LeBron James‘ case for being the greatest player of all time has grown over the years. After all, he has very impressive accolades and an accomplished NBA career. King James has been playing at an elite level for two decades now and doesn’t seem to be slowing down yet.
However, the critics against him have always held his cumulative performances in the NBA Finals against him. After all, making it all the way to the NBA Finals and constantly falling short of the ultimate goal is certainly a problem. Although LeBron has won more titles than most players in the league, he is still not considered good enough by many.
With that being said, fans should certainly be interested in finding out what his NBA Finals record and overall winning percentage look like. Let us take a closer look and find out.
LeBron James has a record of 4 wins and 6 losses in the NBA Finals
Having lost more times in the NBA Finals when compared to victories is one of the biggest criticisms against LeBron James. He went all the way to the Finals in 2009, 2011, 2014, 2015, 2017, and 2018 just to end up losing to his opponent.
To those who do not know, LeBron got swept in the 2007 NBA Finals by the San Antonio Spurs, losing in 4 games. In 2011 he lost to the Dallas Mavericks in 6 games while with the Miami Heat. He ended up losing once again to the Spurs in 2014 within 5 games. He lost the next year to the Golden State Warriors within 6 games.
He was unable to beat the Warriors when playing against them in 2017 and 2018 as well. They managed to eliminate him in 5 and 4 games respectively.
However, merely making it to the NBA Finals is something that NBA greats struggle to achieve even once in their careers. LeBron made it 10 times in his 20-year career and also went to 8 straight Finals from 2011-2018. He managed to get the job done and win in 2012, 2013, 2016, and 2020.
The 4x NBA champion won in 2012 within 5 games when playing against the OKC Thunder. He managed to repeat this feat by beating the Spurs in 7 games the next year. Then, we all know about the historic 3-1 comeback against the Warriors in 2016. Finally, he also won the 2020 NBA title in the Orlando Bubble.
Although King James does not have the best winning percentage in the NBA Finals, there is no denying that he is an extremely impactful player and individually contributes to the success of his team through any means possible. Throughout the 1421 regular season games he has played in his career, the King has an impressive record of 924 wins and 490 losses. He has averaged 28.4 points, 10.2 rebounds and 7.8 assists thought-out his 55 NBA Finals games so far.
LeBron has made the NBA Finals for half his career and has almost won twice as many games when compared to losses. When we add his multiple MVPs, championships, all-star appearances, and all-NBA teams, he certainly has a case to make as the greatest player of all time.
Unfortunately, some will simply hold onto the past and remind the world that he has lost more than he has won. This might even go on until LeBron has a positive win record in the NBA Finals. If that is even possible at this juncture in his career.