The top five greatest moments in LeBron James’ distinguished career | NBA News

LeBron James has reached the 38,000-point milestone in his race to top Kareem Abdul-Jabbar’s all-time record of 38,387. Throughout his illustrious career, James has peaked to similar heights with four MVP trophies and several title-winning performances. So, which one ranks as the best?

LeBron’s first MVP title

How could we write a piece on LeBron’s top five moments and not mention the year when he claimed his first MVP title?

Well, that’s exactly what happened in 2009. Playing under the Cleveland Cavaliers, LeBron scored 28.4 points per game, leading his side to a 66-16 record heading into the playoffs.

It would be James’ first MVP title in six years in the NBA and with his team atop the Eastern Conference, it became very clear the kind of prospective talent he was becoming from very early on.

Mammoth in Toronto

Another unforgettable display came against the Toronto Raptors in 2016, who at the time had the best record in the Eastern Conference. Not only were they trying to cement their own positions, but they were also looking to quash the MVP-winning ambitions of James and his Cleveland team. Quite the feat.

The first game in the mini-tournament was highly competitive and the Cavs took a point on the road. What followed was one of the greatest performances ever seen in a post-season series.

LeBron put up 43 points, eight rebounds and 14 assists to put his team up 2-0 with an 18-point win. His side would go on to complete the sweep at home, with James averaging 34 points, eight rebounds and 11 assists. Simply mesmeric.

One last stint with LA

James certainly looks to be in the dying stages of his career, perhaps this might be the last season we see him at all. But though his age (38) might give it away, his basketball hasn’t. As such, 2020 will always be one of the last big moments of his career, capped by winning the 2020 NBA title.

The fact that it happened against his old team, the Heat, became even more telling. In doing so, LeBron earned an MVP finals recognition for the fourth time in his career, averaging 29.8 points, 11.8 rebounds and 9.5 assists.

Having hit 38,000 points on Monday night in the 112-113 loss to the Philadelphia 76ers, does James have enough firepower left in him, and indeed the squad itself to secure another final or visit to the playoffs?

Breaking records in Boston

Game six against the Boston Celtics in the 2012 playoffs will always be a fond memory for Heat fans. Not only did it feature another breath-taking ‘Bron moment, but had a more terse narrative given that there were rumours the team might’ve disbanded should they face more heartache in the post-season.

Things got stickier when Boston took the Heats’ 2-0 lead and turned it 3-2 in their favour. However, all the fear and stress melted away in a dizzying spell of spellbinding basketball from James. He erupted with 45 points, 15 assists and five rebounds, making 19 of his 26 field goals in what would be his biggest post-season stats, at the time of writing.

The Heat eventually won game seven and went on to win the 2012 NBA title, defeating the Oklahoma City Thunder in the finals.

Defying the odds against the Warriors

Perhaps the performance that tops this list is the one that James produced against what seemed an unbeatable Golden State Warriors side during the 2015-16 campaign.

Indeed, the Dubs had put up the greatest regular season record ever for a team with 73 win and only nine losses. The reigning champions would face James’ Cavaliers in the NBA finals for a second consecutive season and every betting shop, vendor and website for miles was projecting another title for Stephen Curry and co.

The Warriors demonstrated their supremacy by taking a 2-0 lead with two convincing wins at home. Though the Cavaliers did make it 2-1, that was immediately resolved by Steve Kerr’s team taking it to 3-1 on the road. It was an advantage that no team had been able to overcome on 32 previous occasions in the NBA finals.

But where there’s a will, there’s a way, and where there’s a way there’s a LeBron and a Kyrie Irving to match.

It was the latter who hit the game-winning three after the Cavs forced the Warriors into playing a seventh game to decide the title. James arguably, made the greatest defensive play in history, making a mammoth block on Andre Iguodala to maintain the tie game with less than two minutes left on the clock.