IN NUMBERS: LeBron James and the NBA Finals

MANILA, Philippines – Was there ever any doubt?

For the nth time, LeBron James carried the Cleveland Cavaliers in a Game 7 Eastern Conference Finals win over the young but tenacious Boston Celtics, 87-79.

“The King” dropped 35 points, 15 rebounds and 9 assists without taking his throne on the bench, not even for a single second in the 48-minute game.

As a result, he is now in his 8^th straight NBA Finals without Kyrie Irving, Kevin Love or any teammate consistent enough to be an actual scoring option.

Right now, let’s break down the greatness of LeBron James in his biggest stage.

 

9

King James now has 9 Finals appearances under his belt. If he were an NBA team on his own (and he looks like one right now given his supporting cast), he’d have more Finals seasons than 27 other franchises. Only the legendary Celtics (21) and Los Angeles Lakers (31) beat James in that category by a really wide margin. The Philadelphia 76ers tie him at 9.

Of course, leave it to a Laker to notice and give deserved props:

We can enjoy one without tearing down one. I love what he’s doing. Don’t debate what can’t be definitively won by anyone #enjoymy5 #enjoymj6 #enjoylbjquest

— Kobe Bryant (@kobebryant) May 28, 2018

 

 

8

As his 2007 appearance stands alone, James is currently running a hot streak of 8 straight Finals appearances, 4 straight each between his stints with the Cavs since 2015 and the Miami Heat from 2011-2014.

He is now the first player in 50 long years to make 8 straight Finals and the first-ever who is not a Boston Celtic, following this list of legends: Bill Russell (10), Tom Heinsohn (9), Sam Jones (9), K.C. Jones (8) and Frank Ramsey (8).

He is also the only player in league history to make 4 straight Finals with two different franchises.

 

33.9

In his 15^th year in the NBA, James is still averaging a league-high 33.9 points per game (PPG) in the playoffs so far. This scoring season is currently 9^th all-time in playoffs history, eclipsed only by Michael Jordan (4 times: 36.7, 35.1, 34.8 and 34.5 PPG), Wilt Chamberlain (once: 35 PPG), Kareem Abdul-Jabbar (once: 34.6 PPG) and…James himself (once: 35.3 PPG).

His season last year, which ended in a 5-game loss to the Golden State Warriors in the Finals, rounds up the top 10 to the tune of 32.8 PPG.

All 4 players in the top 10 eventually became an NBA Champion at some point.

 

3-5

The most talked about statistic by LeBron fans and haters alike is his record in the Finals: 3 wins and 5 losses so far. This stat is perhaps the make-or-break of many LeBron James vs. Michael Jordan debates regarding who really is the greatest of all-time. Seeing as how Jordan went a perfect 6/6 in the Finals, albeit with help from all-time talents and Hall of Famers like Scottie Pippen and Dennis Rodman, it’s easy to see why debates in favor of Jordan will forever have an edge.

But really, just how bad is this 3-5 record?

As it turns out, while James alone has more rings than 22 other active teams, he already holds the record for the third-most Finals losses in NBA history. Only two players have had more, and they are both Hall of Fame Lakers: Elgin Baylor (0-8) and Jerry West (1-8). Tragically enough for Baylor, the Lakers won two straight championships after his retirement in 1970 – his 8^th and final bow-out from the Finals.

Clearly, when history is looked at from a different perspective, the odds are really against The King. – Rappler.com