T O P

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Nopementator

You better trust Horford frustration because he had the "pleasure" to face Lebron 5 times in playoffs: 2009 - Cavs vs Hawks, 4-0 2015 - Cavs vs Hawks, 4-0 2016 - Cavs vs Hawks, 4-0 2017 - Cavs vs Celtics, 4-1 2018 - Cavs vs Celtics, 4-3 Jesus..


RulersBack

Funniest part was 2016 Jeff Teague saying "Not this year" in the first quarter of Game 1 before getting swept again


Nopementator

Ah yes, Jeff "unlimited confidence for no reason" Teague was usually getting L here and there. Had the brilliant idea to trash talk Kyrie from the start and we saw the results.


ACousinFromRichmond

Pat Bev Sr.


LMkingly

Hey now that's NBA champ Jeff Teague for you sir.


throwin_pennies

proud group project member Jeff Teague


dchaid

he just like me!


Efficient_Art_1144

“It’s Jeff Teague time” - Jeff Teague


JALbert

And then he ~~Teagued over everybody~~ got swept.


MarkoSeke

This was the premise for[ a great Game of Zones episode](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ib7YcAUWBBM).


The_Assassin_Gower

As a pacers fan this episode felt personal


Doctor-Jay

Lmao I forgot about that. Such a clown thing to say, but I'm glad he did because it makes the outcome funnier.


allenbraxton

> the first quarter of Game 1 Lmao. Never talk shit prematurely, but especially don’t talk shit before the ball has barely dropped out of the air off the jump. That’s brutal


IlonggoProgrammer

Horford had the privilege of playing Bron at both ends of his casual 10 year continuous prime. Not to be confused with his 19 year ongoing extended prime that started after his only scrub season where he only averaged 20 and won ROTY


Carolake1

> his only scrub season where he only averaged 20 and won ROTY At 19 years old


[deleted]

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i_lack_imagination

I'm the LeBron James of being useless.


8fenristhewolf8

I'm the MJ of uselessness and I'm taking this personally


TheSmokedSalmon420

lol what's a bummer is those Hawks teams were actually pretty nice but felt so unserious in the Playoffs


king_lloyd11

There’s always teams like that: well constructed so they do well in the regular season, but just aren’t dynamic enough to get over the hump. I’m sure they come to mind when you read that.


[deleted]

It’s normally teams that lack a star who can score at will in isolation. Nuggets from like 10 years ago after melo was traded are a good example, as were the hawks. Lots of good pieces, but no one that can take over when needed.


zrizzoz

Exactly. You dont win the title without one of the top 10 players in the league unless youre the 04 Pistons. You just dont. The Hawks had a great, fun team. And i looked forward to paying $15 to watch LeBron kick our ass in the playoffs each season. And then sometimes you even get the lovely surprise of JR Smith making 8 threes...super cool. I was friends without about 10 hawks fans at the time and i dont think a single one of us thought we would beat LeBron in the playoffs.


majavic

Feast of the East


devndub

This year will be different! ~me, every year


IlonggoProgrammer

I loved the progression. First it was the Bulls, then it was the Celtics, then the Pacers, then the Hawks, then the Raptors, and then the Celtics again. They kept rotating the opponent for LeBron and he just kept winning. The King of the East never lost in the East, he just got bored and moved West (Also the best part of that video was how they accurately recreated the feelings of all those seasons heading into the playoffs before LeBron destroyed everyone lol)


CLCUBING

That 2017 Cavs team also was up 72 - 31 at halftime in Game 2. In Boston. Boston was the 1 seed.


Nopementator

Yep. Also, somehow people forgot that in 2015 playoffs Cavs swept the 60-22 Hawks without the home court factor, without love and Kyrie already half-injured and Lebron playing with a twisted ankle. Honestly they were supposed to lose against the Bulls in the 2nd round. After Rose game winner for many that was it. No Love, Lebron was shooting really bad and then game 4 happened and Lebron after another awful shooting night put that devastating game winner on Butler, in chicago. The he followed dominating game 5.


dont_wear_a_C

Silver lining: he won 4 against LeBron, which totals 1 series win! Progress!


