Season Wrap-Up: LeBRON JAMES

var opponent = "playerfile"; //used in image formatting opponent-dateCode-page.jpg var dateCode = "150824"; var pageSelectorTag = "div" var pageSelectorClass = "article-section" var pageTitleTag = "h4"; var pageTitleClass = "key";

Comparing LeBron James to current players is a bit of disservice to both parties. The four-time MVP doesn’t put up numbers like most mere mortals. And this year, back in his hometown, he came two wins away from etching another chapter into his Hall of Fame legacy: almost single-handedly willing his shorthanded squad to the NBA title.

The Cavaliers all-time leader in … well … everything, LeBron’s first season back on the North Coast wasn’t without its bumps and bruises. But King James’ return was all that it was expected to be and more.

From the moment James appeared in the Cavaliers’ vibrant gold uniform on Media Day last September to the moment he strode off the podium following a disappointing Game 6 loss to the Warriors just over two months ago, he stuffed another season with memories that’ll last a lifetime.

During the regular season, LeBron posted another campaign filled with mind-blowing numbers.

He led the Eastern Conference in scoring at 25.3 ppg (3rd in the NBA) and was second in the East in assists, at 7.4 per contest. LeBron averaged 6.0 boards and 1.6 steals in his 12th season and even managed to turn a career-low into a positive – logging just 36.1 minutes in his 69 regular season starts.

By topping the 25.0 ppg mark for the 11th straight season, James joined Karl Malone and Jerry West for most consecutive in NBA history. And by notching double-figure scoring in all 69 games, he improved his consecutive streak to 641 – third-longest in NBA history. Despite missing 13 games, Numeral 23 was still one of only three players in the NBA to tally 1,700 points, 500 assists, 400 rebounds and 100 steals.

This season, LeBron led the team in scoring 37 times, in assists 49 times, in steals on 28 occasions, 18 times in blocked shots and in rebounding in nine contests. James had 52 games of at least 20 points, topped the 30-point plateau 18 times and posted three 40-point outings. In 35 games, he notched at least 20 points, five boards and five assists. The Wine and Gold were 30-5 in those contests.

Always one with a flair for the dramatic, Akron’s favorite son averaged 7.1 points in the fourth quarter this year, 2nd in the NBA; he scored at least 10 points in the fourth quarter in a team-high 16 games. He was third in the Association in road scoring at 27.2 ppg.

Throughout the season, James blew past team and league records like the litany of defenders who’ve tried to stop him.

At separate points, he passed Mark Price to become the Cavaliers all-time leader in both three-pointers made and assists. During a victory over Detroit, LeBron became the NBA’s all-time assist leader among frontcourt players – surpassing Scottie Pippen. Throughout the campaign he rose quickly through the league’s all-time scoring ranks, now resting at No. 20 – 279 points behind The Logo heading into next season.

Individually, LeBron was named the Eastern Conference Player of the Month in both February and March – his NBA-record 28th and 29th selections. James was named the East’s Player of the Week three times this year, upping his career total to 48 – also an NBA record.

In the 2015 All-Star Game at the World’s Most Famous Arena, LeBron – making his 11th straight appearance in the midseason classic – led the Eastern Conference with 30 points, adding five boards, seven assists and a pair of steals. He currently sits second on the all-time All-Star Game scoring list at 278 points – just two behind Kobe Bryant.

As great as LeBron was during the regular season, he was actually even better in the playoffs.

The Wine and Gold entered the postseason with a “Big Three,” but were down to their “Big One” by Game 2 of the NBA Finals. Through it all, LeBron’s herculean effort on an almost-nightly basis was the stuff of legend.

In the Cavs’ recent playoff appearance, James joined Oscar Robertson as the only other player to average 30.0 points, 11.0 rebounds and 8.0 assists in a single postseason – posting averages of 30.1 points, 11.3 rebounds, 8.5 assists and 1.7 steals over the course of Cleveland’s 20-game run. In those 20 games, he notched 14 double-doubles and three triple-doubles.

Against the Hawks in the Eastern Conference Finals, James almost averaged a triple-double: 30.3 points, 11.0 boards, 9.3 assists and 2.0 steals over the course of the four-game sweep. No player in NBA history has ever put up those numbers in a playoff series.

This spring, James became just the sixth player in NBA history to score at least 5,000 career playoff points. Over his postseason career, he’s been the outright leader in points, boards and assists on 37 different occasions – 24 more than the next-highest player on the list, Larry Bird (13).

In the NBA Finals against Golden State, with Kevin Love’s left arm in a sling and Kyrie Irving’s right leg in a cast, LeBron was superhuman – becoming the first player in history to lead a Finals series in points, rebounds and assists. Against the NBA’s top defense – and with that defense designed exclusively to stop him – James averaged 35.8 points, 13.3 rebounds and 8.8 assists over the course of the six-game series.

