A win over the Miami Warmth on Friday evening would safe LeBron James his fourth NBA championship and add another award to his already astonishing résumé. However whereas a possible Los Angeles Lakers title will undoubtedly wake the monsters in GOAT skirmishes over James vs Michael Jordan, we’re leaving MJ out for a minute. It’s price taking a while to understand what James has achieved to date as a result of it’s exceptional.
Listed here are six stats that present how particular and distinctive James’ profession was after the season.
Watch: Sport 5 will air at 9 p.m. ET on ABC and the ESPN app
1. Playoff video games performed: 259
Sport 5 turns into James’ 259. Be a playoff sport and tie Derek Fisher for many of all time.
That alone is unbelievable. However when you think about how exhausting James performs and the way central he has been in each single postseason sport he is performed, the very fact will get much more spectacular.
Among the many prime 10 in profession playoff video games, James is no 1 in utilization fee at 32.1%. via Basketball-Reference.com.
2. Missed playoff video games: 0
Since his post-season debut on April 22, 2006, James has not missed a single playoff sport as a result of damage. Not one!
Give it some thought. Nearly yearly the ultimate is affected by severe accidents. Final yr it was Kevin Durant and Klay Thompson. This yr it was Goran Dragic and Bam Adebayo. With 10 finals journeys, James’ sturdiness is unreal.
I imply, this collection of consecutive postseason video games can solely be crushed by somebody who additionally beats their huge whole playoff rely:
Most consecutive playoff video games
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LeBron James: 258
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John Stockton: 182
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Michael Jordan: 179
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Wilt Chamberlain: 160
Among the many energetic gamers, James Harden ranks second at 128, lower than half of James’ whole. The King’s sturdiness alone is mind-boggling, however one option to achieve a brand new appreciation for his post-season profession is to easily evaluate his primary playoff values to these of his energetic counterparts.
3. Playoff minutes performed: 10,728
Durant ranks second among the many energetic gamers within the whole playoff minutes performed at 5,598. James and Andre Iguodala are the one different energetic gamers to have gathered greater than 5,000 playoff minutes. And this is the notable function: James performed 5,000 Extra Minutes as Durant at 10,728 (and counting).
A man who nonetheless claims to be the perfect participant on the earth does so after nearly doubling each single energetic participant within the postseason.
Oh, and do not forget that James can also be no 1 within the playoff minutes, which is uncommon. The hole between James in 1st place and Magic Johnson in 10th place is as massive because the hole between Johnson and Kawhi Leonard in 59th place.
4. Playoff factors: 7,423
James does much more than simply suck up minutes. It is its mixture of quantity and manufacturing that’s actually wonderful. He’s the one participant in league historical past to have scored at the very least 6,000 playoff factors.
Just one different energetic participant has half as many factors as James’ 7,423, and that is Durant once more at 4,043.
With James nonetheless averaging greater than 25 playoff factors per sport, it is undoubtedly on the desk so as to add one other 1,000 factors to his absurd whole. Any such report is likely to be unimaginable to catch.
5. Playoff templates: 1,854
A giant purpose James has performed 9 of the final ten finals is as a result of his view of the sector and his passing make the gamers round him far more efficient.
And after surpassing Stockton in Sport Three of this collection, he is now in second place in playoff assists. Solely Johnson has extra.
In Sport 5, James took first place in whole playoff factors, second in assists and, as if that wasn’t sufficient, sixth in rebounds. He’s the one participant in league historical past to seem within the prime 10 in every of those primary classes.
6. Proportion of residual merchandise earnings: 79.2%
Statistics are one factor, however triumphs are the final word prize. When James sits on the precipice of one other title, consider this sucker: nobody in league historical past has accomplished a streak extra reliably than James, who has gained a staggering 79% of his closeout video games.
Finest Win% in Closeout Video games (through Elias Sports activities Bureau, at the very least 25 video games)
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LeBron James: 38-10 (79.2%)
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Derek Fisher: 39-12 (76.5%)
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Tim Duncan: 35-14 (71.4%)
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Don Nelson: 20-8 (71.4%)
It is getting wilder: James arrives in Sport 5 of this last after profitable 17 of his final 18 video games and having the prospect to win the collection. This isn’t excellent news for Miami.
At 35, James is greater than the elder statesman on the earth’s greatest basketball league. Possibly you suppose he is the best of all time, perhaps not. Regardless, his ridiculous playoff stats make one factor crystal clear: nobody has formed postseason basketball so long as this man. And he isn’t completed but. Simply ask his previous workforce.
MORE: How the Lakers acquired away with a win