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LA Lakers superstar LeBron James was brutally honest when asked about the toughest moment of his NBA career during a recent 'Q&A' session on Twitter. The four-time NBA champion recalled his poor performance against the Dallas Mavericks in the 2011 NBA Finals.
James was playing his first season with the Miami Heat at the time. They were arguably the best team in the NBA that year. The Heat were also the favorites to win the title. However, they couldn't deliver on the grandest stage against Dirk Nowitzki's Dallas Mavericks, losing the Finals series 4-2.
Here's what James tweeted regarding that loss and how he recovered from it:
"Losing in the finals to Dallas after playing like sh*t!! I hit the reset button, went back to the basics, worked on things in my game I needed to get better at so the defense couldn't just sit on 1 thing. Hours & hours & hours everyday in the off season on it. Came back locked in!"
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LeBron James' struggles in his first NBA Finals with the Miami Heat
LeBron James' NBA career hit a rough patch in 2011, when he failed to win his first championship despite being within touching distance. The Miami Heat were up 2-1 against the Dallas Mavericks, the underdogs in that series. However, James and company lost the next four games in a row, eventually squandering their opportunity to win the title that year.
Unlike his other performances in the rest of his Finals series appearances, James himself wasn't playing at the level he was expected to against Dallas. The former Cleveland Cavaliers star produced only 17.8 points per game on 47.8% shooting.
He wasn't as aggressive as he was prior to that series. He often settled for jump shots instead of attacking the rim and putting the Mavs defense under pressure.
LeBron James attempted only 3.3 free throws per contest during that series. He also committed 4.0 turnovers per game and failed to come up big down the stretch. James was heavily criticized for signing with the Heat to form a superteam alongside Dwyane Wade and Chris Bosh.
After failing to win Miami the championship in his first year, James was targeted being unable to deliver in the biggest moments of his career.
Nevertheless, the King made a comeback for the ages after that dismal run. He made eight Finals appearances in a row, winning three championships in that window. Two came with the Heat and one with the Cleveland Cavaliers. He also won his fourth championship as an LA Lakers player in 2020.
