In the NBA and even basketball history, there has never been a player quite like LeBron James. A man who, since high school, has had the spotlight shining bright on him for an over 20-year illustrious career.
As his tenure as an NBA basketball player is hitting its latter stages, debates as to whether he is the G.O.A.T. have arisen. When debating many a person look at LeBron James’ career as a whole forgetting the individual moments/ periods of greatness. So instead of looking at the entirety of LeBron James’ dominant career, in this article we will be speculating all the temporal versions of LeBron that impressed us all the most.
In this article, there will 6 different versions of LeBron that most consider to be his most dominant versions. As we continue further into the article, the versions of LeBron will gradually become more and more specific, as well as increasingly great.
#6: LeBron vs. the Raptors
The first version that needs to be recognized is whenever LeBron is facing the Toronto Raptors. Whether it be a personal vendetta or something else, LeBron always seems to find a way to beat the Raptors, year in and year out. He has faced the Raptors 58 times and has won against then 42 of those 58. It does not matter if it is regular season or the playoffs, he always shows up. Although it does have to be noted that against the Raptors, LeBron James has won three playoff series, with two of them being sweeps. His career stats against the Raptors are 27.6 ppg, 7.2 rpg, and 7.7 apg. He has been so dominant against them through his career, he has even gained the nickname “LeBronto” and has essentially owned them through his entire 20+ year career.
#5: Playoffs 2012 LeBron
The next version of LeBron that stands out has to be his 2012 season with the Miami Heat. It pains me to say this, but this year he was incredible, and it sadly was not for the Cavs. In this year he averaged 27.1 ppg, 7.9 rpg, and 6.2 apg. For LeBron, this was his first year winning the Finals and Finals MVP, as well as his third time winning MVP honors. His performance not just in the regular season, but also in the playoffs, is what really catapults this version of LeBron onto the list. With his crowning moment this year being his massive alley-oop dunk against Boston Celtic, Jason Terry. This dunk was so emphatic that it felt like it ended Terry’s career right then and there, and also set LeBron on a war path to winning his first ever championship.
#4: LeBron vs. Washington Wizards (2006 Playoffs)
Years before LeBron ever even thought about leaving Cleveland, he was seen dominating the competition in his first ever playoff series. LeBron in his first ever playoff series was 21 years old and happened to run in to a stacked Wizards team featuring All star Gilbert Arenas. In this series, LeBron turned up to a new gear and showed the whole league that he had arrived. In his playoff debut, he averaged 35.7 ppg, 7.5 rpg, and 5.7 apg over 6 games to beat the Wizards in the first round. The Cavs would eventually lose in the second round, but the tenacity and raw dominance that James showed in those few games was enough to spark national interest, and put the league on notice.
#3: LeBron vs. the Golden State Warriors (2015 Finals)
The next two versions of LeBron are similar at their core, as both of them were all-time playoff performances that were thwarted by the Warriors in the Finals. The first of these was in 2015 in LeBron’s first year back with the Cavs after his stint in Miami. Early on in the playoffs this year Kevin Love had been injured making the Cavs big three become a Big two and later, in the finals, Kyrie Irving would also be injured and out. Both of these players being out left LeBron to single-handedly carry the load of the Cavs. In this finals appearance he put up such incredible stats that people were questioning whether he deserved the finals MVP or not even though he lost the series. To put it into perspective how much load he had to carry, he had the most point, rebounds, and assists across both teams. What made this such a controversy was that Andre Iguodala, LeBron’s primary defender through the finals, was given finals MVP honors for his defensive capabilities.
#2: 2018 Playoff LeBron
The other legendary playoff appearance that deserves to be amongst LeBron’s best forms was his run in 2018. In these playoffs, LeBron was without another superstar on his team, as Kyrie had left this year and Kevin Love was a shell of his former self. In these playoffs, LeBron averaged a near triple double with 34.0 ppg, 9.1 rpg, 9.0 apg; and carried the offensive load of the Cavs playing as the dominant ball handler and a point-forward. What really set this playoff version of LeBron apart was how clutch he was in these playoffs. In the first two round, he hit two incredible shots to win games in both his series verse the Pacers and Raptors. With his best one being a one-legged back board shot that was made as he was running out of bounds with time expiring.
#1: LeBron vs. Detroit Pistons Game 5 (ECF, 2007)
The final best version of LeBron was seen for a brief moment on May 31, 2007. In a game against the highly favored Detroit Pistons, LeBron would go on a scoring tear that would shake the entirety of the basketball world. On this day, LeBron would single-handedly carry the Cavs past the Detroit Pistons, as he would score 29 of the last 30 points in this crucial game 5 for the Cavs. At this point in LeBron’s career, he did not have much of a shooting game, so the entirety of these points came in the paint as he vehemently went to the rim and got a bucket. What made this even more impressive was that this game was a 2OT thriller in which LeBron scored the go ahead shots that would send it to overtime, double overtime, and eventually win the game. The Pistons this year were no Cinderella story, as they still had the core of their 2004 championship winning team, including Ben Wallace, a 3x DPOY award winner. After the game, Chauncey Billups, point guard for the Pistons, said, “We threw everything we had at him. We just couldn’t stop him. It’s frustrating. He put on an unbelievable display out there.” The Cavs would eventually beat the Pistons in this series and make it to the finals, where they would lose emphatically to the Spurs.
