LeBron James has played for two decades in the NBA, but he doesn’t have to give it up unless he wants to. His comments from early this week after being eliminated make it seem as if retirement could potentially be in the cards for him, though, and if this is it, what a ride it’s been.
In his last game of the season, he set a career-high in points in a half of a playoff game and the record for the most by any player that age. Aside from teaching a generation of kids, and even adults, the game by just watching him, he lived up to the hype machine that inflated as he was a high school player.
These are the six biggest moments from his career to this point.
No. 6: Scoring 25 straight points to defeat the Pistons in Game 5 of the Eastern Conference Finals
On May 31, 2007, James scored 25 consecutive points in Detroit to lift the Cavaliers to its third straight dub in Game 5 of the Eastern Conference Finals. #23 dusted defenders on drives through the middle, lost his man cutting off-ball and shot over disruptors from the perimeter.
Chauncey Billups, Tayshaun Prince and Richard Hamilton must have been horrified watching James strike at them repeatedly as if Michael Myers was on the hunt for them. He finished the night with 50 minutes recorded and 48 points with nine rebounds and seven assists. The win pushed the Cavs to a 3-2 advantage.
Steve Kerr was on the broadcast for TNT that night and said what James was doing was “Jordanesque.” Who, aside from Phil Jackson and Scottie Pippen, is as qualified to make that statement?
At the postgame presser, Billups said the Pistons threw everything they had at James, but the team couldn’t stop him.
Years later, as an ESPN analyst, Billups said James “climbed a mountain that night.”
No. 5: Scoring Crown
It seemed unimaginable years ago that Kareem Abdul-Jabbar’s scoring record would belong to someone else. That’s even with guys like Kobe Bryant and James setting records for the youngest player ever to hit 25K points.
Abdul-Jabbar’s signature move was his sky-hook, a near indefensible shot, deadly from close-to-mid range. It also helped that the Tower of Power stood at 7’2” and competed for 20 years in pro ball.
James was graced with the same gift of longevity, and lucky for him, he plays in a way-less physical era than Abdul-Jabbar. The Akron Hammer may have the size of a big man and the skills to play like one, but he incorporated everything into his game. Officially he’s a forward, but he has always moved like a guard.
On Feb. 7, when the Oklahoma City Thunder visited Lakerland, James snatched the scoring crown with a fadeaway jumper over Kenrich Williams at the elbow. On his way there, he isolated defenders in the corner, scored on rim runs after screens, and attacked drop coverage.
The record is about skill as much as it is competitive lastingness. With respect to some of the illustrious scorers in NBA history, many of them never logged so many minutes. In fact, only Abdul-Jabbar and Karl Malone have logged more regular season time than James.
No. 4: 2018 Playoffs
James, in his 15th season, was as good offensively as he ever was. His outfit managed to win 50 games that year while the team brought in new faces and let old ones go.
In the 2018 Playoffs, James guided the Cavaliers past the Pacers, the first-seeded Raptors, and the Celtics.
In Game 5 versus Indiana, with the outing tied at 95 points, James defended Victor Oladipo on a drive from the key to the rim and blocked his shot. The Cavs called a timeout as three seconds remained. Jeff Green then inbounded the ball to James, and he pulled up at the top for a game-winning trifecta.
The next round, in Game 3, James dribbled coast-to-coast and hoisted a layup over O.G. Anunoby. The bank-shot ended the night as the Cavs pushed the Raps to the brink of extinction.
In the 2018 East Finals, James and the Cavaliers went on the road for Game 7, defeating the Green Machine in an eight-point triumph. He never rested that night and recorded 35 points, 15 rebounds and nine assists.
In the NBA Finals, the Cavaliers were swept, but James emptied the clip on his way out. He dropped 51 points in Game 1 and averaged a double-double for the series as Kevin Durant and Curry’s Warriors won back-to-back championships.
No. 3: The fourth ring
Winning a chip for the Lakers made James the first player in NBA history to be the NBA Finals MVP on three different units. The Purple and Gold went 16-5 in the NBA Playoffs, led by James and Anthony Davis, defeating the Trail Blazers, Rockets, Nuggets and Heat.
This trip to the postseason totaled the sixth-highest point total James recorded in a playoff run (580), with the most triple-doubles (5) and rebounds (226). Even at 35 years old, he was uncheckable driving into the lane and a fierce orchestrator that found his teammates open 184 times.
The 2020 postseason took place in the Orlando bubble during the COVID-19 pandemic. The NBA restarted in the late summer after a pause in March, with every invited team on a neutral court.