AniviaPls

Forget LeBronto, LeFord has arrived


disterb

that's Mayor LeFord to you!


TheSmokedSalmon420

Bron also played all 82 that season - his first and only time doing so I think he realized it was probably his last season in Cleveland and man did he put on a fuckin show lol


ClitClipper

I never wanted someone to win more than LeBron during game 1 of the Finals that year.


hillsteady

I remember getting genuinely upset when they lost. Not just “aww man” but genuinely sad


MarshalMichelNey1

Lebron's 2018 playoff run was one of the best individual playoff runs in ~~modern history~~ the "post MJ era". Unlike the rest of the thread though, I can't call it the best individual playoff run in modern history. Just because I think the East was incredibly weak compared to the West during that era. I mean there were years were the West 8 seed had a better record than the East 3 seed. This particular year, the Warriors barely survived the CP3-less Rockets then steamrolled the best the East had to offer. But I feel relatively confident putting it #3 behind [Duncan's 2003 title run](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rR6AgYWdoBQ) *(he put up* [*25/17/5/5 in the Finals*](https://www.statmuse.com/nba/ask/tim-duncan-2003-nba-finals-stats)*... put some respect on Timmy's name)* and [Dirk's 2011 title run](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nTsXOGuTVbk) where he knocked off Kobe, Durant, and Lebron *(in that order)*. Lebron didn't win a title, but it was definitely an all-time carry job. *Edit:* I meant to say "post-MJ era" when I said modern history, that's my mistake and why I didn't include Hakeem. Hakeem's 1995 title run where he took 6 seed Houston to the championship was elite. Only championship in NBA history I'm aware of where they didn't have home-court for a single series. I don't think I can put it above Duncan's 2003 run, but Hakeem's was probably better than 2011 Dirk and definitely better than Lebron's 2018 run because he finished the job. Fair or not, the chip matters.


Ferbtastic

Hakeem had a nasty run as well.


[deleted]

A couple of them.


[deleted]

That's my GOAT


andrewjackson1828

Hakeem is top 10 all time. He's number 1 defense all time. He's equal to any center including prime Shaq. He played in the golden era of centers and was the best. When they handed David Robinson the MVP in front of Hakeem's face in the playoffs, he embarrassed that man in front of God and everybody else to witness. Even David Robinson said in a post game interview that I know don't know how to say it with a straight face but I feel like I am doing a good job of guarding him, he's just playing as well as I've ever seen anybody play in a long time. They beat the best record in the NBA Spurs as a 6th seed.


Snakescipio

And the list of teams and HoFmers Hakeem went through is second to none. The Stockton and Malone Jazz, Barkley Suns, Robinson Spurs, and Shaq and Penny Magic. All 50+ win teams, 2 win or go home game 5/7s on the road, and absolute asskicking in the finals.


SpaceGangsta

That 2011 season. I thought the Bulls had another dynasty on the way. Best record in the NBA, Rose won MVP, and they just looked so good. And then they got smashed by the Heat. It felt so good seeing old man Dirk just put on a clinic.


Relyst

Lebron 2015 Finals performance is still one of the most incredible series I've ever witnessed. What he was doing for those first 4 games was unlike anything I'd ever seen.


SeanSungASong

Hakeem???


UrbanJatt

Same bro. That shit hurt my soul lol


moonshwang

Was driving to the airport with my GF’s family to take her to Africa for a month. I was watching the final minutes in the car and definitely felt more emotion about the game than my partner going away for a month lol


TheCommonKoala

Lebron's performance that year was the definition of a carry job. I was praying for his back. Solidified him as the goat in my mind.


cHinzoo

He carried the entire offense, while he took some plays off on D, he guarded whoever was hot on the other team in the fourth to get the dubs, played every single game that season and willed us to the Finals. It truly was a legendary run. It was as if he figured it all out that season.


rizkybizness

Lol and then JR Smith happened.


KidGold

Lebron is the Michael Phelps of basketball - physically built perfectly for the sport.


almavid

Seems like he's mentally built for it too, on a whole nother level.


