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So after Wednesday night's iconic Game 5 finish, there was almost immediate chatter comparing LeBron James to the GOAT Michael Jordan. Why do you say?
Also read: 5 Achievements LeBron James was the Youngest to reach
Well, there are plenty of reason but for yesterday specifically, it was this:
Now, there can be legitimate arguments made for both sides (Jordan and LeBron) but I'll leave that for another time, a better time. Right now, it's time to appreciate the James' greatness, given what he did in Game 5 against the Indiana Pacers while playing his 15th season in the league.
He put up 44 points, 10 rebounds, 8 assists, 1 steal, 1 block on 14-of-24 shooting in 42 minutes. What's not in that stat line - his clutch block on Victor Oladipo and the buzzer-beating game-winning 3 on the next play.That three was his 4th game-winning buzzer-beater of his career, as the tweet suggests.
Plenty to rank, right? Yes, so here we go but as always, there are key factors that determine the rankings:
a) Shot difficulty (the shot itself, time on the clock and the contest by the defender).
b) What's at stake (prior to the shot)
#4 Game 5, Round 1 against the Indiana Pacers 2018
If you consider the factors mentioned, it isn't very difficult to understand why this shot is at the bottom of these rankings.
First of all, the scores are tied (which it shouldn't have been) so even if LeBron misses the shot, the worst that could happen is that he would have to lead and will his team to victory in overtime. The Pacers fought hard but they couldn't buy a bucket on possessions that mattered and the overtime period, which is essentially all clutch minutes, it's safe to say they might have lost anyway.
Obviously, nobody can predict what will exactly happen but betting on LeBron and Kyle Korver to carry the Cavaliers to an overtime win wouldn't necessarily be considered risky.
Again, I'm not saying it would have been easy but it's more likely. Getting to the degree of difficulty, let's just it was the easiest among all the "shots" on this list.
Also, let's say, he doesn't make the shot and Indiana win Game 5. It's not the end of the world. James is still, by far, the best player in this series and isn't outlandish to think that he could single-handedly scrape the Cavaliers through to the next round with back-to-back wins in elimination games.
P.S: He's done it before in 2012 against a better team.
#3 Game 4, East Semifinals against the Chicago Bulls 2015
Again, the scores were tied on this one.
There was a lot at stake on the game, but not necessarily on the shot itself. Had the shot missed, an extra five minutes would have to be added to the game, which, going by the momentum of the final quarter (Cleveland outscored Chicago 25-16) would have most likely favored the Cavaliers.
In hindsight, it's easy to say that the Cavaliers would have won the series even if the Bulls led 3-1, given Pau Gasol's hamstring issues but there's a reason why overcoming a 3-1 series lead has only happened 11 times out of 226 chances.
It was great Chicago team. In fact, the shot was made over Jimmy Butler, one of the best wing defenders right now and even back then. Unfortunately, this is the highest it can go.
#2 Game 1 East Finals against the Indiana Pacers 2013
Although the Indiana Pacers were a better regular season team in 2013-14 as compared to the year before, the same, however, can't be said about their form in the postseason. Both years, they played against the same opponent in the Conference Finals - James and the Miami Heat.
They were carrying a fewer expectation and a lot more momentum in the 2013 Playoffs, where they pushed the Heat to seven games. In the 2014 postseason, it was a much easier series for the then-defending champs.
Although LeBron's buzzer-beating game-winner is essentially a layup, it's significance cannot be underplayed. Surely, the series would have played out differently, if the Pacers had taken a 1-0 series lead on the road. More importantly, unlike the previous shots on this list, here LeBron's team was trailing by one before the game-winning play.
The Pacers were a team that gave the Heat huge matchup issues and maybe the series might not have played differently with Miami winning in seven anyway but clinching it after being down 1-0 would have been a tougher hill to climb.
#1 Game 2 East Finals against the Orlando Magic 2009
Arguably, the greatest game-winner of LeBron's career. The stakes on the SHOT are among the most he's had to overcome and the degree of the difficulty of the shot is among his best ever.
Among all of his four Playoff buzzer-beaters, this one had the least amount of time on the clock - 1.0 second before the play. In addition to that, this shot had to go in and it had to be a three-pointer, as the Cavaliers were down 93-95 and would have gone to Orlando for Games 3 & 4 in a 0-2 series hole.
Cleveland eventually lost the series in six games but it would have been a lot shorter had James not got this miraculous shot to go over Hedo Turkoglu's tough contest.
Guess the Lakers players!
