Watch: LeBron James dons a mask and throws down poster dunk vs the Miami Heat, on this day 17 years ago
There is always a mind-blowing highlight when we roll back the tapes, and LeBron James' poster dunk is our feature piece today. On the play, James threw it down hard off a pretty bounce pass in transition from Jeff McInnis.
LeBron James once played for the Miami Heat, but before he made the move to South Beach, expectations of his league-wide domination had already been set during his first stint with the Cleveland Cavaliers with some jaw-dropping plays.
One such play occurred on February 3, 2005, during his sophomore campaign, as the Heat hosted the Cavs, with James determined to put the league on notice. Although the game ended 100-88 in favor of the Heat, James finished with a game-high 31 points.
On this day in 2005... a masked LeBron James took flight for the poster slam against Miami! #NBAVault #NBA75 https://t.co/CJ0RczDbZE
Heat Damon Jones was the unlucky recipient of the poster as he was the only one back trying to defend. He stood no chance against James, as Jones also picked up a shooting foul on the play. After such perfect execution of the transition bucket, James smiled as he took off his face mask and walked away.
It was a decent effort from the man known as "King James" but overcoming the duo of Dwyane Wade and Shaquille O'Neal was an arduous task. Especially for a Cavaliers team who were heavily reliant on the then 20-year-old James.
LeBron James has continued to dominate in year 19
Although James is currently sidelined due to a knee injury, Father Time has not yet caught up with the four-time champion, who is averaging similar numbers he had at the so-called "peak" of his career. He is still as deadly in transition and has not lost his ability to fly high and finish at the rim.
(via @bronhistory) These don’t even look real.
Insane 👑 (via @bronhistory)
https://t.co/1gKeqyKk16
The 37-year-old is still playing with the same hunger he did in his earlier years and is single-handedly willing the LA Lakers to victories. Unfortunately, James' dominance has not translated to as many wins as he would like because he is not getting as much production from his supporting cast.
James has played in 36 of the Lakers' 52 games this season due to various reasons, including a one-game suspension, a false-positive COVID-19 test and a rectus abdominis strain. However, he has missed the team's last four games due to a knee injury.
Durability is an area that is a source of concern for the Lakers as James is more at risk of sustaining an injury. If he picks up injuries, he could be out for longer due to his body not being able to heal as fast as in his younger days. Nonetheless, this season he was arguably the best player in the league from December to January.
James is averaging 29.1 points, 7.7 rebounds and 6.3 assists so far this season. He is also the 2022 Western Conference All-Star captain and should become the first player in league history to make 18 consecutive starts in the All-Star game come February 20th.