Since 2011, LeBron James has dominated every team from the Eastern Conference standing between him and the Nba Finals. Yes of course, he had tons of help from his teammates and coaches, but he was the key point to every playoff run.

The first NBA Finals for LeBron James

The first time LeBron James attended the NBA Finals was in 2007 against the San Antonio Spurs. James was young, entering the finals at age 22. He had a monster season with a magnificent playoff run by blowing out the Washington Wizards 4-0, defeating the New Jersey Nets 4-2 and finally destroying the Detroit Pistons 4-2.

The King had an all-around excellent back-up in his squad with Zydrunas Ilgauskas under the paint having a great defensive presence, Larry Hughes outside the perimeter hitting three-pointers, Eric Snow calling the shots on the floor which helped with creating space and nine other players that contributed.

The Cavs were a threat in the East, but when it came to the finals they were a no-show team. It was like the Cavs were a completely different team against the Spurs by not making shots, not making plays, not making defensive stops and giving up at the end of all the games. San Antonio annihilated the Cavs in four games and swept them off the court & becoming the 2007 NBA Champs!

After losing to the Boston Celtics in the 2010 NBA Playoffs, LeBron decided to “take his talents to South Beach,” like he said.

The Miami Heat squad was a young, intelligent team with all-star shooting guard Dwyane Wade, all-star power forward Chris Bosh, and a deep bench to help the stars out. Miami abolished every team that stepped in front of them towards the NBA Finals, but then they face a talented Dallas Mavericks group with star forward Dirk Nowitzki which ended up being Miami’s kryptonite.

The Heat lost 4-2 against Dallas sending them back home disappointed.

The start of something special

The next year LeBron James was playing no games with these guys on the court. He was coming for something very special to him and achieved it. In the 2011-12 NBA regular season, James won the Kia NBA MVP and would lead his team to 46 wins which made them the 2nd seed in their conference.

Miami took out Carmelo Anthony & the Knicks, Paul George & the Pacers, and barely beat Paul Pierce & the Celtics. The Heat were headed to their third, but second straight NBA Finals and they were feeling great about themselves. LeBron, Wade, Bosh were locked and loaded when they faced Kevin Durant, Russell Westbrook, James Harden and the Oklahoma City Thunder. OKC took the first game of the finals, but then Miami said “no more!” Miami would end up winning the next four games making them champions once again in the NBA and making LeBron a first time NBA champion.

After LeBron won his first championship, his confidence went through the roof which led him to another MVP season and sending Miami on a 66-16 record through the NBA season.

During their run in the season, Miami went on a 27-game win streak towards the playoffs.

Once they got in the playoffs, they felt like no team can come between them to win another trophy. The Heat swept the Milwaukee Bucks in the first round, only lost one game against the Chicago Bulls in the second round and beat the Indiana Pacers in the Eastern Conference Finals.

In his third trip to the NBA Finals, LeBron would again go up against the San Antonio Spurs, but this time with more help. The series was tight until the end… literally. The Spurs went up 3-2 on the Heat and during game six a miracle happened. Ray Allen hit an amazing three-pointer to tie the game up right before regulation. In overtime, Miami came back to win it then won game seven which made them NBA champions for the second year in a row.

The very next year, Miami and San Antonio met again in the finals, but this time the Spurs wanted it more than the Heat. The Spurs came out strong and won the series in five games sending Miami back home to South Beach crying. After that disappointment, LeBron made a decision for himself to head back home to Cleveland to try to win a championship for them.

The King started the 2014-15 NBA season again in Cleveland with superstar teammates Kyrie Irving and Kevin Love. Throughout the regular season, they were clicking together and making a push for the playoffs. During the playoffs, the Cavs destroyed the Boston Celtics in four games, beat the Chicago Bulls in six games and dominated the Atlanta Hawks in four straight games headed into the NBA Finals once again.

Facing a young, talented, tough Golden State Warriors team; LeBron did not have Kevin Love om the court because of an injury and Kyrie Irving only played in game one then suffered an injury as well. The Cavs only won two games in the series after the Warriors took them out and became champions. James knew he would see them again because Golden State was too good of a team and they did face each other again in the 2016 NBA Finals.

This year the NBA Finals was completely different and was a tough series for both teams. Kyrie Irving & Kevin Love both participated in every game which made a HUGE difference. The series came down to game seven with two minutes left in the game and the score was tied.

LeBron made a game-saving block against Andre Iguodala then Kyrie made a cold-hearted shot over Stephen Curry to end the finals and bring a trophy to Cleveland.

Golden State was very upset with the outcome so, in the summer they had to make some changes and they did. The Warriors ended up signing Kevin Durant over the offseason which was a big help for them. Cleveland and Golden State met again for the third straight year in the finals and it was what everyone expected. The Warriors dominated the Cavs in five games & became world champions once again.

For the 2017-18 NBA regular season, there are only a few games left and playoffs are literally around the corner. The Cavaliers are not where they wanted to be at this point in the season, but they are still going to the playoffs locked in at the fourth seed.

The Toronto Raptors have clinched the first seed with the Boston Celtics trailing them by four games.

The Philadelphia 76ers are one game ahead of Cleveland at the third spot, but will most likely stay there. Now, there are many voices around the league and certainly outside of the league that say LeBron & the Cavs will not make this year’s NBA Finals, but who will take them out of the East? Toronto? Boston? Philly? These three top teams in the Eastern Conference have what it takes to eliminate Cleveland, but Cleveland has LeBron…

Over the last decade, LeBron James has been to the finals eight times and has been there seven times in a row. The way he has been playing lately shows that he can take over any game if he really puts his mind to it.

The squad that he has behind is not one of the top teams that he has ever had, but there are young, fast, defensive minded, very highly skilled and with James coaching on the court and giving them all the confidence they need; Cleveland can easily come out the East once again this postseason. LeBron James will make his ninth NBA Finals(his eighth in a row) and it will not be easy, but he will accomplish it.
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