In your opinion, which season was LeBron at his peak?

[Homer38]

Wade had been very good in the regular season, but of course he struggled in the playoffs because of his bad knee outside of a few games.

I believe the heat would have been one of the best team of all-time in 2013 if Wade would have had the same level as he was in the regular season....The fact that Battier had forgotten to shoot in the playoffs until game 7 vs Spurs had not helped too

For LeBron's peak, I think it's 2016 to 2018 in the playoffs...I mean I compared yesterday his 3 playoff run stats combined with Michael Jordan's from 1991 to 1993 (also only in the playoffs ) and LBJ had a slight advantage like on the advanced stats...That's how good LeBron was

https://stathead.com/basketball/pcm_finder.cgi?request=1&sum=1&player_id1=jordami01&p1yrfrom=1991&p1yrto=1993&player_id2=jamesle01&p2yrfrom=2016&p2yrto=2018

[Stan]

LeBron in the 2018 playoffs will always be his peak for me.

[PhiEaglesfan712]

LeBron in the 2018 playoffs will always be his peak for me.

I agree. For me, LeBron's 2017-18 season and playoffs will always be more impressive than anything he did in 2012-17. LeBron had a very good supporting cast in 2012-17. In 2018, LeBron's Cavs team had a total makeover at the trade deadline and he still led them to a Finals appearance they had no business being in. LeBron beat the Pacers and Celtics by himself, and his performance in the Raptors series is the best played series by any player in NBA history. Oh, and LeBron didn't miss any of the 104 regular season and playoff games that Cavs played during the 2017-18 season.

[capfan33]

One other thing I'll say about 2013 wrt Lebron's shooting issues. Imagine that you just had one of the most dominant regular season runs in NBA history, 66 wins with a 27 game winstreak. After 2 years you've finally managed to figure out how to make it work with an admittedly less than ideal 2nd star in terms of fit and created a nice offensive system with a delicate balance between all the pieces.

And then, Wade gets injured, comes back a shell of himself, and you essentially have no time to adjust before the playoffs begin. Moreover, Wade is still playing 36 minutes a game despite his ineffectiveness making it almost a 4on5 at times.

Rythm and feel are a large part of basketball as anyone whose played at all can attest, and this is the basketball equivalent of throwing a giant wrench into all the synergy you've worked to perfect over the past few years. I'm sure Lebron throughout that run was 2nd guessing how he should approach the situation. "Should I just shoot at will and forget Wade, should I try to get him involved as much as possible, can we even win with Wade playing this way?"

I'm pretty confident it made a big difference in his mentality which for someone who isn't a naturally good shooter makes all the difference in the world (hell it could affect someone who is a good shooter).

Moreover, I'm not convinced this would change year to year. If you put 2018 Lebron in this situation I could see him struggling/hesitating all the same. Most of Lebron's best shooting runs have come with good spacing and the mega green light where he knows he has to provide the majority of the offense/his team is outmatched (2009, 2014, 2017, 2018).

2013 Lebron for the entirety of the run was half-preocupied with his running mate limping through the games which he knew would have a large impact on their title hopes. And to piggyback off of what someone else said already, they really shouldn't have won with Wade playing as much as he was. The fact that they did is a small miracle in of itself and I'm sure the backdrop of Wade's injury affecting their championship aspirations was constantly on Lebron's mind.

[70sFan]

By the way, people who criticize James for his 2013 finals performance (rightfully so) should take a look at 2016 finals before the last 3 games. James played way below his standards for most of the series and it was one of the reasons why GSW got 3-1 lead in the first place.

[rjchpd]

2009 bron would force Golden State to play with a big whenever he's on the court. He would have absolutely destroyed small ball teams. See the Hawks in the 2009 eastern conference semi finals. Imagine him with the spacing from the 2017 Cavs. Every switch would be a mismatch for him. He was also decent enough from 3 to punish teams for going under ball screens.

[falcolombardi]

By the way, people who criticize James for his 2013 finals performance (rightfully so) should take a look at 2016 finals before the last 3 games. James played way below his standards for most of the series and it was one of the reasons why GSW got 3-1 lead in the first place.

i would argue lebron first 4 games were better against warriors, and his last 3 fairly better too

the 2016 finals are slightly overated since people only focus on the last 3 games, but they are still clearly better than his 2013 finals

[JordansBulls]

tough to say because everything is all over the place. 2013 maybe best regular season but playoffs wasn't as good as other years. 2016 maybe had best storyline but season was nothing to behold especially with no vote for mvp.

