We’ve been talking a lot about LeBron James’ greatness after he passed Michael Jordan in career playoff scoring and heads to his seventh straight NBA Finals. It’s hard not to! If he hasn’t (or doesn’t) passed Jordan, then he’s still the best player of this generation and perhaps the second greatest basketball player we’ve ever seen.
Here’s another absurd LeBron James stat that shows how good he is in the playoffs
James, it turns out, is very good.
On NBA Reddit, a user named BearsNecessity came across this statistic aired during the 2015 NBA Finals.
You can see the full statistical montage below.
Since that graphic aired, James has done this five more times. He finished Game 2, the game where this highlight packaged aired, with 39 points, 16 rebounds, and 11 assists. He did it again in Game 5 (40 points, 14 rebounds, 11 assists) and Game 6 (32 points, 18 rebounds, nine assists) even in a losing effort in that series.
In the 2016 Finals, James led his team with 19 points, nine rebounds, and eight assists in Game 2. In Game 5, James recorded 41 points, 16 rebounds, and seven assists, but if my understanding of the stat is correct — “outright” meaning no ties — that won’t count since Kyrie Irving also had 41 points. Then in the first round of the current playoffs, James did this in Game 3 against the Indiana Pacers with 41 points, 13 rebounds, and 12 assists.
In that case, here is your leaderboard:
- LeBron James: 39 times
- Larry Bird: 13 times
- Who even cares who’s third
Like any statistic, this one could use a little bit of context.
This partly speaks to LeBron’s teams.
James couldn’t always lead his team in rebounding if he didn’t have so many teams that struggled to do just that. During James’ four years there, the Miami Heat were always experimenting with different options at center, and sometimes just played Chris Bosh there while James slid to the four. Fortunately, Tristan Thompson’s presence makes it a little bit easier to manage in Cleveland.
Likewise, James never really played with great scorers or playmakers during his first stint in Cleveland, so of course he often topped his team’s statistics in points and assists.
But also, hot damn LeBron is absurdly good.
Who else could do this? James is a one-of-a-kind player who really might be the best player in every category on the floor at any given time. If you gave him a statistic and said “lead your team in this,” he could. But James isn’t even focusing on it like that — this is just how he plays. This is how damn good he really is.
This particular statistical treat may not happen during the Finals — especially if Thompson has a huge series on the glass — but never fear. James will surely be just as dominant, and that’s maybe the thing we’re all most excited about.
As it turns out, LeBron James really might be better than ever.
See More:
