The 2011 NBA Finals remains one of the biggest stains on LeBron James’ legacy in the league. James disappeared in the series averaging just 17.8 PPG, 7.2 RPG, and 6.8 APG vs. the Dallas Mavericks.
Speaking of the series, the Miami Heat took a 1-0 lead after winning Game 1. They could have been up 2-0 by winning Game 2 but ended up blowing a double-digit lead. They ultimately lost 2-4 in the series. Miami Heat President Pat Riley believes the organization would have won the 2011 NBA Finals if players, including LeBron James, hadn’t started celebrating too early in the series.
“We would have won that series had we not blown Game 2,” Riley said, per ESPN. “We were ahead by 15 with six minutes to go and our guys were celebrating like we’d won the championship, LeBron included.”
Riley continued to explain how LeBron was in a very dark place following the series, but he made a comeback.
“LeBron is a great player,” Riley added, “but before he came to us, he was banging his head against the wall like all great players that can’t win. His first year was somewhat convoluted, from the standpoint of chemistry. As much as those guys talked around it, you had three significant players who never really got on the same page. They never let it fester, but they never spoke about it way they should have.”
He concluded: “In our exit meeting, LeBron was very dark,” Riley recalls. “He didn’t want talk at all about anything. He was paralyzed in his own depression. But I wasn’t worried. I could have said, ‘Hey, big guy, call Magic Johnson. Tell him how it feels to hear people say you choked, that you didn’t do the job.'”
LeBron James bounced back from the mental scars of the 2011 NBA Finals. In fact, he led the Heat to back-to-back NBA Championships in 2012 and 2013.
The Miami Heat won 4-1 vs. the Oklahoma City Thunder in 2012, while it took them seven games to eliminate the San Antonio Spurs in 2013.
But at the end of the day, if James and the Heat were a tad more focused during the 2011 NBA Finals, they could have won three NBA Championships in four years.
During his stint with the Heat, James averaged 26.9 PPG, 7.6 RPG, and 6.7 APG over 294 games.
LeBron James’ Epic Response To His Haters After Losing The 2011 NBA Finals
LeBron James could have easily lost confidence in his ability following his terrible performance in the 2011 NBA Finals.
At the time, being the most hated player in the league didn’t help him either. However, the King clapped back at his haters in an epic way after losing vs. the Mavericks in the 2011 NBA Finals.
“Absolutely not,” James said. “At the end of the day, all the people that was rooting on me to fail, they got to wake up tomorrow and have the same life that they had before they woke up today. They got the same personal they had today and I’m gonna continue to live the way I want to live and continue to do the things that I wanna do.
“Me and my family and be happy with that so you know they can get a few days or a few months or whatever the case may be on being happy about not only myself but the Miami Heat not accomplishing that goal, but you know, they got to get back to the real world at some point.”
Since the 2011 Finals, James has won four NBA titles and continued to stack his resume. LeBron is expected to return for the 2023-24 NBA season and attempt to win the fifth ring of his illustrious career.
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