Tayshaun Prince, during his appearance on the ‘Knuckleheads’ podcast, shared his firsthand experience of facing LeBron James in the 2007 Eastern Conference Finals. Reflecting on LeBron’s breakout performance, Prince admitted that the Detroit Pistons, who were the seasoned Eastern Conference powerhouses, were unable to slow him down.
(Cleaned up for better understanding)
“Same scenario, right? We played them the year before, and now they get a chance to play against us again. What I remember about that game is that I didn’t realize during the game that it was 27 or 25 straight points.”
“During the course of the game, you don’t know. You have no clue. You know he’s rolling, but you don’t know he’s got 25 in a row. Yeah, but you know he’s rolling, you know what I’m saying? At that time, man, he was still trying to find himself.”
“They were still trying to find the right pieces around him. Obviously, the league felt, as most people did, that they didn’t have enough talent around him to be able to beat Detroit, right? But momentum shifts, momentum swings in playoff series can always happen, right?”
“He had a fourth quarter and overtime that we just couldn’t do anything to slow him down. The thing about Bron back then was transition and pick-and-roll game. If you didn’t get that under control and he got rolling in that, then everything else started falling into place.”
“Because remember, he wasn’t a great jump shooter back then. He wasn’t doing a whole lot of posting up or other stuff. It was a lot of just pick-and-roll and transition, downhill, downhill, downhill.”
“But in that game, once he started getting downhill, all of a sudden, he’s telling everybody, ‘Get out of the way, let me ISO.’ He was in that zone. We didn’t know it, but after the game, at the press conference and all that, they said, ‘Bron scored 25 straight.’ And I thought, ‘Did he? I had no clue.'” (58:42)
LeBron’s performance in Game 5 of the 2007 Eastern Conference Finals was not only historic but also shocking for the Pistons, who had been accustomed to dictating the terms of playoff series.
At the time, LeBron was still developing his all-around game, but Prince noted that once he got rolling downhill in transition and pick-and-roll situations, the Cavaliers became difficult to stop. Prince explained that LeBron wasn’t the most polished jump shooter back then, and his game revolved heavily around getting to the basket. However, on that night, the momentum swung entirely in Cleveland’s favor, and LeBron put his team on his back.
LeBron James‘ legendary performance in Game 5 was nothing short of remarkable. He scored 48 points, including 29 of Cleveland’s last 30 points, and 25 straight to close out the fourth quarter and two overtime periods. The Cavaliers ultimately won the game 109-107 in double overtime, taking a 3-2 series lead.
LeBron finished the game with 48 points, 9 rebounds, and 7 assists, carrying the Cavaliers past the Pistons. This iconic performance, widely regarded as one of the greatest in playoff history, pushed Cleveland to eventually win the series in six games. The Cavaliers advanced to their first NBA Finals, where they were eventually swept by the San Antonio Spurs. In the 2007 Eastern Conference Finals, LeBron James averaged 25.7 points, 9.2 rebounds, and 8.5 assists.
Though the Cleveland Cavaliers fell short in the Finals, LeBron’s Game 5 masterpiece in the 2007 Eastern Conference Finals remains a defining moment in his career. As Prince acknowledged, “He was in that zone,” and there was nothing the Detroit Pistons could do to stop him that night.
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