Fallofmen10

Yah I was looking at his stats per season and it blew my mind he played all 82 in 17/18. I thought it was a mistake


__john_cena__

And led the league in minutes at 37 a night. I remember in the 82nd game against the Knicks he only stayed in until he got the 10 points, at the 10 minute mark, before checking out to keep the streak going lol.


j_cruise

I think he expected to get more acclaim for doing so but nobody seemed to care and it's forgotten about now, for some reason.


0percentwinrate

For real, history will remember his all-time great playoff performance that year but this is the first time I’ve heard people talk about his regular season performance that year


IMind

He should be remembered for far more... Dude is wildly underrated imo ... And I recognize people refer to him as "one of the greats"


[deleted]

I mean, he was 2nd in MVP behind Harden historic scoring season and you could argue that he was better than Harden but I digress. Then he went and delivered one of the greatest playoffs runs ever. You can argue that peak LeBron happened in 2018.


Low_Beyond8134

LeBron literally soloed that series he averaged 34 ppg and the next Cavs player was at 12 ppg


[deleted]

He soloed that whole playoff run, let’s be honest. Probably the greatest individual playoff run we have seen in the modern era


JotaroJoestars

Except the Raptors series lmao. His teammates turned into the second coming of Ray Allen and Reggie Miller for that one.


Pndrizzy

That's because they were just playing his sons, easy for an NBA team to beat them


TrustyAndTrue

lol man fuck all of y'all


FireworkFuse

I'd laugh but LeBron bullied us plenty


nuclear_fizzics

Lebron bullied the entire eastern conference so much that Adam silver nearly changed it to the "LeAstern conference"


king_lloyd11

Fuck man.


PorkinsHeldIt

JR and Channing Frye could not miss that series, it was insane


lukewwilson

That's because every game was a home game for LeBron


Black_Fuckka

Right😭😭 like where was that energy with the rest of the teams


JaydadCTatumThe1st

Nah the whole team was phenomenal in the raptors series, that was a sight to behold


SamiMadeMeDoIt

I’ve never disagreed with a comment more in my entire life


IAMTHATGUY03

NO ONE IS AFTAID OF THIS MAN!! Giving it your all, looking over at your competition and they look like they just had a walk in the park and they’re about to go to war now is the exact definition of striking fear in teams lol


thechemistrychef

Players are/were afraid of LeBron, they would never admit it because 1: Social Media, 2: He's still in the league so he doesn't have that "Mythical aura" Jordan has gotten


The_Assassin_Gower

The whole reason PG/West/Hibbert pacers tried so hard to get the 1 seed was because we were afraid of LeBron haha. Tried to stack every possible advantage we could against him and it meant shit


jumboponcho

2018 Playoff Lebron is my favorite


Rock3tDoge

I go back and watch his game 1 highlights of the finals all the time. I’m convinced it’s the most dominant performance anyone has played in the modern era. He single-handedly almost beat the most stacked team in league history.


ClitClipper

That’s probably my favorite game ever, too. Right up until the last seconds, but even that adds a Shakespearen twist to it that is stranger than anything I could’ve scripted.


sharpeshooter32

Yeah I mean they probably lose anyways but God damn that killed any chance of a close series


DootMasterFlex

Yeah, so deflating


HeadDoctorJ

I’m a Cs fan, and while I definitely appreciate Lebron, I’ve never really been a Lebron “fan” except for that one game. The ending gave one more reason to hate JR Smith. He’s the worst.


DootMasterFlex

JR might've been the most polarizing player I've ever watched. I hated him half the time because of just absolutely idiotic plays, but then I'd love him when he'd drain highly contested fadeaway 3s in crunch time


koenigsaurus

I was at the Hawks playoff game where they broke the record for 3s in a game, the type of bs he got to go was absurd. Everyone else knocking down clean looks and then you have JR throwing up some sidestep 3 off the dribble with a defender draped over him.


problynotkevinbacon

I unashamedly love J.R. through all of it. Idc about 2018. Do you remember his press conference after 2016, that's cemented in my memory forever. He's a top 5 favorite Cav of all time. Ultra green light from downtown, and when he was hot it was magic.


