LeBron Proved He Is Next Michael Jordan During This Game

There’s an ongoing GOAT discussion in the basketball world. Lakers superstar LeBron James and Chicago Bulls legend Michael Jordan are the main stars. But, one thing stands for sure. It was more than obvious that LeBron would become an even greater star than Jordan. He showed it in one particular game.

LeBron averaged 20.9 points per game in his rookie campaign (2003-04). In his second year with the team, he averaged 27.2 points, 7.2 assists, and 7.4 rebounds. In 2005-06, LeBron averaged 31.4 points, seven rebounds, and 6.6 assists.

Is he better than Jordan? LeBron has made nine NBA Finals while the Bulls icon went to six. Jordan won six titles while LeBron has won championships. LeBron has 34,087 career points while Jordan snatched 32,292. Jordan was a five-time NBA MVP while LeBron has earned four MVP honors. LeBron has averaged 27.1 points, 7.4 rebounds, and 7.4 assists in his career. His rival has averaged 30.1 points, 6.2 rebounds, and 5.3 assists.

When did LeBron show the world that he was the next Jordan? It happened in his fourth NBA campaign.

LeBron was chasing Michael Jordan

King James led his Cavaliers to a 50-32 overall record in the 2006-07 season. He pushed the team to the Eastern Conference Finals against the Detroit Pistons. Detroit was trying to build a dynasty as they had made their fifth consecutive conference finals at the time. This experience helped them take a 2-0 lead in the series against LeBron and his Cavaliers.

In Game 1, King James only scored 10 points. He decided to pass on taking the game-tying or game-winning shot with 5.9 seconds left. Donyell Marshall took the shot. Sadly, he missed it. In Game 2, LeBron missed the game-winning shot with 7.9 seconds left. It was awful.

However, the Cavaliers won Game 3 and Game 4, though. LeBron had an incredible performance. He had 32 in Game 3 and 25 in Game 4. Game 5 was his game.

The final game was pushed into two overtimes and Cleveland won 109-107. LeBron was carrying his teammates on his back in that game. He scored the Cavs’ final 25 points on 11-of-13 shooting, forcing overtime on a dunk with only 9.5 seconds left. The Cavs won Game 5 in the second overtime on a layup with 2.2 seconds left. LeBron finished with 48 points, 9 rebounds, and 7 assists. The Cavaliers defeated the Piston in Game 6 and made their way to the 2007 NBA Finals. 

Detroit Pistons icon Richard Hamilton talked about LeBron’s performance a decade later. 

“I can remember when we played against LeBron James his rookie year, me and Tayshaun [Prince] said to ourselves, ‘When LeBron James figures it out, we’re going to be in trouble,’” the legend said. “So, when LeBron James scored those 25 straight points, it kind of reminded me of Michael Jordan in 1991, with him going against the Pistons all those years, and the year he got over the hump and beat them was similar to when LeBron scored the 25 straight points and beat us. We felt like we were in trouble — for not just that year, but years to come.”