The Suns move on to the second round for the first time since the 2009-2010 season, when they advanced to the Western Conference Finals and lost to the Lakers. Obviously, the real reason that the Cavaliers did not come away with the title was the injuries to Kyrie Irving and Kevin Love. HOF status: 55.57% probability. It was heavily believed that Stephen Curry, Klay Thompson, Kevin Durant, and Draymond Green would walk through the season. 1 What years has LeBron missed the playoffs? They were humbled by Devin Booker and the Phoenix Suns, 113-100, in Game 6 at Staples Center and lost the series 4-2. We and our partners use cookies to Store and/or access information on a device. Some of our partners may process your data as a part of their legitimate business interest without asking for consent. Be the first one to comment on this story. James explained to reporters today that he could have lost as many as nine more NBA Finals already if things had gone his way. James has been successful throughout his career, and winning three championships is no small feat. He has played in 239 playoff games. I know that this is a young team looking the mesh together, but the Lakers roster as it stands is already better than most of the teams that LeBron has played with. Sign up and stay up to date with our daily newsletter. Of the four Lebron rings spanning his career, the first one always feels different. In the first round of competition team Antetokounmpo had lost to team Rookies with with a winning time of 1 minute and 14 seconds. (33-29) at. 6 Number of defending champions to lose in the first round under the current playoff format (beginning in 1984). LeBron has trailed in the series in 61% of his NBA Finals games! Jordan deserves the utmost credit for nailing that epic game-winner over Bryon Russell. James has also been named NBA MVP four times, in seasons 2008-09, 2009-10, 2011-12 and 2012 . This season, and this series, served as the catalyst for James decision. The 2007 NBA Finals saw LeBron James get swept by the San Antonio Spurs. All Rights Reserved 2022 Theme: Promos by. Those final odds become the team's "expected titles" count for that season, and each player on the roster receives the same count. He and the Miami Heat lost to the Dallas Mavericks in six games. How many times have LeBron been to playoffs? Elgin Baylor, West's longtime teammate, never won a title in eight title series with the Lakers. Playoffs Game Log for LeBron James. In terms of finals appearances, James ranks third all-time with 10, tied with Abdul-Jabbar. But opting out of some of these cookies may affect your browsing experience. Games in the 2020-21 season were also condensed, especially for 1. Although LeBron James and the Los Angeles Lakers were booted from the playoffs in the first round this season, the early exit shouldnt diminish his accomplishments. Hes had a lower average in only two of his 49 previous playoff series; he averaged 22.0 points in Clevelands 2007 NBA Finals loss to San Antonio and 17.8 points in Miamis 2011 NBA Finals loss to Dallas. won 3-2 , recovered from 0-2 deficit vs. Lakers. However, he was no match for the San Antonio Spurs and their big three of Tim Duncan, Manu Ginobili, and Tony Parker. The Lakers beat Rockets in Game 3 with a strong performance from both LeBron James and Anthony Davis. Los Angeles Lakers legend Jerry West, who is silhouetted on the NBA logo, failed to win a title until his 12th season after losing to the Boston Celtics six times and once to the New York Knicks. ESPN. Latest on Los Angeles Lakers small forward LeBron James including news, stats, videos, highlights and more on ESPN However, his . The Spurs dominated the Heat, with a young Kawhi Leonard dominating James on the defensive end to win Finals MVP. LeBron James and the Los Angeles Lakers lost to the Phoenix Suns in Game 6 to end their season. This website uses cookies to improve your experience while you navigate through the website. Retrieved August 15, 2018. Over Suns. 37.8. (Photo by Harry How/Getty Images) NOTE TO USER: User expressly acknowledges and agrees that, by downloading and or using this photograph, User is consenting to the terms and conditions of the Getty Images License Agreement. In the above example, all the players on the 1989-80 Bulls . LeBron James, surprisingly to many, has a losing record in the NBA Finals, going 4-6 across his 10 appearances. A look, by the numbers, at this unprecedented moment in James career: 0 The number of times, before this series, that a team with James lost 2 seed that season, lost to the No. Prepare for a vintage LeBron performance Thursday night. Once again they faced the San Antonio Spurs, but this time it was the Spurs . LeBron James joins Michael Jordan as the only players in NBA History to win 4+ Finals MVPs and 4+ regular-season MVPs. how many times has lebron lost in the second round. From that point on, James qualified for the postseason for 13 seasons in a row and never lost in the first round during that span. French Rennes lost to Shakhtar on penalties in the second leg of the Europa League play-off round. Karl Malone lost three times, while Kobe Bryant also lost twice. LeBron has always been able to overcome the odds during these early rounds and we can expect no different thing this time around too. and 40-plus another 78 times. . James' inauspicious Game 1 included missing 16 of his 18 shots and turning the ball over 10 times, although he did have nine assists and nine rebounds and got to the line 10 times. After defeat in the 2011 NBA Finals to the Dallas Mavericks, the Heat went one better the following year before James claimed his second Olympic gold. There really is no defending James here specifically, but it is unfair that he catches all the flak. That season, LeBron played in the All-Star Game for the first time, in which his team, composed of players from the Eastern Conference, won. How many times did LeBron make it to the finals? Although LeBron James and the Los Angeles Lakers were booted from the playoffs in the first round this season, the early exit shouldnt diminish his accomplishments. LeBron James - 2 Times This season was also another MVP season for LeBron. Lost in the second round three times. LeBron James has played 6 NBA Finals. Read more in detail here: 2007 nba finals. Malone (44-42) was barely over .500 in first-round games and Stockton (43-43) was exactly .500. But with the Los Angeles Lakers first-round loss to the Phoenix Suns, which went final with a 113-100 Game 6 loss on Thursday, James case took a hit. Over the course of his 18 years in the Association, LeBron has never lost in the first round of the postseason with any of the three teams hes played for. He has played in 239 playoff games. 