“Threw everything we had at LeBron James. We just couldn’t stop him”: When Chauncey Billups and Co were torched by a 22-year-old Cavs star

Akash Murty | 01/06/2022
“Threw everything we had at LeBron James. We just couldn’t stop him”: When Chauncey Billups and Co were brutally thrashed by a 22-year-old Cavs star

The Detroit Pistons might be the team who brought the man out of the ‘kid from Akron, Ohio’ – LeBron Raymone James Sr.

The 2006-07 season was one of the most exciting NBA seasons. The post-season was even better. The best team in the West, Dallas Mavericks, led by the league MVP Dirk Nowitzki, was beaten in Western Conference Finals by the San Antonio Spurs.

Meanwhile in the East, the most dominant team of the past 6 seasons, who were finishing inside top-3 in all those seasons, but could win just one championship, were looking for their 2nd in 4 years.

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But they struck an iceberg in ECF while cruising through the first two series against the Orlando Magic and the no.1 defensive team that year – led by none other than Ben Wallace, the Chicago Bulls.

A 22-year-old LeBron James and his scrappy Cleveland Cavaliers team proved to be the end of the season for Chauncey Billups and Co.

 

Billups vividly remembers the night a 22-year-old LeBron James torched his #1 team in the East

The Portland Trail Blazers head coach like no one else who watched that series would ever forget the series that announced the King’s arrival on the grandest stages of all, the NBA Finals.

James did not have insane scoring stats in the post-season that year as he had in the previous season or the seasons to come, but in Game 5 when the series was tied at 2-2 he came up with arguably the best Playoffs performance by a 22-year-old.

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Although LBJ and the Cavs would lose the Finals to Tim Duncan and the Spurs afterward, with that ECF win over the Detroit Pistons James had left his impression on the league for what’s to come in the next 15 years.

 

 

 

Post Edited By: Akash Murty

About the author

Akash Murty

An Electrical and Electronics Engineer by degree, Akash Murty is an NBA Editor at The SportsRush. Previously a Software Engineer, Murty couldn’t keep himself away from sports, and his knack for writing and putting his opinion forward brought him to the TSR. A big Soccer enthusiast, his interest in basketball developed late, as he got access to a hoop for the first time at 17. Following this, he started watching basketball at the 2012 Olympics, which transitioned to NBA, and he became a fan of the game as he watched LeBron James dominate the league. Him being an avid learner of the game and ritually following the league for around a decade, he now writes articles ranging from throwbacks, and live game reports, to gossip. LA Lakers are his favourite basketball team, while Chelsea has his heart in football. He also likes travelling, reading fiction, and sometimes cooking.

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