No. 2: Going back-to-back
In NBA history, only seven organizations have won in consecutive years. Fresh off the Heat’s Game 7 win of the NBA Finals over the Spurs, James’ team was the sixth.
For eight years and 92 playoff games, championship jewels had eluded James. In his first year with the Heat, his crew won the East and came two wins shy of the title, losing to Dirk Nowitzki and the Mavericks.
That offseason, he and Dwyane Wade took a trip to the Bahamas to recalibrate. He returned the next season ravenous for a ring.
In the 2012 Playoffs, the Heat vanquished the Knicks, tangoed with the Pacers, and then encountered the Green Machine, consisting of James’ old nemeses, before the championship round. After winning the first two matches, Boston took a 3-2 lead in the Eastern Conference Finals.
Game 6 was in Boston. By James’ hands, it was destruction, and in the same vein as when Achilles hacked away at the trapped Trojans in the Scamander River. Had the Heat lost that game, I’d wager Spoelstra would have gotten tossed, and Pat Riley would have pushed the eject button on Chris Bosh for someone else.
In the 2013 NBA Finals, the Heat lost Game 5 in San Antonio and was on the verge of elimination with two games heading back to Miami. In the fourth quarter of Game 6, the hosts were down 10 points. James was the architect of the comeback, scoring 14 of his own to place the Heat in position for a kill shot.
Ray Allen’s banger in the corner, supplied by Spurs head coach Gregg Popovich taking out Tim Duncan with 28 seconds left in the game, let Bosh recover one of the most devastating offensive rebounds of all time. This moment has overshadowed James’ grand fourth-quarter resurgence. And worse yet, his magnum opus at the time two nights later in Game 7.
The Spurs challenged him by tempting him to shoot, but cheap tricks were no match.
Tim Duncan had just missed a turnaround hook over Shane Battier at close-range. With under 40 seconds left of the season, James steered to the elbow and pulled up in Kawhi Leonard’s face to put the Heat up four points.
For the second time, 364 days apart, Bill Russell handed LBJ the Finals MVP trophy.
No. 1: Leading the Cavaliers to a title
Regardless of the number, when James left Cleveland the first time, he guaranteed rings. In his return, he promised one for The Land. Similar to his trip to South Florida, the mission was accomplished by season two.
Standing in his way were the Warriors, an outfit that won 73 games, led by a once-in-a-lifetime player in Stephen Curry. The previous year, Golden State became acquainted with Cleveland, minus Kevin Love and mostly Kyrie Irving. In overtime of Game 1, Irving broke his kneecap, leaving James with a crew of role players undermanned.
The Warriors won the series in six, reclaiming the title for the Bay Area for the first time since 1975. That offseason, James lobbied for Love’s return as Irving’s knee healed.
In their next rendezvous, the Dubs captured a 3-1 lead. During Game 4, the Cavs were getting blitzed, but James shrewdly made something of nothing by agitating Draymond Green. He threw down the Dancing Bear (Green) and crossed the line by walking over him. Green swiped at James in the act, but of course, the refs got involved when both guys were chest-to-chest and in a hail of profanity.
Green’s antics got him suspended for Game 5 at Oracle Arena. James and Irving each scored 41 points as the Warriors’ backline defense was severely compromised. The Cavaliers won and the series shifted back to Cleveland.
In another Herculean effort, James logged another 41 points on 59.3% shooting to force Game 7 at Oracle. He was unstoppable on the break as a scorer and distributor as the Cavs raced to a 31-9 lead. As the match matured, he zipped into the lane with and without screens, plus converted two more deep jumpers.
Three nights later, in the season finale, James and Co. were in their second road elimination game of the NBA Finals. The squad was down seven points and logged 38.1% of its tries by halftime. James played every minute of the second half, picking up 15 points, six assists, four rebounds, a steal and a block.
He and Irving were the only double-digit scorers for the Cavaliers in the second half. The visiting bench contributed a donut in this stretch.
The game was tied at 89 for nearly four minutes until Irving isolated Curry on the wing, splashing a triple. With the Cavaliers up three, Irving beat Klay Thompson’s full-court press and absorbed an extra defender as he dished the rock to James cutting through the center. LBJ went up for the jam, but was fouled by Green and almost broke his hand on the way down. At the line, James made one of two to push the Cavaliers up four with 11 seconds left.
The Wine and Gold celebrated behind enemy lines as James won his third NBA title and delivered the first for Cleveland. He and the crew raising the Larry O’Brien Trophy ended a 52-year drought of a major sports championship in the city. The last title before the Cavaliers won was earned by the Browns in 1964.
This list is getting shuffled if he ends up playing with Bronny.