Overall, no matter how many records LeBron shatters or how many points, boards and assists he posts, his true value to the organization, the city, the league and the sport itself cannot be accurately measured by those digits. He is more than the game’s greatest player. He’s its ambassador, its gold-standard.

And he’ll be ready to do it all again when Training Camp tips off in just over a month from now.

LeBron James made a run at his fifth MVP award this season, but the King really went to work after the regular season wrapped up.

James simply posted too many great games this past postseason to single out just one. But his Round-by-Round highlights include …

*Notching 108 total points in Cleveland’s First Round series against Boston – giving him 831 against the Celtics all-time in the postseason. The only players with more career playoff points against Boston are Wilt Chamberlain, Jerry West and Elgin Baylor.

*One game after saving the Cavaliers season – draining a game-winning baseline jumper at the buzzer at the United Center to even their Second Round series with Chicago at two games apiece – LeBron went off for 38 points, 12 boards, six assists, three steals, three blocks and zero turnovers. He is the only player in league history to produce that stat line without a single miscue.

*In a dramatic Game 3 overtime thriller – and with both Kevin Love and Kyrie Irving out with injuries – LeBron put the squad on his sizeable shoulders, tallying 37 points, 18 boards, 13 assists and three steals. The last player to post a similar playoff stat line was Wilt Chamberlain in 1968.

*In the Finals, it’s even more difficult to decipher the highlight of the series. But Game 2 at Oracle Arena might have been his crowning moment. In that riveting OT victory, James notched his sixth career Finals triple-double – 39 points, 16 rebounds and 11 assists – as the Cavs evened the series before heading back to Cleveland.

For LeBron James to post a lowlight, he has to literally NOT be on the court. And that was the case from December 30 to January 11, when he missed a career-high eight straight games while nursing a cranky left knee and sore lower back.

During that time, the Cavaliers dropped seven of eight contests, including a five-game losing streak that saw the Wine and Gold sitting one game under .500 in mid-January. LeBron returned to the lineup on January 13 in Phoenix and, after dropping that contest, led his squad to 12 straight victories.

On an individual level, LeBron spoke openly about his efficiency level – something he takes great personal pride in – had taken a hit during the postseason. With Irving and Love sidelined, James was forced to pick up some scoring and rebounding slack and was taken out of his normally efficient overall game.

LeBron’s three-point shooting percentage and field goal percentage were his lowest in some time, as well. He shot under 50 percent from the floor for the first time since 2008-09 and was at just 23 percent from beyond the arc in the postseason.

Knowing the 11-time All-Star, he’s in a gym somewhere working that out right now …

This summer, LeBron expanded his range and made the move to the silver screen – co-starring with Amy Schumer and Bill Hader in Judd Apatow’s romantic-ish comedy, “Trainwreck.”

James drew rave reviews for his role – essentially playing himself, although much more frugal and with a penchant for the British period piece, “Downtown Abbey.”

”He approached it the same way that all of the other comedians and other actors did,” said Apatow of working with LeBron. “He never said, ‘Oh, I can’t do that. That would make me look weird.’ He was like a comic! He came in and he played, and he was loose, and he wasn’t precious… And then he improvised! A lot of the funniest things are things that he was improvising.”

24,913 … Career points for LeBron James, placing him at No. 20 on the all-time list heading into his 13th season.

This season alone, James surpassed Patrick Ewing, Ray Allen, Allen Iverson, Charles Barkley, Robert Parrish, Vince Carter and Adrian Dantley along the way.

LeBron James ... after winning the Eastern Conference title, capping a sweep of Atlanta with a 30-point victory at The Q …

“When I made my decision to come back here, I knew what I wanted to do, but I knew it wasn't going to be easy. It's going to take a lot of hard work and a lot of dedication, and it's going to be the toughest task for me to try to get this team back to The Finals. I've had to step up my leadership. I had to be very patient, which I'm not very patient. I'm not a very patient guy, but I knew I had to work on that. To be able to sit at one point during the season and see us at 19-20 and watching my team struggle and me sitting out two weeks, they wanted Coach Blatt fired, saying we needed another point guard, will LeBron and Kyrie be able to play together? So many story lines were just happening at that point in time. For us to be sitting at this point today being able to represent the Eastern Conference in The Finals, this is special. It's very special.”

LeBron is simultaneously the most dominant and predictable player in the league. But the only thing predictable about his game is his dominance. Since his arrival in the NBA, nobody has brought the consistent, sustained excellence that the 30-year-old father of three has.

And after last year’s jaw-dropping run, the only point to make about LeBron James is that if he was able to take the franchise to the doorstep of an NBA title without two fellow superstars and his starting center, imagine what heights he has in store for this season and beyond.