LeBron James: Why his 3-6 NBA Finals record shouldn’t be held against him

Criticize LeBron James for the losses he should have won, and not his losses overall

Ultimately, it boils down to context.

In 2007, LeBron James reached the NBA Finals for the first time with a Cavs team whose second-leading scorer was Drew Gooden, who averaged less than 13 points per game. Practically carrying the Cavs on his shoulders, LeBron faced the San Antonio Spurs, a dynasty with easily four Hall of Famers, including Gregg Popovich.

From 2015 to 2018, LeBron James faced arguably the best team in NBA history, the Curry-era Golden State Warriors. It doesn’t help that an MVP in Kevin Durant would later join the 73-9 Warriors. That would be like if in the 2000s, Shaquille O’Neal joined the San Antonio Spurs, or if Tim Duncan joined the Los Angeles Lakers. Barring an injury or some other miracle, no team is winning against that.

To say that LeBron’s teams were outmatched in those NBA Finals would be an understatement. As he recently said:

"“When I’ve lost in the Finals, the better team won.”"

While he may be mostly right, it can’t be ignored that his Heat super team was the favorite to win when they lost against the Mavs in 2011. In that year’s Finals, Lebron James scored 18 points per game on 48 percent shooting from the field and 60 percent from the free-throw line. For LeBron’s standards, that’s atrocious. That year, criticism against Lebron James would be well-placed.

At the end of the day, give credit where credit is due. Criticize when the context calls for it.

Don’t just say “3-6.” Or “4-6,” if LeBron James wins the NBA Finals this year.

All this being said, all eyes are on LeBron James now as he faces his former team. His Lakers are the heavy favorite, and up 1-0 so far, silver medal won’t cut it this time around. This time, his team is the better team. And they better win.