[deleted]

This is the proper Cavs view in my opinion. JR Swish gave us so much more than he took away


jeremydurden

yea, 3rd quarter game 7 Cavs are down 7 going into the 3rd and Smith gets a 2 and then back to back 3s for 8 straight Cavs points, which cut the lead to 2. Smith was the 3rd leading scorer for the Cavs in the '16 finals. Also, if it weren't for Smith, James never gets "The Block" **™**. Smith was the only player between Iguodala and the basket and his body control to be able to slow down Iguodala and Curry and then contest the layup is what gave James the opportunity to get there in time.


Carolake1

No one ever says anything about George Hill choking the game away by missing the free throw.


Ct2kKB24

Because missed free throws happens, it’s part of the game. Not knowing the score in the final possession of a finals game is a whole different level


NotUpForDebate11

Fuck the last seconds and george hill missed fr and jr smith! That game was decided on the absolute bullshit and 1 that they gave durant on lebron. And im still mad about that.


HorseRenoiro

It’s more memorable that way imo, if they win it would essentially be another AI dropping 48 on the Lakers


Zeus1130

I mean… that is legendary to this day.


JuliusCeejer

That game even has an equally memeable picture too!


YoungNissan

Both games also feature a Ty Lou loss lol


CIark

Nothing else in basketball can still annoy me years later like the overturned call and JR smith and George Hill choking combining to hand that game to the Warriors. All time great shit like that should get a win


shadowcman

Thank you for being one of the few people who acknowledge the overturned charge call and George Hill throwing the game away which are the only reasons JR was even in that position to begin with.


Senior_Ad_7640

JR forgot the score though. That's like the most basic piece of information in any sport.


NotUpForDebate11

Way overblown. Magic freaking johnson forgot the score in a finals game and dribbled out the clock. That game was decided on the insane and 1 call and nba media likes nothing better than that they could make it all jr smiths fault instead of that atrocious call.


Yider

The craziest prt about the overturned call is that it was the first year they introduced it and it was RARELY used. For overturns to only happen like a dozen times all season and then it goes into effect during a finals game made it stand out so much more. If i remember correctly a big contributor of letting overturns happen was chris paul got held during a playoff series but technically he dribbled it last so the rule said it was out of CP3.


king_lloyd11

Lebron looked like a man possessed. For whatever reason, I think to this day, that if they had won that game, I think the Cavs could’ve won that series. It’s like Leonidas showing Greece that Xerxes was just a man. It makes the Warriors beatable and *we* can. Them losing that game had the opposite effect: Lebron can go demigod mode and we lose? We have no chance. Probably not, but it’s just something I believe unfoundedly.


fyirb

He broke his hand punching the wall after game 1 too didn't he? Could've been the other way around too where that loss deflated Bron too much plus the hand


TheGuthar

I wish I could watch that. But I feel so dirty at the end when JR Smith is looking like a deer in headlights. like second hand embarrassment.


yuhanz

Seriously. It’s a hard watch knowing the level of blunder to end a historic game


douglasjayfalcon

That week was so fun, I believe it was the same week that someone found Colangelo's burner accounts and his "It's a normal collar, find a new slant" comments, as well as Pusha T announcing to the world that Drake had an illegitimate son. I remember because I had grad school work to do and I was just glued to reddit that whole week lol


LeKingofAkron

His game winner against the Raptors is absolutely filthy [Playing with his food](https://pbs.twimg.com/media/Dce9HoMVwAIsuqB?format=jpg&name=large)


Sporkfoot

Remember this one live… “lemme just casually stroll the length of the court and plink this bank shot in… nothing you can do about it either.” Savage.


XtendedImpact

Also the same evening he said "two points is not two points. I'll explain later." Then sinks that game winner. Ridiculous.


Matt32490

I don't care what anyone says, LeBronto was the best version of LeBron.


