LeBron James is good. We know this! But he's been especially good in the first round of the NBA Playoffs throughout his career. Take a look:
No NBA player has ever dominated the first round like LeBron James
1. LeBron has never lost a first round playoff series. He’s 10-0 in his career.
LeBron James' teams have never lost a 1st Round series. #NBAPlayoffs pic.twitter.com/uITRXWRFtH
— ESPN Stats & Info (@ESPNStatsInfo) April 15, 2016
This is nuts! Michael Jordan has lost in the first round. Kobe, too! (MJ of course never missed the playoffs, whereas LeBron did twice. No, Wizards MJ doesn't count.)
2. LeBron hardly loses *games* in the first round.
LeBron hasn't lost A GAME in the first round since May 6, 2012
— Joe Vardon (@joevardon) April 13, 2016
He’s 40-7 in the first round all-time (!) and has won 13 straight first-round games. Thirteen!!! (via AP)
3. LeBron has never gone to Game 7 in the first round.
Random thought for Pistons fans: LeBron’s toughest first-round series was that 6-gamer against the Wiz in 06. The travel in G3, Arenas FT's
— Vincent Goodwill (@vgoodwill) April 15, 2016
4. LeBron is more dominant in the first round than anyone in the modern era.
Last year, Brian Windhorst ran LeBron's numbers against the game's greats and James comes out on top. His 85% win percentage in the first round compares favorably to Magic Johnson (81%), Larry Bird (73%), Kobe Bryant (67.6%), and Michael Jordan (67.4%). These are just numbers, please don't yell at me in the comments.
So! What have we learned? LeBron has made the playoffs in 11 consecutive seasons and is attempting to make his sixth straight trip to the NBA Finals. Sure, the Eastern Conference has been relatively weak, but in the first round he's a downright bully.
Good luck, Detroit!
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Grand Finale: Kobe’s final game was so Kobe
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