Listing the only 5 times when LeBron James lost the opening 2 games of the NBA regular season
It's been an absolutely remarkable career for Los Angeles Lakers superstar forward LeBron James. When LeBron finally decides to call it a career and retire, there's no doubt that fans are going to consider him one of the most successful players in NBA History. Even though he might not have won the most NBA Championships ever, LeBron is still a player that was often expected to still be playing when the NBA Playoffs came around.
LeBron James has had such a rich history when it comes to making the playoffs. It doesn't necessarily mean that his team always started the regular season on a positive note. With the Los Angeles Lakers losing last night's game to the Phoenix Suns, it means that the Lakers are starting out the year 0-2. The first week of the regular season is always a dangerous time when it comes to fans overreacting if their team struggles to start the year. But what's even more interesting is that this isn't the first time that LeBron James has started a year out 0-2 in the regular season. In total, James has seen his team start out the year with two straight losses a total of five times. Let's take a look at those five years in which LeBron's team started the year out a bit slow.
#5 2003-04, Welcome to the NBA
After being selected with the first overall pick in the 2003 NBA Draft, many fans wanted to see if LeBron James could deliver on the hype of being one of the top prospects to ever come out of the high school ranks. James would shine during his rookie year, but his team struggled out of the gate in a big way. The Cleveland Cavaliers would go on to start the year with five consecutive losses. They finally managed to beat the Washington Wizards at home during their sixth game. The team would take a big leap forward compared to the previous year, but they would go on to finish the season with a 35-47 record.
#4 2004-05, Improving quickly
In just his second year in the NBA, LeBron James would take a massive leap when it came to his production on the court. After averaging 20.9 points per game as a rookie, James saw his numbers spike to 27.2 points per game, and he would go on to make his first All-Star team appearance. Unfortunately for the team, the Cavaliers got off to another slow start. They went on to lose their first three games of the regular season, including a double overtime loss on opening night against the Indiana Pacers. The team would bounce back though, as they went on to finish above .500 with a record of 42-40. It would be the final season before James made his first NBA Playoffs.
#3 2009-10, Slow start to a great season
This would eventually become the final year in which LeBron James played for the Cleveland Cavaliers before signing with the Miami Heat in the offseason. The year didn't start out great for the Cavaliers after they lost two consecutive games, including a 101-91 loss on the road against the Toronto Raptors. Although the team struggled early on, they went on to finish the season with a 61-21 record and James would finish the season averaging 29.7 points per game.