Making it to the NBA Finals once is incredibly difficult, let alone do it multiple times. However, there are few players that have been able to make a habit out of reaching basketball’s ultimate stage, as incredible as it may seem.
As a matter of fact, LeBron James, Kobe Bryant, and Stephen Curry have made an appearance in the NBA Finals every single year over the past 14 seasons, which seems just unbelievable, to say the least.
LeBron James made it to the NBA Finals for the very first time in 2007. However, he was vastly overpowered by the almighty San Antonio Spurs, thus going empty-handed and swept.
Kobe Bryant made the Finals in 2008 vs. the Boston Celtics but Paul Pierce, Kevin Garnett, and Ray Allen were just too much to handle for the Lakers, beating them in 6 games. The Black Mamba made the Finals again in 2009 and just needed 5 games to beat Dwight Howard and the Orlando Magic.
Kobe would have another shot at taking down the Boston Celtics in 2010, his third straight trip to the Finals. There, he had to go through hell in seven games but eventually got the job done.
Then, LeBron James took the Eastern Conference by storm with the Miami Heat and started his impressive streak of 8 consecutive NBA Finals appearances.
He lost in 2011 to Dirk Nowitzki and the Dallas Mavericks in 6 games, then beat the Oklahoma City Thunder in 2012 in just 5 games despite the young core of Russell Westbrook, Kevin Durant, and Serge Ibaka. Then, he got back at the San Antonio Spurs in 7 games in 2013 but lost to them in 5 games in 2014.
James took his talents back to Cleveland and made it to four Finals. He lost in 6 games in 2015, then led the only team in NBA history to come back from a 3-1 deficit in 2016. Later, Stephen Curry got the best of him in 2017 in 5 games and swept him in 2018.
LeBron couldn’t make the Finals in 2019 as the Lakers didn’t even make the playoffs with him sidelined with a groin injury. Curry, on the other hand, could make the big stage, but Kawhi Leonard and the Toronto Raptors beat the injury-riddled Warriors in six.
Now, The King is back to the Finals for the 10th time in his career and the 9th time in the past decade. Can he or Curry keep the streak going in 2021?
