LeBron James made eight straight NBA Finals and — before that remarkable run — reached the NBA Finals at age 22 in 2007. Let's rank his best games.

5. 2007 East Finals, Game 5 vs. Pistons

Some iconic athletes have a first game — a first moment — in which they leave an unforgettable impression on the national and global sporting audience. Michael Jordan had Game 2 against the Boston Celtics in 1986. Magic Johnson had Game 6 of the 1980 NBA Finals against the Philadelphia 76ers. LeBron James had Game 5 of the Eastern Conference Finals in 2007 against the Detroit Pistons.

LeBron James scored 48 points in a 2-2 Game 5 on the road, which is impressive enough in its own right. What's far more significant is that the Cleveland Cavaliers needed every last one of those 48 points, winning 109-107 in double overtime.

The win catapulted Bron to a higher level of stardom, and eventually to his first NBA Finals. It also denied the Pistons a return to the Finals, a devastating moment for one of LeBron's early NBA rivals. This game cannot be left off the list.

4. 2015 East Semifinals, Game 4 vs. Bulls

The stat line wasn't pretty for LeBron in this game. He finished 10 of 30 from the field for 25 points, with 14 rebounds and eight assists. What mattered is LeBron's ability to play through pain, deliver for his team, and bail out his coach.

LeBron James rolled his ankle late in the third quarter, but soldiered on and played the rest of the game. He played high-level defense; the Cleveland Cavaliers held the Chicago Bulls to just 16 points in the fourth quarter, 84 for the whole game.

LeBron James — with his team trailing 2-1 in a best-of-seven series on the road — watched coach David Blatt signal for a timeout late in a tied game. The refs didn't notice it; they could have handed out a technical foul, since the Cavs were out of timeouts. Chicago could have taken a one-point lead; instead the Cavs got the ball in an 84-84 game.

Blatt wanted LeBron James to inbound the ball. LeBron — not for the first time and not for the last — vetoed the coach he would push out of Cleveland one season later. He got the damn ball, and he hit a tough, long, contested jumper from the left corner over Jimmy Butler to win the game at the buzzer.

If the Cavs had not won this game, they would have fallen behind 3-1 in the series. The second go-round in Cleveland might have been very different for LeBron James if he hadn't made that shot. It's a hugely consequential moment in his career even though the Cavs didn't win the NBA title that season.

3. 2016 NBA Finals, Game 5 vs. Warriors

The last three games of the 2016 NBA Finals represent LeBron's finest week as a professional basketball player. He never played a better stretch of three consecutive games. Game 6 deserves to be on this list, but the other examples here are just too important.

One could ask why Game 6 doesn't make the cut. Simply, the game was at home, and nemesis Andre Iguodala of the Golden State Warriors was hurt. The degree of difficulty was tougher in Game 5 on the road in Oakland.

LeBron James threw down 41 points with 16 rebounds, seven assists, three steals, and three blocks to deny the Warriors their championship party at home. As soon as Cleveland won that game, Game 7 not only became possible, but likely, setting the stage for Bron's greatest moment as an athlete.

2. 2012 East Finals Game 6, vs. Celtics

The greatness of a performance can flow from the raw stats and from the stakes involved. This game married the two more than any other game in LeBron's career.

LeBron James knew that if he failed to win Game 6 of the Eastern Conference Finals, he would have gone 0 for 2 in winning NBA championships in Miami.

LeBron James needed to silence his doubters and save the Heat's season in Boston eight years ago. He not only did that; he shot the ball as well as he ever has, going 19 of 26 for 45 points.

1. 2016 NBA Finals Game 7, vs. Warriors

Was LeBron James going to bring a championship to Cleveland, a historically snake-bitten city which had not won a pro sports title since 1964? That is the only question which mattered.

When LeBron made a late-game chase-down block of Iguodala and helped the Cavs secure their elusive title, LeBron had made good on his promise to Cleveland. He validated his career in the complete and eternal way he always hoped for.

LeBron James, after many struggles in Cleveland, delivered.