LeBron James Surpasses Michael Jordan in a Crazy NBA Finals Record in Orlando

The time has come when LeBron James is producing exactly what he was signed for. He is carrying the Lakers on his boulder-shoulders, just as expected. Whether he become the NBA Finals MVP or not is still far from getting its answer, but the odds do favor him.

The 35-YO veteran had been fortunate all along the NBA Playoffs 2020. None of the series involving the Lakers went past 5 games, and that allowed his aging body enough rest. The boy from Akron is averaging 26.7 points (above his regular-season avg) in the post-season. A repetition of this result against the Miami Heat is sure to seal the ultimate series for them.

LeBron James’ free-throws ‘Frito’ the Miami Heat!

The Miami Heat went out of the frying pan into the fire in Game 1 of the NBA Finals against the Lakers. First, they lost the first half 48-65, and then they had Jimmy Butler getting a sprain in his left ankle. 

On the other hand, for the Lakers, LeBron James converted each of his four free throws (in the first half) to settle for a climb in an NBA Finals record. He has now surpassed Michael Jordan and George Mikan to become the 5th player ever in the Finals history to touch 261 FTs.

The coveted list has Kobe Bryant sitting on #12 while Kareem Abdul-Jabbar on #9. Bron is the only active player in the only active player in the Top 5 as he is inching closer to beat Magic Johnson’s 284(3rd). In terms of the most FT attempts made in an NBA Final games, another Lakers legend, Shaquille O’Neal, leads the pack with 39. LeBron remains 20th on the list with 18 attempts against the Warriors in the 2015 NBA Finals.

The Lakers man never had it easy with FTs!

The three-time NBA Champion struggled with shooting free throws all his career. In fact, his career FT% took a sharp dip when he joined the Lakers in the 2018-19 season. The Akron Hammer recorded 66.5 FT% in that regular season, which implies he missed one in every three FT attempts. 

Take a look at this video where LeBron failed to convert the clutch FTs that cost the Lakers the game. They lost 142-143 in this October 23, 2018 game as Bron choked.

However, that story is long gone as LeBron James is dropping bombs against the Heat in NBA Finals 2020. Let’s see how the series unfolds for him in terms of game-changing FTs.