The 33-year-old superstar reached his eighth consecutive finals seemingly by sheer force of will, lifting the Cavs on his shoulders throughout the NBA playoffs to book their fourth finals meeting in a row against the Warriors, with the best-of-seven championship series opening Thursday at Golden State.
This marks the first time in North American pro sports history that two clubs will meet in the final for a fourth consecutive season. A title would cap the superlatives of an epic career because never has a James-led finals club been so huge an underdog as the Cavs are now. Las Vegas oddsmakers have the Warriors as the biggest NBA Finals favorites since 2002.
“We have an opportunity to play for a championship. That’s all that matters,” James said. “We’ve been counted out for a long time this season. It’s a heck of an accomplishment for our ball club.
“No matter what the storyline is going to be, no matter if we’re picked to win or not, let’s just go out and play.”
Rebuilding after the off-season trade of star guard Kyrie Irving, the Cavs struggled and were retooled again at the trade deadline, leaving James and forward Kevin Love alongside role players such as outside shooters J.R. Smith and Kyle Korver and inside man Tristan Thompson.
“I switched my mindset at the trade deadline to ‘Let’s get the most out of this season I can,’” James said. “I’m trying to squeeze the most out of this orange to where there’s no more juice left.”
Skeptics wonder how much juice James has left. He has seen 164 playoff games - the equal of two full extra seasons - from his first finals run with Miami to now. And this year, in his 15th NBA campaign, James played all 82 regular season games, a career first, as he adjusted to ever-changing rosters. “This has been one of the most challenging seasons I’ve had,” James said. “It has been six seasons in one. It has been a whirlwind. It has been a roller coaster. There has been everything that you can ask for.”
‘A crazy feeling’
James is 3-5 in career NBA Finals after losing his first with Cleveland in 2007, winning two of four with Miami from 2010-2014 and taking the 2016 title in seven games over Golden State between 2015 and 2017 losses to the Warriors. Only three players in NBA history have reached more consecutive finals than James, with Sam Jones and Tom Heinsohn managing nine and Bill Russell a record 10 in a row. All three played on a 1960s Boston Celtics dynasty.
Four-time NBA Most Valuable Player James has averaged 34.0 points, 9.2 rebounds and 8.8 assists in the playoffs, taking command in game-seven playoff wins over Boston and Indiana to keep the title dream alive.
“After all these years, we almost expect him to do that,” Smith said. “We expect him to get over the hump and take us with him. It’s a crazy feeling.”
Beware ‘other guys’
The Warriors seek their third crown in four seasons and sixth overall, which would match the Michael Jordan-led Chicago Bulls for third on the all-time list behind Boston and the Los Angeles Lakers.
With Kevin Durant dominating inside, Stephen Curry and Klay Thompson as 3-point sharpshooters and Draymond Green inside contributing rebounds and assists, the Warriors have been nearly as formidable as they were in last year’s title run.
“Somebody asked, it’s four years in a row getting to the finals, do you appreciate it? Yes, because it’s really hard,” Curry said. “All the smiles and embraces you have with your teammates, your coaches, it’s well deserved.”
Curry is also wary of dismissing James’s supporting cast.
“They are NBA players and yeah they are new and what not and ‘Bron is amazing. He played an unbelievable playoff run to date and has willed his team to his eighth straight finals and all that,” Curry said.
“It was an amazing performance, but don’t disrespect the other guys out there. They fought hard, too.”
Injuries could play a role, with Love uncertain for the opener while in the NBA concussion protocol and Golden State’s Andre Iguodala questionable with a sore left knee.
Golden State Warriors v Cleveland Cavaliers
History of the NBA Finals rivalry between the Golden State Warriors and Cleveland Cavaliers. The clubs meet in their fourth consecutive edition of the best-of-seven championship series starting today:
2015: The Warriors won their first title in 40 years by beating Cleveland 4-2. For the first time in NBA Finals history the first two games went to overtime. Kyrie Irving suffered a fractured left kneecap in overtime of the opener and missed the remainder of the series. After splitting the first two games in Oakland, Cleveland won at home 96-91 but in defeat the Warriors discovered how effective Andre Iguodala could be against the Cavs. He scored 22 points in game four as the Warriors won 103-82 and earned NBA Finals Most Valuable Player honors as Golden State won the next two games and the series. The Warriors were the first team since the 1991 Chicago Bulls to win the title without any prior NBA Finals experience on the squad. LeBron James became the first player to lead the NBA Finals in points, assists and rebounds with 35.8 points, 13.3 rebounds and 8.8 assists a game in the series.
2016: The Cavaliers brought their home city its first major sport championship since 1964 by winning the NBA crown for the first time 4-3 over the Warriors, who had set an NBA wins record in the regular season with a 73-9 campaign. The Cavaliers made the greatest comeback in NBA Finals history by rallying from a 3-1 deficit, becoming the first road team since 1978 to win a seventh game. In game four, LeBron James stepped over Golden State’s Draymond Green and was struck in the groin. Green was issued a flagrant foul and suspended for game five, which the Warriors lost at home. Warriors center Andrew Bogut suffered a left knee injury in game five and missed the rest of the series. James was a unanimous NBA Finals Most Valuable Player and became the first player to lead an NBA Finals in average points (29.7), rebounds (11.3), assists (8.9), steals (2.6) and blocked shots (2.3).
2017: The Warriors recruited free agent Kevin Durant in the off-season and roared through the playoffs, sweeping the first three series and taking a 3-0 lead over Cleveland before suffering their lone defeat, missing out on the first perfect 16-game playoff run in NBA history but still managing the best win percentage of any NBA champion with the 4-1 victory. Durant won his first NBA crown and was named the NBA Finals MVP. LeBron James became the first player in NBA Finals history to average a triple double in the top statistical categories with 33.6 points, 12.0 rebounds and 10.0 assists a game.