"For sure": LeBron James breaks silence on 'lowest point' of his career
LeBron James has accomplished so much throughout his historic NBA career and still continues to do so at 39 years of age. However, he looked back on the time he lost to the Dallas Mavericks in the 2011 NBA Finals during an episode of "Mind The Game" with JJ Redick. Despite being recognized as one of the greatest to step on the basketball court, he considered himself at his lowest during that series.
There was no denying that James' Miami Heat team had enough talent to secure the deal against Dirk Nowitzki and the Mavericks. When it comes to the NBA, however, talent can only get you as far compared to a well-rounded team. So when Redick asked him if that series was the lowest point of his basketball career, James immediately agreed.
"(38:00) For sure, the lowest," James said.
For all the build-up surrounding LeBron James since he first arrived in the NBA to the criticism he garnered with his decision to band forces with Dwyane Wade and Chris Bosh in the Miami Heat, he ended up coming short in delivering the goods when it mattered.
In that series, the 20-time NBA All-Star averaged 17.8 points (47.8% shooting, including 32.1% from 3-point range), 7.2 rebounds and 6.8 assists per game. He had his lowest-scoring outing in Game 4 when he put up only eight points (3-of-11 shooting), nine rebounds and seven assists. The four turnovers also didn't help his case in that game, as the Heat lost to the Mavericks by a score of 86-83.
It was an NBA Finals series that saw James in a different light. This version of James was far from what people were accustomed to before that and especially to what fans are used to seeing from him recently.
LeBron James believed that Miami would have won in the 2011 NBA Finals if he had a similar outing to his ECF series vs the Bulls
During the same "Mine The Game" podcast episode, LeBron James felt confident that if he played in the 2011 NBA Finals similar to how he did against the Chicago Bulls in the 2011 ECF series, then the Heat would have won the title.
"I wasn't at my best so we f***ing lost," James said. "If I play anything like I did in the Eastern Conference Finals, we win."
Compared to how he performed in the Finals, James was a different player when the Heat defeated the Bulls in five games. In that series, he put up 25.8 points (44.7% shooting, including 38.9% from 3-point range), 7.8 rebounds and 6.6 assists per game.
After losing 103-82 to the Bulls in Game 1 and only dropping a subpar 15-point performance, LeBron James immediately shifted gears from that point on and the Heat became a completely different team.