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LeBron James has had tons of memorable and spectacular performances throughout his journey in the NBA.
He is NBA's leading scorer in the playoffs and leads MJ by around 1000 points on the league's all-time playoffs scoring list. He played in his 8th consecutive NBA Finals this year, a rare feat to achieve in modern-day competitive basketball, and averages a barbaric 28.9 points per game in the postseason so far in his career.
Also read: Reviewing LeBron James' Six NBA Finals Losses
In the upcoming slideshow, I'll be going over his top 5 greatest playoff games in his career. Keep in mind that this is just one single isolated opinion and it's pretty hard to choose only five games. But I'm going to give it a try, so let's get to it.
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#5 Game 1: 2018 Finals vs Warriors
Stat line: 51 points, 8 rebounds, 8 assists, 1 steal and 1 block
It was the 4th consecutive year that the Golden State Warriors were meeting Cavs in the NBA Finals. But this was different. The Cavs were unexpected to make it, tracing back to the turbulent season they had, marred by losses, consistent roster changes and injuries.
The King had a historic performance to start his 8th consecutive NBA Finals. LeBron’s 51-point night was only the sixth 50-point night in NBA Finals history. This Cavaliers team was put together on the fly last summer, blown up and reconstructed at the trade deadline, leaving behind a group of playoff-inexperienced basketball players.
James said he decided he was going to go all out and push this team to the limit and were on pace to sneak away with a Game 1 win at Oracle Arena. In the end, the game went into overtime after a bizarre final few seconds that saw Smith try to dribble out the clock despite the fact that the game was tied. The Warriors then pulled away in OT, winning 124-114.
James notched his eighth 40-point game during this playoff run to tie Hall of Famer Jerry West’s feat in 1965 for most in a single postseason. He finished with 51 points, eight rebounds and eight assists. LeBron and the Cavs could not run past the repercussions from this heartbreaking loss as the Warriors swept them 4-0 to win the 2018 NBA Finals.
#4 Game 5: 2006 Eastern Conference First Round vs Wizards
Stat line: 45 points, 7 rebounds, 6 assists and 2 steals
Also read: 5 Highest scoring games of LeBron James' Career
This series was LeBron's playoff debut and man it was RIDICULOUS.
The Cavaliers won the series but three of their four wins were decided by only one point. The game went back and forth most of the time, but in the 4th quarter the Cavs ended up blowing up a 6-point lead in the final minute. So it went into overtime.
LeBron didn't make many shots in overtime but he did get to the free-throw line and made his FTs. With 4 seconds remaining in the game, the Cavs were down by 1 against the Washington Wizards. Bron got the ball on the sideline and drove to the hoop for the game-winning layup. Cavaliers won the game 121-120 and the Cavs got a commanding 3-2 lead in the best of seven series.
He finished with 45 points, 7 rebounds and 6 assists.
For those who haven't seen Bron's playoff games earlier in his career, I definitely recommend watching this series.
#3 Game 6: 2016 Finals vs Warriors
Stat line: 41 points, 11 assists, 8 rebounds, 4 steals and 3 blocks
Also read: 5 Achievements LeBron James was the Youngest to reach
The 2016 Finals deserve to headline LeBron's NBA Finals legacy without question. No team in the history of the game had come back from 3-1 down to win a championship before LeBron and Kyrie Irving led the Cleveland Cavaliers to do so.
About this game, the Cavs were staring at elimination on home-court and were desperate for some kind of spark. That spark came from none other than the best player on the team, LeBron. He scored 41 points back to back in games 5 and 6.
In game 6, The King recorded 41 points, 8 rebounds, 11 assists, 4 steals, 3 blocks with just 1 turnover. He helped them establish a dominant 20-point lead in the first quarter and the Cavaliers just never looked back winning game 6 convincingly and forcing a game 7 back in Oakland. We all know what happened next.
LeBron's performance in game 6 will probably be overlooked a few years down the road but it is still another game that added to his legacy of rising to the moment when his back was against the wall.
#2 Game 6: 2012 Eastern Conference Finals vs Celtics
Stat line: 45 points, 15 rebounds, 5 assists
Some might argue that this game should be number one.
To put things into perspective, at this point in LeBron's career, he was yet to win any rings after having a miserable series in the 2011 finals.
One year later, LeBron and the Heat were down 3-2, going into Boston for Game 6. If LeBron had failed to deliver again, his critics and haters would have had a field day. But in this game 6 in Boston is where he silenced his critics and turned the perception of him around for good.
LeBron scored 45 points on 19 for 26 shooting, grabbed 15 rebounds and displayed an aura that we've never seen from him before. He played out of his skin like a man possessed and single-handedly dominated the best defensive team in the league as the Heat won the game by 19 points. They ended up taking the series in game 7 and eventually, winning the NBA Championship. LeBron's first ever championship ring DID NOT come easily.
The then Boston Celtics coach Doc Rivers jibed at the media by saying,"I hope you guys can stop talking about LeBron now and how he doesn't play in big games. Now that's to bed."
#1 Game 5: 2007 Eastern Conference Finals vs Pistons
Stat line: 48 points, 9 rebounds, 7 assists, 2 steals
LeBron's greatest playoff game of his career happened when he was just 22 years old.
It was only his second postseason appearance when he made his memorable run to the Finals, with some not-so-talented teammates. In game 5 against Detroit Pistons, LeBron went berzerk, scoring the last 25 points of the game for Cleveland in the 4th quarter and overtime.
He did this against the team known for having one of the best defenses in the league for years and in this game. LeBron was pretty much the only scoring option on the Cavs. He finished the game with 48 points 9 rebounds and 7 assists.
Some have said this was the greatest playoff performance since MJ retired. After the game, the media world went into a frenzy and they knew they had just witnessed history before their eyes.
It was after this game where everyone started saying acknowledging the fact that LeBron's enroute be an all-time great and ever since then he has answered that call. As the years have passed this game has become somewhat underrated probably because people only remember the Cavs getting swept in the final but up until this day, Game 5 against Detroit in 2007 is still LeBron's greatest playoff game in his career.
