#2016 NBA FINALS STATS FULL#
In James’ path was an Oklahoma City Thunder team that was heavy on star power – Durant, Russell Westbrook, James Harden and Serge Ibaka were all on that 2011-12 Thunder squad – but light on experience, and the more veteran Heat took full advantage of that.ĭespite shooting poorly from deep, James dominated this series.
#2016 NBA FINALS STATS SERIES#
Series outcome: Miami beats Oklahoma City 4-1Īfter being humbled the year before by the Mavericks, James and the Heat weren’t about to make the same mistakes twice. But that shouldn’t take away from the fact that James and the Heat got it done in Game 7, especially when you consider the fact James balled out with the championship on the line for 37 points and 12 rebounds.Ĭritics will always find something to nitpick at with James, but that still doesn’t change the reality that James managed to beat the Spurs in the NBA Finals. Yes, Ray Allen did hit that huge shot in Game 6 to send the game into overtime, paving the way to a miracle force of Game 7. Series outcome: Miami beats San Antonio 4-3 With the Golden State Warriors out for revenge, with Kevin Durant in the fold this time around, there was nothing the Cavaliers could do – not even an outrageous James triple-double stat line – to prevent this inevitable Dubs championship. Series outcome: Cleveland loses to Golden State 4-1Īfter having fulfilled his promise to Cleveland in 2016, last year’s Finals almost felt like it was going to be an expected letdown for James and the Cavaliers. Despite apparently strong numbers from James, the Spurs managed to effectively neutralize his passing game, taking his teammates out of the equation and cruise for a five-game series victory.Īdditionally, in Game 1 of the series, James suffered a bout of dehydration and started cramping limiting him to just five minutes in the fourth quarter of that game and dispelling his aura of invincibility in the process. Series outcome: Miami loses to San Antonio 4-1Īfter winning two straight NBA titles with the Heat, James was looking for a three-peat against the opponent he managed to vanquish in the Finals the year before.Īlas, it wasn’t to be. Still, just the fact that James, at that age and with that team, was able to make the Finals – dethroning a powerful Detroit Pistons team in the process – was a proud accomplishment. In 2007 a 22-year-old James in just his fourth NBA season led the Cavaliers to the NBA Finals with a supporting cast that included such standout names as Larry Hughes, Zydrunas Ilgauskus and Anderson Varejao.įacing the mighty San Antonio Spurs with the trio of Tim Duncan, Manu Ginobili and Tony Parker all at the height of their basketball abilities, there wasn’t much expectation for James and the Cavaliers to do much, so getting swept wasn’t much of a surprise. Then-Dallas Mavericks assistant Dwane Casey devised a defensive scheme predicated on mixing and matching zone looks to flummox James and it worked to excellent effect, a lesson James took to heart for the rest of his career. However, as James has found out, more often than not making a Finals and actually winning it are completely different things and this 2011 series is a good example of that.Īs you can see from his statistical line, this wasn’t James’ best series. In the first season after James shockingly announced he was departing from Cleveland to Miami on national television to team up with buddies Dwyane Wade and Chris Bosh, he managed to successfully reach the NBA Finals, beginning this remarkable run of eight straight. Series outcome: Miami loses to Dallas 4-2 So, with that said, here’s a look at James’ eight NBA Finals, in terms of how he performed individually, ranked. Given the sheer number of Finals appearances James has at this point – his nine is only matched and surpassed by six players in NBA history – it’s fair to say that not all of those trips can be measured equally.
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