"We was outta there"- DeMar DeRozan and Paul George recall how LeBron James ended their careers in the East
Back in 2010, LeBron James infamously teamed up with Dwyane Wade and the Miami Heat and changed the course of NBA history forever. Dubbed "The Heatles" during their historic run, James, Wade, and Bosh easily became the most dominant trio in the Eastern Conference from 2010-2014. Miami made it to every finals during LeBron's era.
With that in mind, many elite teams in the East were deprived of an opportunity to compete for a championship during that time period. This was especially true for the Indiana Pacers and Toronto Raptors. Paul Geroge, who played for the Pacers at the time, talked about the time he struggled to get past LeBron James in the playoffs on his podcast.
PG's guest, DeMar DeRozan also had similar struggles during this time against LBJ and the Cleveland Cavaliers from 2015-2018. Both DeRozan and George shared the same sentiments about going up against James in the playoffs.
Both players got swept by the "King" and never found any championship success. They even joked about how he was responsible for them getting kicked out of their teams.
"The Miami Bron, that motherf***er was incredible," DeRozan said.
"Same as Cleveland. But at any given moment he could turn it on and get you 45 and get a win... We was down 3-0. Obviously, we lost game four. I just remember him shooting that one-leg floater and it going in. That was like the end of my time in Toronto. We was outta there."
20 years in and it's still hard getting past LeBron in the playoffs 😅 https://t.co/TGDM7HwrMr
LeBron James' dominance in the East from 2010-2018
Between 2010 and 2014, LeBron James and the Miami Heat experienced remarkable success, making it to the NBA Finals for four consecutive years and winning two championships. However, in 2014, LeBron decided to return to Cleveland with a pledge to bring a championship to his hometown.
In an impressive display of determination, LeBron fulfilled his promise in 2016 by leading the Cleveland Cavaliers to victory against the formidable 73-9 Golden State Warriors. Despite the Cavs reaching the NBA Finals from 2015 to 2018, they were only able to secure one championship during that period.
Nonetheless, James' incredible achievement of reaching the finals eight consecutive times stands as an extraordinary feat. He also became the king of the East in the process, depriving many teams of the opportunity to compete in the grandest stage of them all.