- LeBron James has lost in the NBA Finals six times
- Stephen A. Smith believes he doesn’t deserve any blame for five of them
- Smith only really holds the loss in 2011 against LeBron
LeBron James losing in the NBA Finals six times has often been the biggest knock on him in the GOAT debate, but Stephen A. Smith doesn’t blame him for most of them. Smith spoke about James’ Finals losses during a recent appearance on The Joe Budden podcast.
“I don’t blame him for losing the first one to San Antonio (2007),” Smith said. “That wasn’t his fault. It’s a miracle he got them to the Finals, mad respect for that. The last time they lost to San Antonio (2014), I don’t blame him for that because (Dwyane Wade) was hurt and you needed D-Wade, and D-Wade’s knees were shot.”
Dwyane Wade was indeed dealing with knee issues in 2014 and was a shell of himself against the San Antonio Spurs in the Finals. Smith then brought up the two Finals losses in 2017 and 2018 to the Golden State Warriors.
“I certainly don’t blame him for two of the losses against Kevin Durant because Golden State was loaded,” Smith continued. “KD with Klay (Thompson) and Steph (Curry)? Oh my lord, have mercy. I don’t blame him for that.”
That’s completely fair, as almost no one stood a chance against that juggernaut. There is one Finals loss that the 55-year-old does absolutely hold against LeBron, though.
“I will blame him for this,” Smith added. “Oh, Dallas is on you, bro. Dallas is on you. That’s No. 1, that’s a fact.”
There is really no excuse whatsoever for that one, and it remains the biggest stain on LeBron’s legacy. Lastly, Smith spoke about the 2015 NBA Finals.
“I certainly don’t blame him when he only had Matthew Dellavedova because Kyrie (Irving) and Kevin Love (got hurt),” Smith stated. “I don’t blame him for that either.”
(starts at 3:15:24 mark):
LeBron put in some incredible performances in the 2015 NBA Finals, but Dellavedova being the second-best player on the team ensured they weren’t going to win in the end. To his credit, Smith did bring up some fair points here.
LeBron James Is 4-6 In The NBA Finals
LeBron has made it to 10 NBA Finals in total in his career and, for the most part, has played well on the big stage. We have ranked LeBron’s best and worst NBA Finals performances, and here’s a look at how they went down.
His first trip to the Finals was in 2007 against the Spurs, and as Smith said, it was a miracle that he had taken the Cleveland Cavaliers that far. James averaged 22.0 points, 7.0 rebounds, 6.8 assists, 1.0 steals, and 0.5 blocks per game in the series, but still got swept.
His second trip in 2011 with Miami was supposed to be his crowning moment. The Heat were overwhelming favorites to beat the Dallas Mavericks but shockingly lost in six games. LeBron was a big reason for that, as he only averaged 17.8 points, 7.2 rebounds, 6.8 assists, and 1.7 steals per game.
LeBron and the Heat got back to the Finals in 2012 despite that gut-wrenching loss, and this time, they didn’t mess it up. James averaged 28.6 points, 10.2 rebounds, 7.4 assists, and 1.6 steals, as the Heat beat the Oklahoma City Thunder in five games.
2013 would then see LeBron and the Heat repeat as champions in a thrilling seven-game series against the Spurs. For his part, James put up 25.3 points, 10.9 rebounds, 7.0 assists, and 2.3 steals per game to win Finals MVP for the second straight year.
They were attempting a historic three-peat in 2014, but as Smith pointed out, Wade just wasn’t the same. LeBron averaged 28.2 points, 7.8 rebounds, 4.0 assists, and 2.0 steals per g, but was powerless to prevent the Spurs from getting revenge, as they won in five games.
LeBron returned to the Cavaliers after that season and took the team to the NBA Finals right away. Injuries to Kevin Love and Kyrie Irving meant, though, that he didn’t stand much of a chance. James averaged 35.8 points, 13.3 rebounds, and 8.8 assists per game, but they lost in six games to the Golden State Warriors.
The following year, almost no one gave the Cavaliers a shot at beating the 73-9 Warriors and all hope seemed lost when they fell down 3-1. The Cavs roared back to win the series in seven games, though, and James won Finals MVP with averages of 29.7 points, 11.3 rebounds, 8.9 assists, 2.6 steals, and 2.3 blocks per game.
The two teams would also clash in the 2017 and 2018 Finals, but Kevin Durant’s arrival really made it a no-contest. LeBron averaged 33.6 points, 12.0 rebounds, and 10.0 assists per game in 2017 and then 34.0 points, 8.5 rebounds, 10.0 assists, 1.3 steals, and 1.0 blocks per game in 2018, but the Cavaliers only managed to win one game in those two series.
Lastly, we get to 2020 in the Bubble, where LeBron won his first and to date only championship with the Lakers. L.A. was the favorite against Miami and James averaged 29.8 points, 11.8 rebounds, 8.5 assists, 2.3 steals, and 0.5 blocks per game as they won in six games.
As we can see, LeBron faced stiff competition in most of his Finals appearances. In fact, James played against 31 Hall of Famers in the NBA Finals, as compared to just 10 for Michael Jordan. So, perhaps he does deserve some slack for not having a better Finals record.
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