[nick5354Participant]

 As some of you might know I am a huge Cavs fan and I just watched the replay of game 7, being one month on. 

But boy oh boy I still can’t believe Cleveland won the Championship.

Looking back on it 1 month on, I want see where everyone ranks Lebron James’ 2016 NBA Finals Performance in History. 

Looking purely at his numbers;

29.7 pts, 11.3 reb, 8.9 ast, 2.6 st, 2.3 blk  and not to mention .371% from 3 and .494% fg while taking 24 shots. 

To put it in context;

He was up against perhaps labelled the greatest team of all-time. Breaking record after record and recording the best regular season record of all time, only losing 9 games. 

Cavs were down 3-1 in the series, with no team ever in history to come back from this deficit in the NBA Finals. 

Lebron then goes on to record 3 of the greatest big time games I have ever seen to give the Cavs the ‘Ship recording back to back 41 point games and a huge game 7 triple double; last 3 games;

41 pts, 16 reb, 7 ast, 3 blk, 2 stl

41 pts, 8 reb, 11 ast, 3 blk, 4 stl

27, 11 reb, 11 ast, 3 blk, 2 stl

Where do you rank this NBA finals perforamce in history?

(shout out to my boy Kyrie Irving who I have to admit I am very bias towards and backed him up heavy in all those John Wall vs Irving forums)

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

[KingslayerParticipant]

LBJ’s performance was transcendent, accentuated by the 3-1 comeback. Obviously MJ had several spectacular finals, and Earvin Jr. was pure Magic in 1987.

On a pure statistical basis, Shaq’s performances during the Lakers’ 2000-2002 dynasty were dominant, and part of why I think he’s one of the more underrated superstars in NBA history. Check out his NBA finals stats those years, convincingly winning MVP each time despite sharing the floor with another all-time great in Kobe:

2000 – 38 ppg, 17 rpg, 2 apg, 1.0 spg, 2.7 bpg, 61% FG

2001 – 33 ppg, 16 rpg, 5 apg, 0.4 spg, 3.4 bpg, 57% FG

2002 – 36 ppg, 12 rpg, 4 apg, 0.5 spg, 2.8 bpg, 60% FG

 

 

[Dazzling Dunks and Basketball BloopersParticipant]

 Only issue I have with rating those performances is that shaq never really faced another dominant big or anyone with any real chance of guarding him during that run. Those were really down years for the eastern conference (especially 2001 and 2002) and most of the time the finals were not competitive. Those series were tailor made matchups for shaq to go crazy. Not that those numbers weren’t extremely impressive.

I actually would possibly rate olajuwons 95 finals against shaq (32.8 ppg 11.5 rpg 5.5 apg 2 stl 2 blk) just as high or higher than any of those shaq years.

 

[r377Participant]

I loved watching Olajuwon play in that era, they swept a young Shaq magic team 4-0.

I would put a 20yo rookie magic Johnson in 1979 as one of the best performances. 22-11-9 @ 57%. His game 6 in Phillie was spectacular (ive prob watched it 4 or 5 times now)

[ItsVictorOladipoParticipant]

He went up against Mutombo in 2001. Despite being 34, Dikembe was still in his prime and had led the league in RPG with 13.5 and had 2.7 BPG as well. Dikembe averaged 16.8 PPG, 12.2 RPG and 2.2 BPG against the Lakers in those finals. 

Mutombo isn’t among the greatest all around centers all time, but he’s certainly among the best defensive big men ever. The fact that Shaq physically dominated him that series, is pretty impressive. 

the most impressive finals series performances I’ve seen (mid 80’s on):

1. 1993, Michael Jordan: 41 PPG, 8.5 RPG, 6.3 APG. Four straight games scoring over 40 points, he just seemed unstoppable enroute to his first championship.

2. 2016, LBJ: 29.7 PPG, 11.3 PRG, 8.9 APG, 2.6 SPG, 2.3 BPG. Incredibly impressive all-around performance against a great Warriors team.

3. 1991, MJ: 31.2 PPG, 11.4 APG, 6.6 RPG, 2.8 SPG, 56 FG%. Possibly a better all around performance than 1993, showed elite passing ability, lock down defense and was an incredibly efficient volume scorer. 

4. 1987, Magic: 26.2 PPG, 13 APG, 8 RPG, 2.3 SPG against a great Celtics team featuring Dennis Johnson at PG.

5. 2001 Shaq: 33 PPG, 15.7 RPG, 4.8 APG and 3.4 BPG. Sure he scored more points in 2000 and 2002, but he had more APG and BPG in 2001 against better competition down low. 

6. 1986, Larry Bird: 24 PPG, 9.7 RPG, 9.5 APG and 2.7 SPG, almost averaged a triple double in a six game series

7. 1995, Hakeem: 32.8 PPG, 11.5 RPG, 5.5 APG, 2 BPG, 2 SPG against a young Shaq.

8. 2000, Shaq: 38 PPG, 16.7 RPG, 2.7 BPG, 61 FG%. Great numbers but against an overwhelmed frontcourt.

9. 2003, Tim Duncan: 24.2 PPG, 17 RPG, 5.3 APG, 5.3 BPG. His scoring numbers might not jump out at you but his defensive numbers are out of this world and his overall defensive impact in the series was immeasurable.

10. 1992, MJ: 35.8 PPG, 6.7 APG, 1.7 SPG, 53/43/89 shooting. Also limited Clyde Drexler to 40.7 FG% in the finals. 

 

 

 

[ItsVictorOladipoParticipant]

 for 1993, I meant Jordan’s third championship…really wish the edit option worked on this site.

[Memphis MadnessParticipant]

Did anyone else do numbers like that?

Wilt’s numbers always wilted a bit in the playoffs.

PEAK SHAQ was as good as anyone’s.  But, probably SCARIER.

LeBron has a similar effect on the game, but from the small forward or power forward position.

LeBron is as good as anyone in history not named MJ.  And, his career ain’t over yet, so maybe he gets the top spot of all time at some point…

Shaq, Duncan, Wilt, Kareem, Russell.  Pick one. Can’t go wrong.

Back to Shaq, I have been watching the NBA for 25 years basically.  Best rookie year I have EVER seen.  

Put PEAK SHAQ up there with ANYONE.  

Another thing: His stats weren’t INFLATED.  He did what he did.  Actually, might be a bit LOWER through, yeah, playing with Kobe, playing in the Triangle and not getting force fed everything, then getting hacked A TON.  

If, in 5 years your TOP THREE ever goes something like MJ, LeBron, and Shaq, I probably wouldn’t disagree.  You can build your ALL TIME STARTING FIVE around those 3.  With Magic at point, then either Bird for a small ball lineup, or Tim Duncan for the whole Twin Towers thing.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

[Dazzling Dunks and Basketball BloopersParticipant]

 I would still have to rate jordan in 1993 as number one (41 ppg 8.5 rpg 6.3 apg, 1.7 apg), at least for finals performances I can remember in my lifetime. 

[OhCanada-Participant]

LBJ’s performance this year was easily the greatest I’ve ever watched. Anything before the mid 90’s I didnt watch. I wasn’t quite surprised he performed that way but I could n’t believe the Warriors lost three games straight. When Irving hit that three I was shocked. 

I must say I was quite happy to see Lebron crush his haters and critics the way he did. The guy has devoted an unimaginable amount of time sacrificing everything to become the greatest basketball player he could be and he definitely deserves some recognition as an all time great. Even in his losing efforts he plays tremendous and doesn’t get enough credit.

 

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