NBA Finals 2017: 5 most memorable moments

2. LeBron James’ self alley-oop

How can we not include the Best Player on the Planet in the five most memorable moments from the NBA Finals? I mean the man’s only averaging a triple-double and uber-efficient from the field. Yet, there’s only play that signified the way Game 4 went for the Cavaliers.

The game might have been decided, with the Cavaliers up 19 at this point in the third quarter. James was pushing on the fastbreak and drove to the basket. He jumped and realize he had nobody to pass it to, so why not throw it off the backboard? That’s exactly what the King did — like you would often see at Rucker Park. Ooohs and aaahs followed from the crowd as James dazzled with his dunk.

https://twitter.com/NBATV/status/873373143397785605?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw&ref_url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.si.com%2Fnba%2F2017%2F06%2F09%2Flebron-james-self-alley-oop-video-game-4-finals

Game 4 could be described through this one play. The Cavaliers were clicking on all cylinders and simply couldn’t be stopped even when it seemed like there was no play there.

After the game, Cavaliers’ J.R. Smith described James’ athleticism and the self alley-oop in the best possible way, “he’s a Gatorade baby, he was probably made in a lab somewhere.”

James, at age 32 and 50,000 minutes, seems like an 18-year old kid playing in the high school gym. He’s still at the peak of his physical powers and showing off his dominance to the world in this one play.