In 2007, LeBron James truly announced himself to the world as a potential GOAT candidate when he led the Cleveland Cavaliers to the NBA Finals as a 22-year-old.
However, when they got there, they were swept by the San Antonio Spurs with ease, with the Spurs claiming their 4th championship in 8 years. And Robert Horry described it as the easiest championship he had ever won.
“LeBron wasn’t a jump-shooter or a knockdown three… He was more of a drive guy, get by you, big body, jump over you. And our whole gameplan was like we gonna double team, every time he come off the pick and roll, we gonna double team him. And then it’s almost like the water boy, because you had Mike Brown over there on the other side.
“Every play they ran with our plays in San Antonio. I’m like, ‘Dude, what are you doing? You can’t run floppy down, that’s our play. Floppy side, that’s our play. He ran almost every play that San Antonio ran and we looked like, ‘Damn, this is going to be the easiest…’ and that’s why we swept them man… And it was just one of the easiest championships to win man, cuz they weren’t ready. LeBron was still young, double-teamed LeBron, who else is going to score on that team?”
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LeBron James didn’t have a lot of help in that season, and the Spurs were too good to let him get a look in. Their Big 3 of Tim Duncan, Tony Parker, and Manu Ginobili combined for a whopping 60 points per game, while nobody besides James averaged more than 13 points per game for the Cleveland Cavaliers. It’s not surprising the Spurs felt this way, they dominated the series from start to finish.
LeBron James Got Totally Shut Down By The San Antonio Spurs In That Series
LeBron James averaged 27.3 points, 6.7 rebounds, and 6.0 assists in the 2006-07 regular season. But the San Antonio Spurs’ strategy against him worked beautifully in the NBA Finals. In four games, James averaged just 22 points, a whole 5.3 less than in the regular season.
His shooting percentages were also abysmal, just 35% from the field and a very poor 20% from the three-point line. That playoff run from him did prove to the world that he was ready to be great even at a young age, though, and as Tim Duncan told him after, it would be his league soon enough. The series remains one of the most one-sided in Finals history.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bbhtEAFPakM
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