After a difficult season full of drama, the death of a close friend in Kobe Bryant, COVID lockdowns, and the season restart in Orlando, LeBron James and the Los Angeles Lakers have made it to the NBA Finals, and will face the Miami Heat in Game 1 on Thursday.
After a difficult series with the Denver Nuggets, James and the Lakers managed to come out on top. They were led by James, who managed to earn a triple double with 38 points, 16 rebounds and ten assists to close out a hungry Denver squad. However, after the game, James did not celebrate. While his teammates were in full celebration mode, all James could think about was how the job is not done.
James also knows how important this particular finals series is to his legacy. He has always strived to be the best, and with the Western Conference Finals win, James has already silenced some doubters.
He has fought his way through the tough Western Conference and managed to win in the West, while securing a historic tenth Finals appearance, stamping his name as one of only four players to do so, joining legends such as Bill Russell, Sam Jones and Kareem Abdul-Jabbar.
Teams that feature James are now 10-1 when making it to the conference finals, with his lone conference finals loss coming to teammate Dwight Howard’s Orlando Magic squad in 2009. While this record is impressive, it is still not enough for the doubters to fade away.
(Steve Dykes/Getty Images)
While James has achieved greatness in reaching the grand stage on numerous occasions, his record in the NBA Finals is less than flattering. James has only won three rings out of nine attempts, leaving him with a 3-6 Finals record. His win percentage in the NBA Finals is an abysmal 33.33 per cent, leading some to question his place in the conversation of legends.
When comparing James to the other three individuals on the list of double digits Finals appearances, it looks worse for the star. Russell appeared in the Finals 12 times, and winning 11 rings. Jones appeared 11 times in the Finals, securing ten rings. Abdul-Jabbar won six times out of his ten Finals appearances.
Although these legends played in a different era when the NBA was not as competitive as it is today, James’ 3-6 Finals record still brings doubters. Even when compared with Michael Jordan and the late Kobe Bryant, James’ record on the big stage is not good. Jordan appeared in six Finals and won six rings, while Bryant had a 5-2 record in the Finals, losing to the Celtics and Pistons.
While the lack of wins has brought doubters, there is no question that James is a great player. He consistently averages a high volume of points, while being a triple-double threat every night he plays. James also elevated his playmaking skills this season. James’ play is at a level where the lowest expectation of him is to make it to the NBA Finals, no matter what team he is on, which showcases the level of greatness James plays at.
However, with all that in mind, this particular Finals series holds more importance to James’ legacy than any other year in recent memory. If the Lakers win, James has a chance of achieving history by becoming the first player to win a championship for three different teams, while also having the potential to become the first ever Finals MVP for three different teams, as he won the award with both the Miami Heat and Cleveland Cavaliers.
This title also holds special meaning, after James was ridiculed last season for missing the playoffs after battling through injuries. A win would get James his fourth title, improving his record to 4-6 when it comes to the NBA Finals.
Celtics legend Paul Pierce, who is a harsh James critic, has even stated that if the Lakers win this year, James will ascend to being second on the all-time greats list.
“It’s not easy to make an NBA Finals, and for him to be able to do it ten times, he’s moving up there in my rankings,” said Pierce on an episode of NBA Countdown. “I’m going to keep it real. If LeBron James… wins a title this year, I’ll put him right behind Michael Jordan.”
This title also holds a special significance due to the passing of the Lakers legend Kobe Bryant in January. The team will be hungry to win the title in his honour.
From breaking history to moving up on the all-time greats list, this NBA Finals series against the Miami Heat holds much significance towards James’ legacy, the Lakers are coming into this series as the favourites. All they need to do is win four more games to achieve greatness and cement James’ legacy as one of the greatest to ever do it.
Liam Clark
Roar Guru
It was an interesting game. LeBron was unlucky to miss out on yet another triple double. I see the Heat struggling to keep up, especially if Dragic and Adebayo both miss significant time. However, the Lakers cannot get complacent. They need to keep the foot on the gas and get this series wrapped up as quickly as possible.
Liam Clark
Roar Guru
I agree. All you have to do is look at Kobe only winning one MVP. Kobe should have at least 3-4, however players had better stories to back up their claim. I am not saying they did not deserve it, however in Kobe's case he was mostly outdone by players who had greater team success (example, Steve Nash).
Liam Clark
Roar Guru
I feel like we are definitely on the same page! It is amazing that in Year 17, LeBron is still able to change his body and keep himself physically in peak condition in order to keep up his high level of play. I do see Davis/LeBron being like Magic/Kareem. LeBron seems prepared to pass the torch, and Davis loves playing for the Lakers and with LeBron. I would be surprised to see either of them leave any time soon.
