NBA Finals: Did LeBron James outplay Kevin Durant in the Finals?

Kevin Durant might’ve stolen all the headlines, but did he really outplay LeBron James in the NBA Finals?

The 2017 NBA Finals played out as many expected. The Golden State Warriors annihilated the Cleveland Cavaliers in five games, which was by and large an uncompetitive series.

To no one’s surprise, Kevin Durant was crowned as the Finals MVP and became the 16th player to be awarded a Finals and regular season MVP throughout their career.

Durant absolutely deserved the Finals MVP. He led the Warriors in scoring and consistently hit contested shots when the rest of the Warriors went through dry spells scoring the basketball. But was Durant the best overall player in the Finals?

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As blasphemous of a question as that may seem, Durant’s primary assignment throughout this series was to do what he does best, put the ball in hole. Durant played well defensively throughout the series, but players like Draymond Green and Klay Thompson certainly helped him on that side of the floor.

LeBron James, on the other hand, was tasked with a much more robust assignment; do everything. LeBron not only led the Cavaliers in scoring, he became the first player in NBA history to average a triple-double in the Finals.

Below is the side-by-side comparison of LeBron and Durant’s Finals statistical lines.

2017 NBA Finals Averages

Kevin Durant: 35.2 points, 6.8 assists, 5.4 rebounds
LeBron James: 33.6 points, 12.0 assists, 10.0 rebounds

In addition to LeBron’s ridiculous totals, he assisted on 42.5 percent the Cavaliers made baskets and had a higher Player Impact Rating (PIE) than Durant.

Without LeBron on the floor, the Cavaliers crumbled under the offensive onslaught of the Warriors. In a series where the Cavaliers were outscored by 34 points, it is remarkable that LeBron recorded a plus/ minus of +20.

Ultimately, LeBron was asked to do more for the Cavaliers than Durant was for the Warriors. Durant had a better supporting cast around him that has a complimentary skill set to his strengths.

We were all witness to LeBron’s greatest statistical Finals performance thus far in his career and it will likely be overshadowed by Durant acquiring his first NBA title and the Warriors dominance.

During the regular season, the triple-doubles of Russell Westbrook and James Harden seemed to dominate national headlines, putting both at the forefront of the regular season MVP conversation. However, many of those stellar performances were inflated by playing against below average teams and catching teams on back-to-backs or not at full strength.

LeBron averaged a triple-double on the brightest stage, against maybe the best team in NBA history. Unfortunately for him, most NBA fans will remember the 2017 NBA Finals as the the 5th Finals in which he suffered defeat.

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I for one, won’t be one of those fans. In my opinion, LeBron was still the best player on the floor in the 2017 NBA Finals. It just so happens that the Cavaliers ran in to a much better team.

*all stats courtesy of basketball-reference.com