[70sFan]

By the way, people who criticize James for his 2013 finals performance (rightfully so) should take a look at 2016 finals before the last 3 games. James played way below his standards for most of the series and it was one of the reasons why GSW got 3-1 lead in the first place.

i would argue lebron first 4 games were better against warriors, and his last 3 fairly better too

the 2016 finals are slightly overated since people only focus on the last 3 games, but they are still clearly better than his 2013 finals

Yes, they were better but that wasn't my point. People rave about James being impossible to stop in 2016-18 period, but Warriors actually made excellent job on James in the first 4 games and had they won game 5, we'd never say that about LeBron.

I just think people overstate the offensive difference between 2009-14 vs 2016-18 versions of LeBron, especially taking into account a lot of changes that helped James, not hurt him.

[homecourtloss]

By the way, people who criticize James for his 2013 finals performance (rightfully so) should take a look at 2016 finals before the last 3 games. James played way below his standards for most of the series and it was one of the reasons why GSW got 3-1 lead in the first place.

i would argue lebron first 4 games were better against warriors, and his last 3 fairly better too

the 2016 finals are slightly overated since people only focus on the last 3 games, but they are still clearly better than his 2013 finals

Yes, they were better but that wasn't my point. People rave about James being impossible to stop in 2016-18 period, but Warriors actually made excellent job on James in the first 4 games and had they won game 5, we'd never say that about LeBron.

I just think people overstate the offensive difference between 2009-14 vs 2016-18 versions of LeBron, especially taking into account a lot of changes that helped James, not hurt him.

I think most people rave about his overall game in 2016 but specifically talk about his offensive game in 2017 and 2018. In this thread and in Odinn’s project, many people listed 2017 as his offensive peak or peak period and 2018 as another offensive peak.

[70sFan]

i would argue lebron first 4 games were better against warriors, and his last 3 fairly better too

the 2016 finals are slightly overated since people only focus on the last 3 games, but they are still clearly better than his 2013 finals

Yes, they were better but that wasn't my point. People rave about James being impossible to stop in 2016-18 period, but Warriors actually made excellent job on James in the first 4 games and had they won game 5, we'd never say that about LeBron.

I just think people overstate the offensive difference between 2009-14 vs 2016-18 versions of LeBron, especially taking into account a lot of changes that helped James, not hurt him.

I think most people rave about his overall game in 2016 but specifically talk about his offensive game in 2017 and 2018. In this thread and in Odinn’s project, many people listed 2017 as his offensive peak or peak period and 2018 as another offensive peak.

You may be right, but still - James didn't face similar teams to those Celtics, Spurs or Pacers monsters defensively from the early 2010s. Warriors were great on defense, but vastly undersized against LeBron who is bigger than Green.

I think the league changes helped James a lot as he got older. I don't see any reason why 2012-14 verison wouldn't be able to replicate what 2016-18 James did.

[falcolombardi]

Yes, they were better but that wasn't my point. People rave about James being impossible to stop in 2016-18 period, but Warriors actually made excellent job on James in the first 4 games and had they won game 5, we'd never say that about LeBron.

I just think people overstate the offensive difference between 2009-14 vs 2016-18 versions of LeBron, especially taking into account a lot of changes that helped James, not hurt him.

I think most people rave about his overall game in 2016 but specifically talk about his offensive game in 2017 and 2018. In this thread and in Odinn’s project, many people listed 2017 as his offensive peak or peak period and 2018 as another offensive peak.

You may be right, but still - James didn't face similar teams to those Celtics, Spurs or Pacers monsters defensively from the early 2010s. Warriors were great on defense, but vastly undersized against LeBron who is bigger than Green.

I think the league changes helped James a lot as he got older. I don't see any reason why 2012-14 verison wouldn't be able to replicate what 2016-18 James did.

sure, but at the end of the day you can only play against the league you are in

everyome beneffited from the pace and space explosion in the second half of the 2010's, but lebron remained the best playoffs performer of them all

[70sFan]

I think most people rave about his overall game in 2016 but specifically talk about his offensive game in 2017 and 2018. In this thread and in Odinn’s project, many people listed 2017 as his offensive peak or peak period and 2018 as another offensive peak.