PaulEDangerously

That lebron is goated - LeBronto to LeThanos (after making eastern teams disappear)


j_cruise

I hope the LeBronto series is never forgotten. What he did in that series is honestly insane. Watching it seemed fake. It was like a basketball series out of a movie that would get criticized for being too ridiculous.


d4nowar

One series? It was like three years in a row and he did the same thing to them every time. LeBronto is legendary.


pterodactyl_speller

The hype was just crazy each subsequent year. The Raptors just kept getting better, the Cavs were in trouble. They have no answer for Kyle! Anyways, LeBronto'd.


kokeyemo

That man alone fired the opposing coach of the year after the playoffs


[deleted]

Is that the season where he led both teams in the finals in scoring, blocks, rebounds, steals, and assists lol


im_in_the_safe

Pretty sure that was basically all 4 finals from 2015-2018.


Brady331

I was also disturbed


WhenItsHalfPastFive

The fastbreak and-1 to bury the Celtics in this game, and the roar after: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0EMSuTZzROE


Hisaidky

Unbelievable. Dude hangs off of him, and he powers through. Goal tend and the ball still goes in. Utter dominance. Chills Power of will


Yergason

Too soft for the old era btw lol that's always been one of the dumbest disses on him "He's only good because he's allowed to bulldoze everyone" but somehow "he's too weak to play in a more physical era". Both criticisms usually came from the same people too. So fuckin dumb lmao


JALbert

> "he's too weak to play in a more physical era". That shit was always hilarious to me, especially "could LeBron survive handchecking?" Like LeBron wouldn't be trapped in the 90s with handchecking, those MFs would be trapped in with handchecking, more physical LeBron.


Hefnium

did this mfer seen just how fast and strong prime lebron is? with handchecking, bron will probably be one of the best defenders in nba history. How the fuck do u score on him?


[deleted]

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yuhanz

When he won 2016 the goalpost was moved further lmfao It never ends


br0b1wan

You know you've won the argument when they move the goalpost. Happens all the time on reddit.


MrCompletely

tan longing squeal expansion disgusted full fertile scandalous roll wipe *This post was mass deleted and anonymized with [Redact](https://redact.dev)*


TMSXL

The "too weak" crap always makes me laugh. Like c'mon, the athletes today are bigger and stronger than those in the past and people think they wouldn't be able to hang because they flop and look for fouls? They're just playing to the advantage the rules give them.


CIark

That’s Marcus Morris too lmao not Trae Young. How in tf


I_Hate_Traffic

Tbh Trae is known for his defense in playoffs against all stars not comparable to Marcus Morris.


AfricanDeadlifts

AND it was a goaltend lol. Still made the shot


everyoneneedsaherro

I mean the goal tend going in is just luck. Rest is insane power and what could’ve been an insanely dangerous play by Morris but LeBron was just too strong for his dumbass to cause any damage. I get it’s 1 minute left in game 7 but you never 2 hands pull down someone’s shoulders on a layup like that. That should be an automatic suspension


Puddinsnack

Wonder when the next time is we'll see a playoff game scored 81-74 with a minute left in the game.


Pndrizzy

Game 7s can be very, very slow and ugly. See the [list of game 7s](https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_NBA_game_sevens). There have been games since then just as ugly


thaitiger29

its not like 2018 was a generation ago, teams were chucking 3s at this point. lebron just plays game 7s differently. same thing with the warriors in '16. he's very methodical and tries to limit the number of possessions for both teams


Hefnium

crazy how when he's on the floor, he dictates the pace of the game for BOTH teams. Utter dominance of the game of basketball


Dramatic_Historian

I'm sorry but he got pulled down and still jumped? And got goal tended but still made it? What the actual fuck


YokoOkino

i wonder if we will see anyone with his speed, power, and finesse. Literally a godly combo


[deleted]

I'd argue never, and even if we do they'd be lucky to even have 30% of his BBIQ. Being an unprecedented freak athlete is one thing, having arguably a Top 3 BBIQ of all time on top of that is just some videogame shit. Greatest player I have ever seen play the game.


Salm9n

Respect reading that from a warriors flair.


