LeBron James has done it again. The Los Angeles Lakers superstar has been rather quiet (by his standards) in the last few games, with him turning in a routine 20 to 30 point performance everything. We were bound to get another statement game from him in the next few days, especially with the media coverage around him and his team heating up again.
Well, we got that statement game from LeBron James, and it was one hell of a performance. Against the Golden State Warriors in a crucial regular-season game, the Lakers star flexed all of his muscles to the tune of 56 points and 10 rebounds. It's the kind of performance that can easily be the best game of any other player's career.
For LeBron, though, it's another blip on his long list of statement games. Let's see where his 56-point outburst against the Warriors rank in his all-time list.
5 biggest LeBron statement games of all-time, ranked
5. March 5, 2021 vs. Warriors (56 points, 10 rebounds, 3 assists, 19-31 FG)
Unsurprisingly, this vintage performance from LeBron ranks below many of LeBron's best statement games of all-time. It's not because his performance here was lacking, though: far from it. The Lakers needed every single point LeBron scored for them, and he did so in tremendous fashion. After lamenting the fact that he's not being respected as a scorer, LeBron proved that he's one of the greatest bucket-getters in history.
The knock on this game, though, is the fact that it happened in the regular season. Yes, it was against the new-look Golden State Warriors, who are one of the best teams in the league. Yes, he's 37 when he did this. However, the stakes are pretty low in this game, especially compared to some high-intensity playoff games we'll be seeing later.
The King is now the 4th player to score 50 points past the age of 37. A lot of buckets in this short list 🙌
LeBron James
Kobe Bryant
Jamal Crawford
Michael Jordan pic.twitter.com/RcQ1NHKNDU— ClutchPoints (@ClutchPointsApp) March 6, 2022
4. 2018 NBA Finals Game 1 vs. Warriors (51 points, 8 rebounds, 8 assists)
The 2018 NBA Finals is best remembered for JR Smith's unfortunate gaffe and LeBron's subsequent reaction to said fail. However, lost in all that meme sauce is the fact that LeBron had one of the best individual performances in Finals history in that game.
With only Kevin Love as his sidekick, LeBron took the heavy lifting on his broad shoulders. A 50-point near-triple double almost stole Game 1 from the hands of the Warriors, until Smith inexplicably forgot the score and assumed they were leading, sending the game to overtime. The Cavs would lose the series, and LeBron would move to the Lakers in the offseason.
3. 2007 Eastern Conference Finals Game 5 vs. Pistons (48 points, 9 rebounds, 7 assists)
Young LeBron James was a completely different beast than the Lakers LeBron we see today. Back then, James was a physical freak, a near-unstoppable force of nature who can get to his spots at will. He was a nightmare to defend back then, but in a completely different way than we see today.
His Game 5 performance against the Detroit Pistons during the Eastern Conference Finals is a prime example of his excellence. Against a stout Detroit defense, James looked superhuman at times, with no one able to touch him. He would finish the game in incredible fashion, scoring the last 25 points for the Cavs to take a 3 – 2 series lead.
2. 2016 NBA Finals Game 7 vs. Warriors (27 points, 11 rebounds, 11 assists)
The 2016 NBA Finals remains as LeBron's greatest masterpiece. Despite winning titles in Miami and Los Angeles, that 3-1 comeback will always be the game that fans will use as the best argument to LeBron's title as the GOAT. The last three games of that series were all statement games for James.
It speaks volumes that his iconic Game 7 performance (with The Block and all) isn't even the best individual performance. However, the statement of winning that game and series will forever resonate with every fan who watched that moment.
1. 2016 NBA Finals Game 5 vs. Warriors (41 points, 16 rebounds, 7 assists, 3 blocks, 3 assists)
James has always been a monster when it comes to elimination games. The Los Angeles Lakers star has shone the brightest when he and his team had their backs against the wall. Facing a raucous Golden State Warriors crowd during Game 5 of the 2016 Finals, it was make-or-break time for James.
And boy, did he deliver. His 41-point double-double performance all but set the tone for the next two games of the comeback attempt. LeBron James issued a stern statement with that performance: that if you wanted to finish off the King, you better make sure you came at him with your best shot.
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