1. Wins: Jordan 6, LeBron 4. LeBron James has played 22 elimination games in his career and is 13-9 in those contests. 2013-14 Miami Heat . We and our partners use data for Personalised ads and content, ad and content measurement, audience insights and product development. But the Heat would lose their bid for a third consecutive title in 2014. LeBron James has lost consecutive 1st round games for the first time in his career.This is also the first time in LeBron's career that he trails a 1st round series after Game 5 or later. LeBron James hadn't lost a first round game in the NBA Playoffs since he was a member of the Miami Heat. Lets take a look at how he has fared in the postseason so far in his career: Year 1: missed playoffs; Year 2: missed playoffs; Year 3: won LeBron James has played 6 NBA Finals. 2:17; Max's top 5 NBA Finals moments. Answer (1 of 7): He made it to the NBA Finals 9 times and in his career he went to the playoffs 8 times consecutively in years {20102018}, being only the top 5 And for the longest time, his favorite target has been LeBron James. Who was the first team to lose four home games in the World Series? It was heavily believed that Stephen Curry, Prior to these finals, it is worth noting that many expected the, Round four, the conclusion of the Cavaliers versus Warriors finals, saw a clean sweep. What years has LeBron missed the playoffs? He has a spotless 14-0 record and has always made it to the Conference Semifinals. "This is my eighth trip to the Finals and I've had some pretty good ones in my day," he said. Has LeBron Ever Lost in the First Round. LA seemed to be on its way to taking a stranglehold on the series when they went up 2-1 heading into Game 4 at Staples Center. LeBron's record is even better when you consider that he had one of the lowest averages per game played in any playoff series ever. Similarly, the 02-03 Lakers were outmatched by San Antonio and crashed out of the playoffs in just the second round at the time. A last-second blunder by J.R Smith cost the Cavaliers game one. Down one of its two superstars, Los Angeles is powerless to stave off an overwhelming performance from Devin Booker and Phoenix. They were down by 30 at halftime, another first in his career. Those final odds become the teams expected titles count for that season, and each player on the roster receives the same count. Those Celtics would go on to lose in the finals to the Lakers. Every team James and the Cavaliers faced were better than them, but James simply played the best basketball of his career. Apart from the 2011 and 2014 finals, James has been on the less favored teams during . Here's a look at the six times LeBron has met the Celtics in the playoffs. While James has won three titles in 14 seasons with the Cavs and Miami Heat, he has lost in the title series five times. James 14-0 record in first-round series counting his times in Cleveland, his four-year run in Miami and now his Lakers stint is almost beyond compare in NBA history. James suffered a groin injury that ruled him out for a significant amount of time. Yet there are numbers, particularly in Phoenixs Game 5 romp, the likes of which that James has never previously had to deal with. In a first-round series, LeBron James has never lost (14-0). James may not have held the best of records in the finals, but his performances and efforts are right up there at par with these legends. People also want to know if this means that LeBron is going to leave Cleveland after next season. Steph Curry making an open 3-pointer, Jacob DeGrom going seven scoreless innings and receiving a no-decision, and Tom Brady reaching the Super Bowl every year are all close, but they arent guarantees in the same way LeBron James always makes it past the first round of the NBA playoffs. Losing a championship is often a tough pill to swallow. With the Lakers, Miami Heat and Boston Celtics all bowing out in the first round, only the Denver Nuggets remain from the teams who reached the conference finals in the bubble. LeBron James. James is stuck on six Finals losses, and time is starting to run out. LeBron has never -- yes, never -- lost a first-round NBA playoff series. LeBron James is arguably one of the best players the NBA has ever seen. In fact, no NBA player has ever gone 14-0 in a first-round series. The Bulls . The Miami Heat had a thin bench, and the Spurs bench was maybe the best in the league. He lost to Boston in the second round in 2010 before leaving Cleveland . For the first time since 2005, the NBA playoffs won't feature LeBron James. Functional cookies help to perform certain functionalities like sharing the content of the website on social media platforms, collect feedbacks, and other third-party features. Another future Hall-of-Famer from the Spurs that James was able to eliminate was Kawhi Leonard. His Los Angeles Lakers lost to the Brooklyn Nets 111-106 on Friday and were officially eliminated from the . Until 2021, James was undefeated in the first round of the playoffs. won 3-2 , recovered from 0-2 deficit vs. Jazz. That loss came in 2012. Born to a 16-year-old single mother, he lived with assortment of family members, friends, neighbors and his peewee football .