LeBron needs to replicate his 2016 NBA Finals performance to make the playoffs

LeBron James might need to replicate his 2016 NBA Finals MVP performance in order to save the Lakers’ season and get them to the playoffs

LeBron James is a great basketball player and will go down as one of the two best players of all-time. The 4-time NBA Most Valuable Player and 3-time Finals MVP has arguably been the best player in the league for over a decade, despite some critics predicting that Kevin Durant or Anthony Davis would surpass him as the best player in the league.

The 2016 NBA Finals helped James go from being considered one of the best players in the league to legendary status when he and his former teammate Kyrie Irving helped lead the Cleveland Cavaliers to their first NBA championship by overcoming a 3-1 deficit to beat the 73 win defending champion Golden State Warriors.

The same Warriors team that many people thought at the time was the greatest NBA team of all-time.

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After the Cavaliers’ Game 7 victory, James was named the unanimous Finals MVP after averaging 29.7 points, 11.3 rebounds, 8.9 assists, 2.3 steals and 2.3 blocks during the series to become the first player in league history to lead all players in all five stats in a series.

Since the 2016 Finals, James’ greatness has only grown as he has led his team to eight consecutive NBA Finals, which is why many of his fans and critics thought he would sign with the young but talented Philadelphia 76ers.

Many thought James would stay in the Eastern Conference and keep his consecutive Finals streak going or maybe help lead the young up-and-coming 76ers to a title.

James going to Philly would have been the easy route, but instead, he chose to challenge himself and go where he thought was best for his family and his post-NBA career.

James chose to sign with the Los Angeles Lakers. He chose to trust Lakers President of Basketball Operations Magic Johnson to build a championship team around him.

Many of us thought the Lakers would easily make the playoffs this year because they have the best player in the league, a leader in Rajon Rondo, an up-and-comer in Kyle Kuzma and a big man with championship experience in JaVale McGee.

And for the first couple of months everything with the Lakers went as expected, and perhaps even better than expected. The Lakers were in 4th place in the Western Conference after blowing out the Warriors on Christmas Day, but little did we know that James injury (which he suffered against the Warriors) was the beginning of the Lakers downfall.

Now, with 19 games remaining, the Lakers are 4.5 games out of the last playoffs spot. For James’ young teammates, not playing in the postseason is just a bump in the road.

For James, not making the playoffs would give his critics fuel to say he is not close to being as great as Michael Jordan. He feasted on the weak Eastern Conference teams.

Fans and critics are now doubting James and the Lakers just like they doubted him and the Cavaliers when they were down 3-1 to the Warriors. The Lakers right now need the 2016 James to make the playoffs. If we learned anything from LeBron’s past, it is to not doubt his will to win.

The Los Angeles Lakers may not make the playoffs, but we can pretty much bet that James will put on a show for the ages the next few weeks.