LeBron James and the 2015 NBA Finals
Sweeping the Celtics in the opening series and then the Hawks in the Conference Finals, James was rested and ready to conquer the NBA in his first season home.
With Kyrie Irving primed up and ready for Game 1, the unimaginable happened and James’ second all-star teammate went down for the remainder of the postseason.
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Left by himself with a mediocre supporting cast and playing against arguably one of the best team’s in recent history, James had to do it all. Although the Cavs faltered and lost in six games, James put up some of the most impressive numbers of his career.
In that Finals, James averaged 35.8 points, 13.3 rebounds, and 8.8 assists per game. However, James did average over 32 shots per game and shot under 40%. So, while his numbers might be inflated, his efficiency dropped drastically.
At this point, James did everything he could and still came up short. Playoff series like this have defined James’ career and have helped him become such a dominant player even into his 15th season. James battled adversity and came out on top the following year.
Numbers-wise, this might be the best series of James’ career, but efficiency-wise, it’s not even close to it. James, in these previous 10 games, has been scoring, dishing, and rebounding in volume, and he’s doing it efficiently.