LeBron James is one of the greatest players in NBA history. While his durability and physicality allow him to play a majority of the games in the regular season, James’ versatility causes mayhem in the postseason that gets him to be considered one of the best playoff performers ever.
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After recording 28.9 points in the regular season, the King has become slightly silent in these playoffs, scoring-wise. As shocking as it sounds, the NBA’s all-time leading scorer has yet to record a 30-point ball game.
However, even when the 4-time Most Valuable Player isn’t going on a scoring rampage, he is as effective as expected to be.
LeBron James records his 192nd 20/5/5 playoff game
Putting up 21 points, 8 rebounds, and 8 assists in Game 3 of the Western Conference Semifinals, the 6-foot-9 superstar led the Los Angeles Lakers to a huge 127-97 win against the Golden State Warriors.
LEBRON JAMES TONIGHT
32 minutes
21 points
8 rebounds
8 assists
+26 +/-THE KING IS HUNGRY FOR RING 5 pic.twitter.com/k6PB7THKWN
— Lakers Lead 2-1 (@LakersLead) May 7, 2023
For a player that averages 28.5 points across 16 playoff appearances, 21 points seem subpar. However, Saturday night’s performance was the future Hall-Of-Famer’s 192nd 20/5/5 outing in the postseason.
To put it into perspective, the next two players on the same list are Michael Jordan and Larry Bird. And the two legends only have 163 20/5/5 playoff games… combined.
Most 20/5/5 playoff games:
192 — LeBron James
163 — Next 2 players (Bird and MJ) combined pic.twitter.com/uWrZ6nE5m2— StatMuse (@statmuse) May 7, 2023
As soon as this incredible stat went viral on social media, fans couldn’t stop raving about the 38-year-old’s greatness.
The dude is unreal. I actually love him playing the Power Forward position. It’s KG & Duncan-esque, except he’s in his 20th season putting up numbers that they did in their prime. I’ll never take this greatness for granted.
— HiNote. (@HiNoteee) May 7, 2023
This is why he’s the greatest to ever touch the basketball
— ²³☄️ (@BronGotGame) May 7, 2023
It’s ridiculous how insanely consistent lbj is.
— king moses (@kingmos63322010) May 7, 2023
I know most people will argue MJ as the #1 overall. I get it. But it’s shit like this that you’re gonna have to defend from now on. I’m not really a big Lebron fan but, he’s a bit talented. https://t.co/Zh1CY7Yu4P
— John Fortney (@jfort753) May 7, 2023
Clearly, this stat displays the 19-time All-Star’s outstanding overall display.
A first for LeBron James after 275 career playoff games
D’Angelo Russell went berserk in the first quarter of the LAL-GSW matchup. While the point guard recorded 13 points, Anthony Davis contributed 8 points in the same period. While the California-based franchise took 20 shots in the quarter, the 18-time All-NBA player attempted 0 shots.
In the same game that James moved into the top 5 in rebounds in playoffs history, he had a 0 FG attempted quarter for the first time across his 275 playoff appearances.
LeBron James tonight:
275th career playoff game
1st with 0 FG attempts in the 1st quarterIt is the first time LeBron played at least 9 minutes in a 1st quarter and did not take a shot since his rookie season in 2003 (includes regular season or playoff games) pic.twitter.com/3bqqN7rn2D
— ESPN Stats & Info (@ESPNStatsInfo) May 7, 2023
LBJ bounced back in the 2nd quarter, recording 10 points while leading the Lakers to outscore the Warriors 36-18.
However, if the Lakers want to fulfill their goals of winning the 2023 title, Darvin Ham can’t afford LeBron having a 0-point quarter.