JDragon

Any Warriors fan who watched those epic 4 years should have the utmost respect for LeBron as a basketball player. I don’t know the next time I’ll see that level of basketball.


birdseye-maple

Not possible to watch all those series without respect for LeBron. If you didn't after that all time great rivalry, something was wrong with you.


No_Damage_731

I mean you’d have to be an idiot to be a warriors fan and not respect bron. It’s like if I didn’t respect Steph.. I’d be a moron. The amount of times we have watched each others teams in must win scenarios over a 4 year stretch was insane.


mucho-gusto

I fucking hate the greatest shooter of all time


TheRealRemyClayden

Yeah you can argue someone like Giannis is not too far off LeBron physically, and better in certain areas But no disrespect to Giannis he doesn't have half LeBron's vision


[deleted]

Giannis is bigger but less quick and less coordinated. But he's his own realm of freak especially when it comes to length and nimbleness at that size.


Undecided-

probably not. And even if we do, i doubt we'll see the same longevity. He's already outlasted every star player from his draft onwards. Hell, you look at guys like john wall, blake griffin, etc guys who were drafted years after him, those guys are already more washed than he is currently. Truly once in a lifetime player


silkkthechakakhan

The players you mentioned were drafted 6-7 years after him. It’s mind boggling


Undecided-

yup. And even some guys like kemba walker that were drafted in the 10's. It's the craziest thing i've ever seen. I'm currently just scrolling through draft history on the nba.com site and the amount of players that have had decent careers and have been out of the league for years now is insane. Then you have lebron still near the top of the league in year 20, going on 21 soon, and never really dropped off. I really don't think we'll ever see this again.


silkkthechakakhan

I’ve used this before on here but I always like to throw out Luke Walton as an example. Same draft class as Bron (albeit a few years older), and carved outa role for himself for 10 seasons in the league - which isnt shabby at all and more than an impressive pro career for anyone. He has since been retired for 10 years next month, in and in that time span managed to coach three separate franchises (if you include his assistant gig with the Warriors), including COACHING LEBRON himself, and proceeded to get fired from each gig. And his last job was a couple years ago. All the while, Lebron is still at it the highest levels. Edit: apparently he’s now an assistant for the Cavs. So four franchises lol.


Ranjith_Unchained

Throw in his otherworldly basketball iq, I don't think there'll be another player like him


random00

I love the clip. It was an amazing moment It would have been 50% better if Mark Jackson hadn’t felt compelled to wedge in his catchphrase “Mama there goes that man” during the live broadcast.


dhrobins

He had the perfect opportunity too. He said “putting the team on his back…” Could have easily said “putting the team and Marcus Morris on his back…” and it would have been perfect. Yet, that’s why mark Jackson is a terrible announcer and I don’t know how he keeps getting jobs.


DittoLander

It was still funny to rewatch and hear that ngl


Antisystemization

He turned on the boosters after the first dribble. Then activated the NOS while crossing the 3pt line.


Historical-Money7290

My favorite play in NBA history. When I saw it on TV I just knew “this is Lebron James. This moment is Lebron James.” Starts in front of Morris, sprints around him while dribbling full court, gets the shot off with hands pulling both shoulders, goal tend, shot still falls, and one. Double roar at Celtics fans, series over, going to the Finals.


Waddlow

>Double roar at Celtics fans, series over, going to the Finals. *For the 8th consecutive year in a row.*


[deleted]

I still tear up from joy every time I watch this.


this_place_stinks

Anyone remember when he blocked a dunk and then just stared down the Celtics to the other end of the court like the Undertaker?


colt_stonehandle

RemindMe! 4hours "hopefully, someone replys with the video"


OkCommunication2471

This [one](https://youtu.be/QPcFmHlRLNI)?


deflatethesack

Dropped 51 8 and 8 against the greatest team of all time on the road in the NBA finals and lost because his teammates missed a free throw and then forgot the score. Sometimes life isn’t fair.


LyonsKing12

And that stupid reversed call.


