LeBron James is going to a 10th NBA Finals — and for the first time in a decade, so are the Los Angeles Lakers.
James punctuated his 27th career postseason triple-double with a big fourth quarter, powering the Lakers to a 117-107 victory over the Denver Nuggets to win the Western Conference finals in five games.
James finished with 38 points, 16 rebounds and 10 assists to become the fourth player to reach 10 NBA Finals.
According to the Elias Sports Bureau, James improves to 38-10 (.792 win pct) all-time in closeout games. That is the best record by a player in NBA postseason history (min. 25 games).
Here are some more amazing LeBron stats and reaction to his latest jaw-dropping performance.
LeBron James clinched his 10th #NBAFinals appearance tonight, joining Kareem Abdul-Jabbar (10), Sam Jones (11) and Bill Russell (12) as the only players in NBA history to appear in at least 10 NBA Finals! pic.twitter.com/uKz92qgu0u
— NBA (@NBA) September 27, 2020
LeBron now has more NBA Finals appearances than all but three franchises 🤯 pic.twitter.com/N1C0nqfVcX
— ESPN (@espn) September 27, 2020
Playoff triple-doubles by a player 35 or older:
4 — LeBron James
3 — Rest of NBA history combined (Chris Paul, John Stockton, Elgin Baylor) pic.twitter.com/Ok3H5s9DV6— StatMuse (@statmuse) September 27, 2020
LeBron James (Cleveland Cavaliers, Miami Heat, Los Angeles Lakers) is now the only player in NBA History to average 25+ PPG in the postseason heading into the NBA Finals with three different teams. pic.twitter.com/cuq7OZwfra
— NBA.com/Stats (@nbastats) September 27, 2020
LeBron James recorded his 4th triple-double this postseason. The last @Lakers player to record at least 4 triple-doubles in a single postseason was Magic Johnson in the 1991 playoffs. pic.twitter.com/Rcl1cAxxFR
— NBA History (@NBAHistory) September 27, 2020
LeBron James joins Big Game @JamesWorthy42 as the only players with 30 points, 15 rebounds and 10 assists in Lakers playoff history. pic.twitter.com/iQWtCVvVrh
— Los Angeles Lakers (@Lakers) September 27, 2020
When LeBron James signed with the @Lakers he told us he would get us back to the NBA Finals and he’s definitely kept his word.
— Earvin Magic Johnson (@MagicJohnson) September 27, 2020
Another one! Congrts to my brotha @KingJames on his 10th final appearance. What we’re witnessing will never be replicated again.
— DWade (@DwyaneWade) September 27, 2020
What Bron did tonight was the Difference between a “Star” and “Superstar”…. He closed them boys out!
— Isaiah Thomas (@isaiahthomas) September 27, 2020
Lebron Lebron Lebron… We take him for granted so often!
— Manu Ginobili (@manuginobili) September 27, 2020
These two. pic.twitter.com/y0VZSBeKcS
— Los Angeles Lakers (@Lakers) September 27, 2020
