The 2019 NBA Finals are the first to not feature LeBron James in seven years – a stunning accomplishment for one of the best players of all time. Beyond that, James has utterly dominated on the NBA’s biggest stage time after time, so much so that he has been the leading scorer in 5 of the past 7 Finals series. The player that bested him twice in total scoring? None other than the Golden State Warriors’ Kevin Durant.
Durant scored the most points in the 2012 and 2017 Finals, per ESPN:
Either LeBron James or Kevin Durant has led the NBA Finals in scoring in each of the last 7 years. pic.twitter.com/ucXUGhsVXo
— ESPN (@espn) May 28, 2019




As you can see, LeBron was dominant in his runs, including scoring over 200 points in the Finals for two straight years in 2015 and 2016. However, even last season, when he practically carried the Cleveland Cavaliers to the NBA Finals single-handedly – fighting through two tough seven-game series in the Eastern Conference – sandwiching a masterclass four-game sweep of the Toronto Raptors in between.
With James not even featured in the Playoffs this postseason, James will not be able to continue his streak, and with Kevin Durant missing the first game of the NBA Finals due to a calf injury he sustained in the second round of the Western Conference Playoffs, it seems likely that Durant will not be able to continue the streak on his end either.
This begs the question: Who will take the mantle of Finals leading scorer this year? Odds are it will be one of the biggest names in the series on either side of Stephen Curry or Kawhi Leonard, though a dark horse could always arise.