Love him or hate him, LeBron James is one of the greatest playoff performers in the history of basketball. He went to 10 NBA Finals in his career because of his incredible ability to ensure his teams could win 7-game playoff battles when they are pushed to it. He went to 8 consecutive NBA Finals from 2011 to 2018 and returned to that platform in 2020 to win his 4th championship.
In LeBron’s late career, certain habits he has on the court have come to the forefront. In the regular season, LeBron is often criticized for his lack of effort, especially on the defensive end of the ball. However, those concerns instantly go away in the Playoffs as LeBron effortlessly leads his team through to the NBA Finals.
Current Lakers assistant coach and former Cavs coach Phil Handy saw the low effort with which LeBron played in the Playoffs and internally criticized LBJ during the 2014-15 regular season before seeing how LeBron switched his play style in the playoffs.
“Bron’s first year back to Cleveland, I think 2014, that was my second year coaching in Cleveland. I didn’t know ‘Bron, he came back to Cleveland and I went through the season like ‘this dude don’t play hard each time’. I was saying that to myself and this was like Year 14 for ‘Bron. The playoffs started, and I had never been around ‘Bron at the playoffs before. Man, that Zero Dark 23 thing he says. This is a true story, after Game 3 of the playoffs, I went to him and apologized. I was like ‘I’m apologizing to you, man, because I was clowning you in the regular season’. He’s like ‘PH, I been in the league very long. This is how I wrap myself up. I have to go through the regular season making sure that when the playoff start, I am at my optimal, I am at my apex.’ That gear that he went to? I was blown away.”
LeBron has gone through his entire career, proving he has another level he can unlock in the Playoffs. He is the stat-record holder in various categories for the NBA Playoffs and has left an inarguable legacy as the best playoff player of this generation.