Bell31
Roar Rookie
That's for sure - MVP is part 'who has the better story' for winning it - there have been a few head-scratchers over the years (not that the winners didn't deserve serious consideration, but there were probably more deserving players in some years)
Bell31
Roar Rookie
I think we're on the same page! It will be v interesting to see where Le Bron ends up after a few more years - it's incredible what he does to keep himself physically ready to play at an elite level at 36 --- I was looking at footage of him from 2010 and his body change is quite amazing. I wonder if Le Bron / Davis ends up kind of like a Magic / Kareem, with Le Bron gradually 'winding down' whilst Davis takes over as the no.1 on the team, supplemented by additional stars as time goes on.
josh
Roar Rookie
LeBron not winning MVPs is not related to his level of play and production.
jameswm
Roar Guru
I'm a bit late here too, but it'll be hard to see Miami winning 4 of the next 4 games. Such a crucial game 2 though. Lakers relax, and suddenly it's 1-1, advantage gone. Lakers play hard and win, and it's 2-0. Hard to see anyone coming back from that, esp against a team with LeBron and AD. 25 points, 13 rebounds and 9 assists in game 1, and sitting out a lot of the 4th after the blowout. Can't argue with that start. Interestingly the Heat's 2nd and 3rd highest scorers in the game (after Butler) were bench players.
Liam Clark
Roar Guru
Thank you Bell, I also agree with Pierce. This title is very important, and I could see him being right behind Jordan after this win. Lebron will definitely need more rings to rival Jordan. I feel as though if Davis wins Finals MVP over Bron this season as well then that would negatively affect his legacy as well. It will be interesting to see the GOAT conversation in a few more years if Lebron gets another 2-3 rings and some Finals MVP awards along with it. Sadly, as you mentioned, I don’t see him winning another MVP award. However, I could see Davis winning one
Bell31
Roar Rookie
I’m a bit late to the party on this piece, but nice article. I agree with Pierce – winning this title moves him to 2nd best of all time in my book – ahead of Jabaar (who wasn’t the best player on his team in some of his title wins, but still overall, incredible). I agree that too much is made of Le Bron’s 3/9 finals series wins, but in my view, he likely needs at least 5 titles to rival MJ for the GOAT, with potentially one or two extra individual awards along the way (1 or 2 extra finals MVPs wouldn’t hurt his case, or maybe an extra season MVP, albeit very unlikely now).
Liam Clark
Roar Guru
All your comments are certainly true, too many people look at the record and think “he can’t even win the finals,” and use that as their argument as not giving him credit. Yes, Jordan is undefeated in the NBA Finals, but as you said there are so many times he did not make it. It would be more interesting to look at playoff series W/L records to see who has had the better postseason career. Although the ultimate goal is the championships, it cannot be just one guy doing it all. The only championship that LeBron’s teams have lost that he definitely should have won was 2011. They had no reason being there in 2007 or 2018, yet he managed to drag his team to the Finals.
josh
Roar Rookie
I do wonder the skeptics like to highlight the result more than the effort. Its like saying we know he is basically a walking triple double, but he should have done more. This is my main retort to the Jordan 6-0 thing. It took Jordan a while to make it past the 1st Round, and if he did it took 2 beatings by Detroit in the ECF for him to figure what he needs to do to win. This is where Jordan gets some benefit of the doubt. 07 should be expunged. 2011 probably should have won. But it seemed a shock the Big 3 worked year one. The whole Warriors series, the 2016 Cavs aside, who really was going to challenge the Warriors? You could get into a whole alternate history there too, Love and Irving don't get injured in 2015 Finals? if the Thunder don't choke in 2016 and the Rocket's don't implode coupled with Chris Paul not getting get injured in 2018, are the Warriors making/winning all those finals? Another point, they made the NBA logo a bloke who lost 8 finals series. So I'd like to think legacy is more than Finals records.
Liam Clark
Roar Guru
it is certainly interesting to talk about. He certainly should have a record of 3-4 instead of 3-6. The 07 and 18 Cavs had no reason being in the Finals, but James managed to drag them there. The record certainly does seem to tarnish his legacy a bit, but I do agree with you. If Jordan was on those 07 and 18 Cavs teams instead of LeBron, they may not have even made the Finals. It's interesting to discuss the what if, if they had swapped teams and eras how differently they would be viewed in terms of legacy. I feel Jordan (although he's arguably the GOAT) may be looked more upon the way LeBron is now
Kane
Roar Guru
I agree with you with the 3/7 record. In reality he should only have 3 rings, the first three years in Miami. He had no right winning that ring in Cleveland. He had no right getting the 07 or the 18 Cavs to the finals. He had no right winning that final against the greatest regular season team of all time coming back from 3-1. If you swapped Jordan and LeBron for their whole career what would the results be? The Bulls would’ve won 8 straight. How many of LeBrons teams would Jordan have lead to the finals let alone won?
Liam Clark
Roar Guru
Lebron is an absolute stud in the playoffs, especially elimination games. However, Michael Jordan and Kobe Bryant seemingly both had the killer instinct more so than Lebron. This series will be a major part in determining James’ legacy. If he ends up with a finals record of 3-7, then the doubters will surely be in full force
Kane
Roar Guru
It's interesting that in almost every statistical category in elimination or close out games his stats increase significantly. In almost all statistical categories in elimination and close out games Michael Jordans stats went the other way. But somehow LeBron doesn't have the killer or clutch gene despite the stats telling a different story.