You may be right, but still - James didn't face similar teams to those Celtics, Spurs or Pacers monsters defensively from the early 2010s. Warriors were great on defense, but vastly undersized against LeBron who is bigger than Green.

I think the league changes helped James a lot as he got older. I don't see any reason why 2012-14 verison wouldn't be able to replicate what 2016-18 James did.

sure, but at the end of the day you can only play against the league you are in

everyome beneffited from the pace and space explosion in the second half of the 2010's, but lebron remained the best playoffs performer of them all

Of course, because LeBron was the best player in the world. I don't compare James to other players here, I compare him to his younger versions.

What's the reason to believe that Miami LeBron wouldn't be able to dominate in 2016-18 period to at least the same degree?

[falcolombardi]

You may be right, but still - James didn't face similar teams to those Celtics, Spurs or Pacers monsters defensively from the early 2010s. Warriors were great on defense, but vastly undersized against LeBron who is bigger than Green.

I think the league changes helped James a lot as he got older. I don't see any reason why 2012-14 verison wouldn't be able to replicate what 2016-18 James did.

sure, but at the end of the day you can only play against the league you are in

everyome beneffited from the pace and space explosion in the second half of the 2010's, but lebron remained the best playoffs performer of them all

Of course, because LeBron was the best player in the world. I don't compare James to other players here, I compare him to his younger versions.

What's the reason to believe that Miami LeBron wouldn't be able to dominate in 2016-18 period to at least the same degree?

the common theory being that second cavs stint lebron was more confident in his jumpshot, more agressive and a better basketball mind and less likely to overthinl himself

of course how much of this comes off the benefits of having more spacing around him and facing smaller front courts is somethingh we cannot know for syre

[70sFan]

sure, but at the end of the day you can only play against the league you are in

everyome beneffited from the pace and space explosion in the second half of the 2010's, but lebron remained the best playoffs performer of them all

Of course, because LeBron was the best player in the world. I don't compare James to other players here, I compare him to his younger versions.

What's the reason to believe that Miami LeBron wouldn't be able to dominate in 2016-18 period to at least the same degree?

the common theory being that second cavs stint lebron was more confident in his jumpshot, more agressive and a better basketball mind and less likely to overthinl himself

of course how much of this comes off the benefits of having more spacing around him and facing smaller front courts is somethingh we cannot know for syre

I can't see how can anybody say that 2012 James wasn't agressive enough or overthought things too much. It was the most focused version of James I've ever seen.

[SK21209]

LeBron in the 2018 playoffs will always be his peak for me.

I agree. For me, LeBron's 2017-18 season and playoffs will always be more impressive than anything he did in 2012-17. LeBron had a very good supporting cast in 2012-17. In 2018, LeBron's Cavs team had a total makeover at the trade deadline and he still led them to a Finals appearance they had no business being in. LeBron beat the Pacers and Celtics by himself, and his performance in the Raptors series is the best played series by any player in NBA history. Oh, and LeBron didn't miss any of the 104 regular season and playoff games that Cavs played during the 2017-18 season.

Yup, give me 2018 LeBron. He was more athletic, more consistently great defensively and more efficient in 2013, but individual offense is more important than individual defense. 2018 LeBron is a much better offensive player than Miami LeBron IMO. He was a better shooter (he had a better 3P% in Miami, but on fewer attempts) but more importantly was completely cerebral on offense. He controlled every possession and the pace of the entire game. That Game 1 of the 2018 Finals is the best individual performance from a player I've seen since I started watching basketball.

[falcolombardi]

Of course, because LeBron was the best player in the world. I don't compare James to other players here, I compare him to his younger versions.

What's the reason to believe that Miami LeBron wouldn't be able to dominate in 2016-18 period to at least the same degree?

the common theory being that second cavs stint lebron was more confident in his jumpshot, more agressive and a better basketball mind and less likely to overthinl himself

of course how much of this comes off the benefits of having more spacing around him and facing smaller front courts is somethingh we cannot know for syre

I can't see how can anybody say that 2012 James wasn't agressive enough or overthought things too much. It was the most focused version of James I've ever seen.

cannot disagree here