No matter how well a team plays in the regular season, all the effort is a waste if they do not have a productive playoff run in the NBA. While each team has the target of ultimately winning the NBA Championship, every season, only one team can achieve that.
Additionally, more often than not, these championship teams are led by one NBA superstar. Over the years, we have seen many big names achieve that, such as Michael Jordan, Kobe Bryant, LeBron James, Stephen Curry, and many more players. But even among those sensational playoff runs, a few stand out.
To get a rough idea of this, we can take a look at the top 10 players who have scored the most points in a single playoff run. On the top of your head, the 1992 run by MJ, the 2018 run by LeBron, or the 2019 run by Kawhi Leonard comes to mind.
Like many records in the NBA, the record for most points scored in a single playoff run is held by none other than Michael Jordan. He did so in the 1991-92 NBA season with 759 points to his name.
Obviously, Mike helped the Chicago Bulls win the NBA Championship and also took home the NBA Finals MVP award. As for his stats, MJ averaged 34.5 points, 6.2 rebounds, 5.8 assists, 2.0 steals, and 0.7 blocks per game.
Sounds pretty good for a playoff run, right? But similar to the GOAT debate, it’s none other than LeBron James who came closest to breaking this record held by Michael Jordan.
We are talking about none other than the iconic 2018 playoff run by LBJ. James almost single-handedly carried the Cleveland Cavaliers to the 2018 NBA Finals. Although James ended up losing in the NBA Finals against the stacked Golden State Warriors, he once again proved to everyone why he is considered arguably the best player in NBA history.
James scored 748 points in the 2018 playoffs and was just 12 points shy of breaking Mike’s record. As for his full stats, he averaged 34.0 points, 9.1 rebounds, 9.0 assists, 1.4 steals, and 1.0 blocks per game.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NRoyj_pRKVI
Considering the fact that LeBron was 33 years old at the time and was playing in the 15th season of his NBA career, it was a truly sensational achievement. He even became the only player to defeat the Boston Celtics when they led 2-0 in a best-of-seven series in the 2018 playoffs.
If LeBron James can help the Los Angeles Lakers qualify for the playoffs next season, he will have another try at breaking the record for most points scored in a single playoff run. But the odds of that happening are very low now, to be honest.
Stats via StatMuse
