Why would LeBron and the Lakers teaming up for a Finals run together feel so surprising? The Lakers are arguably the most prestigious franchise in the NBA history. LeBron is arguably the greatest basketball player ever. On the day LeBron announced he was leaving Cleveland for Los Angeles, it was hard to see how he’d be able to get this franchise back in the Finals in just two years.Įverything seems so obvious with the benefit of hindsight. It might be hard to remember now, but the Lakers were a disaster before they signed him. LeBron in the NBA Finals feels inevitable at this point, but his return to basketball’s biggest stage with the Lakers is actually anything but. Only Bill Russell and Sam Jones have made more Finals appearances than LeBron. Add in the Cleveland Cavaliers’ Finals run in 2007 that James powered as a 22-year-old, and that’s now 10 Finals trips in 17 years for his career. James has made the Finals nine of the last 10 seasons, with last year’s injury-plagued debut in Los Angeles as the lone exception. It’s hard to be shocked by LeBron reaching the Finals at this point. Now the Lakers are in the Finals for the first time in 10 years, where they’ll be the favorite regardless of who they face from the Eastern Conference. LeBron and the Lakers had done what Kawhi Leonard and the Clippers could not: deny the Nuggets an opportunity to rally back from another 3-1 deficit by forcefully closing out the series. With the Lakers leading by seven points with just under four minutes left, James ripped four straight deep jumpers to ice the game. The Denver Nuggets were trying to make a comeback to save their season in Game 5 of the Western Conference Finals when LeBron James decided to slam the door shut.

Download lebron in the finals