With the Oklahoma City Thunder and Indiana Pacers squaring off for this season’s NBA title, it’s appropriate to revisit three of the more impactful and memorable individual performances in Finals history.
Will Oklahoma City star Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, the league’s MVP and leading scorer in the regular season (32.7 PPG), or Indiana star Tyrese Haliburton match or exceed these epic performances by LeBron James, Kevin Durant or Michael Jordan? Or will another player shine in the white-hot Finals spotlight?
LeBron James, Cleveland Cavaliers | 2016
James led the Cavaliers to their first NBA championship by defeating the Golden State Warriors in an epic seven-game series. The Cavaliers were down 3-1 to the defending champion Warriors, but James and his unit had other plans.
In the Finals, LeBron averaged 29.7 points, 11.3 rebounds and 8.9 assists. Plus, he had arguably the greatest defensive play in NBA Finals history late in Game 7. Andre Iguodala may still be having nightmares about this:
