King James Gospel
Fansided

Clutch Time: Comparing LeBron to all-time greats

ByTony Pesta|
WASHINGTON, DC - NOVEMBER 3: LeBron James #23 of the Cleveland Cavaliers celebrates in the second half of the Cavaliers 130-122 win over the Washington Wizards at Capital One Arena on November 3, 2017 in Washington, DC. NOTE TO USER: User expressly acknowledges and agrees that, by downloading and or using this photograph, User is consenting to the terms and conditions of the Getty Images License Agreement. (Photo by Rob Carr/Getty Images)
WASHINGTON, DC - NOVEMBER 3: LeBron James #23 of the Cleveland Cavaliers celebrates in the second half of the Cavaliers 130-122 win over the Washington Wizards at Capital One Arena on November 3, 2017 in Washington, DC. NOTE TO USER: User expressly acknowledges and agrees that, by downloading and or using this photograph, User is consenting to the terms and conditions of the Getty Images License Agreement. (Photo by Rob Carr/Getty Images)
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WASHINGTON – APRIL 30: LeBron James #23 and Larry Hughes #32 of the Cleveland Cavaliers celebrate against the Washington Wizards in Game Four of the Eastern Conference Quarterfinals during the 2007 NBA Playoffs on April 30, 2007 at the Verizon Center in Washington D.C. NOTE TO USER: User expressly acknowledges and agrees that, by downloading and or using this photograph, User is consenting to the terms and conditions of the Getty Images License Agreement. Mandatory Copyright Notice: Copyright 2007 NBAE (Photo by Nathaniel S. Butler/NBAE via Getty Images)
WASHINGTON – APRIL 30: LeBron James #23 and Larry Hughes #32 of the Cleveland Cavaliers celebrate against the Washington Wizards in Game Four of the Eastern Conference Quarterfinals during the 2007 NBA Playoffs on April 30, 2007 at the Verizon Center in Washington D.C. NOTE TO USER: User expressly acknowledges and agrees that, by downloading and or using this photograph, User is consenting to the terms and conditions of the Getty Images License Agreement. Mandatory Copyright Notice: Copyright 2007 NBAE (Photo by Nathaniel S. Butler/NBAE via Getty Images)

Fourth Quarter Performances:

Now, we are going to break down the way LeBron James performs in the fourth quarter. This is the most important quarter in basketball, many games are decided by how a superstar plays in the fourth quarter.

Since all three of these players have been in dozens of fourth quarters, we are only going to look at the most important games of each player’s career. In order to avoid any type of stat padding or inflation, we will only count NBA Finals games in which the final score was within five points. With this being said, here is how LeBron stacks up:

Player

Points

Rebounds

Assists

Turnovers

FG%

Michael Jordan

9.0  1.7 1.0 0.2 48.4%

Kobe Bryant

7.2 1 0.5 0.8 43.8%

LeBron James

8.4

2.2

1.4

1.3

36.6%

Looking at the numbers, you can see that LeBron shoots the lowest percentage and also averages the most turnovers. However, LeBron does average the most rebounds and assists, while being only 0.6 away from Michael Jordan in terms of points.

James may not have the strongest numbers in the fourth quarter, but he isn’t exactly a liability either. Yes, he does have a problem turning the ball over, but that is balanced out by the way he manages to get assists and keep his teammates involved at all times. LeBron has shown that he is capable of doing more than just score when the game is on the line. Whether that be grabbing rebounds or dishing assists, LeBron can do it all and that is what makes him a valuable player to have in the fourth quarter.