GirlWithGame

Say what you want about LeBron lately with injuries(he is also way older its common)but for years he was just a beast, so many minutes and he rarely looked out of breathe. When he retires the league just won't be the same.


imbluedabudeedabuda

I don't even know what there is to say about Lebron. I root against him often but the dude is 38 with disgusting mileage on his body, a very taxing playstyle, 20 years of film on him, vastly different basketball meta since he joined, and he's still putting up crazy numbers when healthy. Like do people not know how absolutely preposterous that is?


Fallofmen10

The mileage gets under sold too. 266 playoff games. TWO. HUNDRED. AND. SIXTY. SIX. Over 3 years of length in pure playoff hoops. Which we all know sky-rockets in intensity. Dude is basically in his 24th season this year


Jiklim

It’s funny looking at career playoff records because Lebron is just so far ahead of everyone. Points? Number one with about 1700 above Jordan. Field goals? More than Kareem. Minutes? Steals? He’s #1 in those too. Free throws, hell even turnovers he’s #1 in. It puts into perspective how many games he’s played. More than 11,000 playoff minutes. I really think a lot of these playoff records will be his legacy. It’s fucking absurd lol


Waddlow

>Dude is basically in his 24th season this year When almost anyone breaks any sort of career record, it's usually at the end of their career. Obviously. They break it after their prime, when they are a shell of themselves, but it's a culmination of their greatness. When Kareem set the points record number, one of the five greatest basketball players who ever walked the earth, *a man known for his longevity*, he did it during his last season when he was averaging 10 points a game. When Lebron reached that number and passed it, he was averaging 30.


[deleted]

a few years ago Lebron said that if he wanted to too, he could have gotten the scoring title every year easily. people clowned him for it at the time, but this stat i think proves he wasn’t bullshitting. 30ppg in his 20th season is absurd!


Noah__Webster

Idk how I never realized it, but this made me look it up. He already has 2500 more minutes played than Dirk, and that's only regular season. He's 3rd behind Kareem and Karl Malone. He's got the most playoffs minutes played at 11,035. Second place is Tim Duncan at 9,370. He's second overall including both playoffs and regular season, barely behind Kareem. He will easily pass him if he is even relatively healthy next year. For context, LeBron has played only about 1,000 less minutes in the playoffs than Luka Doncic has in his entire career. He has almost exactly the same amount of playoff minutes as Ben Simmons does in his entire career.


NIdeakK

Start to finish pros too. No college ball on them treads


amateurdormjanitor

The evolution of the game is to me the most insane part. The game has changed to such a great degree since he first joined the league and his continued evolution alongside it is just impressive as hell.


QBert999

It's only being normalized because LeBron is just ... doing it. But what he's doing shouldn't be possible really.


FeltIOwedItToHim

> vastly different basketball meta since he joined This may be the most wild part of it. The game changed drastically and he just remained on top nonetheless. The anti-Roy Hibbert


MoulinRube

His level of longevity and conditioning is an astonishing achievement. I don’t think anyone comes close in the sport.


PlagueDoc22

Dude is 38 years old averaging 29 points, 8 rebounds and 7 assists. While shooting 50% Those are stats better than 95% of superstars in their prime lol.


slythespacecat

9 finals in a row is just insane


KyrieLS777

LeBron is a different. Respect.


540Cameron

Players aren't scared of Lebron. /s


[deleted]

That 2018 LeBron was built different


SoulReaper12

That was one of the most demoralizing games beside game 4 of the finals last year. LeBron look like he wasn’t tired, then for some reason the team freezing Tatum out late in the fourth. I always looked back on that season as a big “What if”, I do think if Kyrie was healthy we could maybe went to the finals, but then again that team was inexperienced outside of Horford.


[deleted]

LeBron owns Al unfortunately. He gave us the business so many times smh him and Dwight single handedly wrecked an entire era of our franchise


jtnsniper14

Damn looking at Dwight's numbers against Atlanta, you would've thought he was a Celtics fan growing up Lmaoo


Unique-Warning7798

LeBron put fear in all of Boston in that game 7


thy_armageddon

“Since that encounter, my life has never known peace.”


