Ranking the 10 best playoff series of LeBron James’ career

LeBron James is one of the greatest playoff performers the NBA has ever seen. But when was he at his very best?

LeBron has been to the postseason each of the last 13 seasons. He’s won three NBA titles, three Finals MVP trophies, and compiled a playoff record of 156-83. On the career leaderboard, LeBron is number one all-time in playoff minutes (10,049), points (6,911), free throws (1,627), steals (419), Win Shares (51.0), and Box Plus-Minus (11.05) in addition to being second in rebounds with 1,756 and third in assists with 1,687.

I was three when Michael Jordan led the Bulls to their first title. I’ve watched MJ play somewhere around 150 times but since at least 100 of them were in repeated viewings of Space Jam, I tend to stay away from the Jordan vs. LeBron discussion (plus I think I heard someone mention that topic earlier this season and don’t want to rehash what’s already been covered). Without stepping into the greatness debate, I think it’s safe to say that LeBron James is the most well-rounded player in NBA history.

MJ has hit nine playoff game-winners to LeBron’s five and his 33.5-point scoring average in the playoffs is better than LeBron’s 28.9 points. But LeBron has close to 50 more steals, 600 more assists, and 1,000 more rebounds. Across multiple categories in multiple facets of the game, his name is followed by names like Jordan, Abdul-Jabbar, Duncan, Bird, Pippen, and Magic. While the most of the career leaders whose names surround his have long since retired, LeBron, at 33, is still playing the game at a level that rivals anyone at any point in their career.

While making his eighth-consecutive NBA Finals appearance, LeBron averaged close to 34 points, 9 rebounds, and 9 assists throughout the playoffs this season.

He’s carried undermanned, injury-riddled teams to the finals multiple times, has been the primary scorer, facilitator, coach on the floor, and the guy who shuts down the other team’s best player. He’s one of the smartest, least-selfish, and most durable players to ever set foot on a basketball court. He does everything, and even coming off of his eighth consecutive finals appearance, he shows no signs of slowing down.

Wherever he ultimately ranks on the list of the greatest players ever, it won’t be far from the top. He’s likely not done adding to this list, but so far, these are LeBron James’ ten best playoff series ranked number ten to number one.