gaming (sorry Kinect Sports Rivals). According to Hayward, when he was growing up, he did one of two things: practicing sports and playing video games. He wasn't the type to go to parties or intense social functions, instead opting for a controller, a keyboard, and a mouse. He played so much growing up that his parents put a three hour cap on his daily use, a limit that he met every single day.

Hayward's forray into the gaming universe started, much like so many others, when he received an NES as a gift. From Mario Bros. to Duck Hunt all the way to Contra and Double Dragon, Hayward became a hardcore gamer (no pun intended) at a very young age. He eventually moved to Unreal Tournament over Xbox Live, where he was in one of the best clans in the world. After a run-in with some naughty images on an Unreal Tournament message board (welcome to the Internet, Gordon). his mother made him quit his favorite game. He moved onto Halo: Combat Evolved, then Starcraft, then finally to his current game of choice: League of Legends.

Gordon goes on to boast more about his League skills, even going so far as to say he was able to look good in a game with a professional team. It's certainly interesting to see one of the most humble players in the NBA be this arrogant, but if the skills are truly there, then I suppose it's okay. However, there's only one way to prove that Gordon Hayward is actually as good as he says he is:

A formal challenge.

We at Hardcore Gamer have staff members that enjoy every type of game imaginable, including MOBAs. If Gordon Hayward is ready to back up his assertions of greatness, our MOBA-playing staff would be happy to take him on. Here's our Staff Page, Gordon, make it happen.