Top 10 LeBron James' NBA Playoff games
LeBron James is easily a top-3 player in the history of the NBA Playoffs, which makes ranking his 10 greatest games an arduous task for anyone. The King has dominated the NBA in recent times, unlike any other player.
Early in his career, it was all about his athleticism and carefree abandon that came with youth. With experience, he became a more lethal player, as he used a combination of his world-class athleticism and analytical mind to outhink and outmanoevre opponents.
On that note, let us have a look at 10 such games in the NBA Playoffs, where LeBron James produced his most memorable performances.
LeBron James' ten greatest games in the NBA Playoffs
LeBron James is the undisputed greatest active player in the NBA and arguably one of the greatest of all time. Unsurprisingly, he has often reserved his best for the business end of the competition - the NBA Playoffs.
The King, as LeBron James is often known as, is an all-time great NBA playoff performer and also the all-time leader in games played (282). From such a significant sample size, it is indeed a challenging proposition to handpick a few games as he has had memorable performances galore.
Nevertheless, let us have a look at LeBron James' 10 best performances in the NBA Playoffs. Without further ado, let's get started.
#10 LeBron James vs OKC Thunder - Game 4 (2012 NBA Finals)
Stats: 26 points | 12 assists | 9 rebounds | 2 steals | 10/20 FG | 44 minutes
Despite his unquestionable talent and pedigree, LeBron James was surprisingly ringless when he arrived in the 2012 NBA Playoffs against OKC Thunder. But that would change by the end of that finals series.
In the fourth game of that series against the Thunder, the Miami Heat were up 2-1 but needed to increase their lead in Miami before going back to OKC for the final two games of the series.
A win by OKC in Miami would have meant that the series would have been decided in the former's home, but LeBron James managed to ensure that that did not happen. OKC's best chance to win a game in Miami was in that fourth game of the series, but LeBron James, despite struggling with physical issues in the fourth quarter, had other ideas.
After getting afflicted by cramps in the final five minutes of the fourth quarter, LeBron James returned to the court and hit his only three-point shot of the night when the scores were tied at 94-all.
It was a shot in the arm for the Miami Heat, who went on to close the game with a 12-4 run to take a 3-1 lead in the series. In the next game of the series, Miami blew OKC off the floor, as LeBron James won his first NBA title and was also named the Finals MVP.
#9 LeBron James vs Boston Celtics - Game 7 (2018 ECF)
Stats: 35 points | 9 assists | 15 rebounds | 2 blocks | 12/24 FG | 48 minutes
In his last season to date playing for an Eastern Conference team, LeBron James dominated the 2018 Eastern Conference Playoffs despite not having a great supporting cast around him (at least while facing a Western Conference team in the finals).
In the deciding game of that year's Eastern Conference Finals against the Boston Celtics, James had a memorable night in front of a Boston crowd who witnessed The King's prowess first hand.
LeBron James played every minute of the Cleveland Cavaliers' 87-79 victory on the road against the Celtics. Despite a high number of turnovers (eight), James had an incredible night.
With Boston up by one point entering the fourth quarter, LeBron James scored 12 in the deciding period on 4/6 from the field and dished out four assists to reach his ninth NBA Finals, his eighth on the trot.