- LeBron James was the hero for the Cleveland Cavaliers during the 2018 ECG against the Boston Celtics
- James notched up 46 points in a crucial Game 6 with a three-pointer to seal the deal in the final minutes of the game
- James was pleasantly surprised by the journalist’s comments
Not often does an athlete see praise coming his/her way during a press conference given the media’s policy to stay objective. But there was one moment in LeBron James’ decorated career when he was pleasantly surprised after an ESPN reporter commended him for being clutch his entire career.
ESPN Brazil’s Paulo Antunes was one of the journalists covering the 2018 Eastern Conference Finals between the Cleveland Cavaliers and the Boston Celtics and his question had James break into a huge smile.
Antunes: You’ve been a clutch player basically your whole career. How do you feel you’ve evolved in the last few years in clutch situations? Especially in the last few years… when the going gets tough, you’re always hitting.”
James: What’s your name?
Antunes: Paulo from ESPN Brazil
James: I appreciate you saying I’ve been clutch my whole career. There’s not many like you, I tell you. There are not many like you. Either you’re being very kind because it’s national wine day to me or I love Brazil or I don’t know what it is right now…”
LeBron liked this question 😏 pic.twitter.com/A16DbkEXRF
— ESPN (@espn) May 26, 2018
Antunes was referring to James’ 46-point masterclass on 17-of-33 shooting, studded with 11 rebounds, 9 assists 3 steals, and a block to help Cleveland win 109-99.
En route to his game-winning performance, James sealed the win for the Cavaliers by draining a clutch three-pointer over Jayson Tatum with 1:40 remaining in the fourth quarter. It also marked James’ seventh 40-point game of the 2018 playoffs, tying Michael Jordan for the most such games in a single postseason since the 1989 season.
RESPECT THE KING pic.twitter.com/Pi3yyw4TXb
— Def Pen Hoops (@DefPenHoops) May 26, 2018
James and the Cavaliers lost Games 1 and 2 to the Celtics, before bouncing back to win Games 3 and 4. The series then swung in favor of Boston again, before James’ clutch heroics saw him pull it back in Game 6 and force a Game 7.
The Cavs would go on to win Game 7 with James again leading from the front with 35 points, 15 rebounds, 9 assists, and 2 blocks. They knocked out the Celtics with an 87-79 win and seal the series 4-3 to reach the NBA Finals, where they lost to the Golden State Warriors 4-0.
Just How Clutch Is LeBron James?
Since his NBA debut 20 seasons again, LeBron James has been the kind of a player where adjectives have been exhausted when it comes to lauding his ability to play basketball.
That said, the Clutch gene has been a topic of debate for some time now. A Stathead report suggested that since the 2003-04 season, ‘The King’ has attempted 107 FG in the last five seconds of regular season contests, but has only made 19 of them. This means he has a 17.8% FG and 12.5% from the 3-point line during his clutch time.
But there have been multiple times where James has been a force, flipping the switch in clutch moments during playoff games, some of those that have changed the outcome of games as well.
Siding with those who believe in James’ clutch abilities is FS1’s Nick Wright. In an earlier interview, the analyst slammed doubters saying:
“LeBron is the most clutch player of his generation and that he is one of the most clutch players ever while Kobe was inefficient and not effective. People just don’t wanna hear it.”
Clutch debate aside, the world will now see how James fares for the Los Angeles Lakers in what will be his 21st season in the NBA. And given his exceptional abilities, he will still have his clutch gene activated when the team needs it the most.
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