Ranking the 10 best playoff series of LeBron James’ career

Cleveland’s LeBron James (23) during the Cavaliers 114-113 victory over the Wizards in the first round of the 2006 NBA playoffs, May 5, 2006 (Photo by Steve Deslich/MCT/MCT via Getty Images)

8. 2006: First Round vs. Washington Wizards (won series 4-2)

Series Averages: 35.7 points, 5.5 rebounds, 7.5 assists, 51.0 FG%, 47:15 minutes

LeBron’s introduction to the NBA Playoffs, or rather the NBA Playoffs’ introduction to LeBron, came against the Wizards in the first round of the 2006 playoffs.

In his first career playoff game, he turned in a triple-double with 32 points, 11 boards, and 11 assists while playing all 48 minutes. The Cavs beat the Wizards by 11 which made it the most lop-sided game of the closely contested series. Four of the six were decided by two possessions or less and three of the final four were one-point games.

At just 21, he scored 30 or more in five of six games including a pair of 40-point games, both wins for the Cavaliers. His 35.7-point average is the fourth-highest in his 45 career playoff series and the 47:15 minutes per game is the most he’s ever played per game for an entire series.

Best single-game performance: Game 5 (Cavs 121 – Wizards 120 OT)

Coming off a road loss, LeBron led the Cavs to a bounce-back overtime win with his second 40-point game of the series. He finished game five with 45 points, 7 boards, 6 assists, and sunk 17-of-18 free throw attempts. After scoring 14 of his team’s 22 fourth quarter points, he missed what would have been the game winning shot in regulation. He made up for the miss with 3.6 seconds left in OT when he came off took an inbounds pass, drove to the basket, and laid in the game-winner over a pair of defenders to give the Cavs a 3-2 series lead.