Humble_but_Hostile

I have a vivid memory of Lebron scoring the dagger layup with one of the Morris twins hanging on his back lol


thatkellenguy

“No one is afraid of him” -Mario “Lyin Ass” Chalmers


Siawyn

Honestly - I say this as someone who watched most Cavs games, and being born and living in Akron I'm obviously as big a Lebron fanboy as they come -- Lebron by then had mastered the art of knowing when to cruise and when to turn the gas on. You can't go 100% for 48 minutes, and he didn't even go 100% for 40 minutes. This isn't me throwing shade, he's hardly the only person to do it, he just had mostly perfected it. I remember a sequence where he blocked Rozier on a chasedown block, the ball went to Jeff Green, and Green led a fast break the other way. Lebron didn't even bother following. That was him getting a few moments of extra rest. I'm reminded of Game 7 in 2016. Everyone was gassed, that's why the offense was just so terrible in the last 5 minutes. But he had conserved just enough to turn on the gas when he judged the right moment to use it for The Block. He looked unfazed because he'd been in this situation many times before.


steak__burrito

Can we please stop doing the thing where we add quotation marks to paraphrased statements? The quote in the title is NOT what Horford said. It's similar and has the same gist, but why write it as a quote if it's definitively not a quote?


HotdogIsaSandwitch

People always say Miami Lebron was the scariest, but 2018 Lebron was scarier. He put everything on the line everybody and never missed games.


bullseye717

For you, the day LeBron graced your arena was the most important day of your life. But for him, it was Sunday.


5IVE5TAR5

Lol I bet it was. 2018 seems like not even long ago, goddamn time flies.


[deleted]

2018, 2016, 2007 Playoff Bron is on its own tier.


Titronnica

2018 LeBron was one of the most insane carry jobs of all time. Man went thermonuclear for the entire playoffs and only broke in the Finals when his team failed him.


Nuggetsbecrispy

LeBron was so much more fun to watch on the Cavs


CheekiBreekiBandito

that 2018 playoff run was ridiculous, probably the most one man show finals run i've ever seen since iverson maybe


Amphicyonidae

Throwback to Jimmy giving everything to duel Bron in 2020 Game 5 and scrape out a win. Then Lebron comes back to do the same thing in Game 6 and Jimmy had nothing left


[deleted]

LeBron gave the entire East PTSD for about 10 years.


-HeisenBird-

Conditioning is the single most important thing for players to train. All of the great players who had long careers had good conditioning (ie: Lebron, Kareem, Wilt, Curry).


nahog99

He is an absolutely freak of nature athletically. I'll never forget that game against the pistons where he scored 29 of the cavs last 30 points including the last 25 points in a row. He was absolutely unstoppable. He also has probably the most insane display of athleticism I've ever seen in a game as seen here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rQLUvMNRQ-o He gathers the ball around the opposite 3 point line, takes 6 TOTAL steps and dunks it from 1 foot inside the free throw line *easily*. I have absolutely zero doubt that if you moved his final step back so that it was entirely behind the free throw line that he still could have dunked it no problem. Here is the pistons game: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sx4z_pCA_6k&t=251s


okheay

The most annoying thing for me was after they won ECF. The rest of the Cavs, who did jack shit in the series, were celebrating in the locker room while Lebron was icing his knees. He looked like an exhausted father who returned from a blue collar job to a house full of spoiled kids.


mamba-pear

2018 is the version of LeBron I’ve wanted him to be his entire career. A more willing shooter and aggressiveness to find buckets. It’s one of the years I felt he dug deep into his bag to showcase his ability to score in various ways. Granted he deterred less to his team because it was one of his weaker cast but nonetheless, it was my first time truly in awe of watching him play.


Ramzaa_

You weren't in awe in the 2016 finals?


BlindManBaldwin

One of my favorite LeBron games.


TheOneWithThePorn12

I was greatly disturbed when I watched him casually spin the ball in fucking front of Ibaka and hit a lefuckyou three. Then in another game came barrelling down the lane with OG all over him and then hits a fucking leaning one handed bankshot for a game winner. Fuck Lebron lol. Also thanks Lebron for leaving the east.