LeBron's Forgotten Playoff Series

LeBron James' first appearance in the playoffs is often neglected in conversations about his greatness in the post season, but the 2006 round 1 matchup against Agent Zero and the Wizards made for one of the best first round series of all time both in terms of entertainment and LeBron's individual performance. #basketball #commentary #nba

[@emmanuelc316]

The craziest take away stat I got from this vid is that Rusty is 23

[@fortynights1513]

He’s 23, and he’s been making videos for five or six years now I think

[@fazediamond5671]

Sure

[@immrlonelyihavenobody4176]

Facts, thought bro was atleast 28

[@Galilelo_Telescope]

It looks like he’s about 35.

[@sidneywhite5162]

@@Galilelo_Telescopemost white men after high school 😂

[@Gabriel-sh3ms]

This is why I hate people that say Lebron wasn't clutch until he started winning in Miami. He had plenty of playoff game winners and epic games in his first stint in Cleveland. 2 game winners in his FIRST series. the 25 conescutive points and game winner vs pistons. The 45 in game 7 vs Boston. The game winner vs orlando in 2009 whilst averaging 39 8 8. Oh and he led the league in 4th quarter scoring in the reg for 3 straight years from 2008-2010. He was arguably more clutch in Cleveland

[@juju-vl7oj]

I was gonna comment something similar. There's a weird thing that goes on with the perception vs the reality with Lebron for alot of fans. It's in large part to the fact the expectations have always been crazy high and he's been chasing a ghost of Michael Jordan his entire career. Because people hold him to a nearly impossible standard their perception is that he's never quite doing enough because in their imagination Jordan was just single handedly winning every game, never played poorly in the playoffs and came up big in every close game.

[@joel8692]

I agree that lbj was always clutch even in his first cle years. But it's misleading when u say he led the league in 4th quarter scoring a few years because I'm sure alot of those 4th quarter points he scored were when either his team were blowing the other team out or his team was getting blown out so the game wasn't on the line

[@Gabriel-sh3ms]

@@joel8692 unfortunately what ur sure about is wrong. Lebron. was scoring those 4th quarter points when the games were close, ive watched almost every available lebron game from the 2000s and he would absolutely take over in the clutch, more than he did in miami imo.

[@Gabriel-sh3ms]

@@joel8692 yup im right. 2007-08 season lebron led the league in clutch points at 4.9 ppg 1.1 pts higher than kobe who was no.2 2008-09 season Lebron was 2nd at 4.2 ppg. behind Wade at 4.4. 2009-10 he was 2nd at 4.6 ppg behind Kobe at 5.0. The kicker is that if you look at clutch points per min he leads all 3 seasons, because wade and kobe played more clutch time minutes per game than lebron which is why they averaged slightly more

[@Gabriel-sh3ms]

@@juju-vl7oj exactly right. Because theres very little footage of jordan available so they listen to what the media and other casuals say about jordan. They think he took every game winning shot, made every single one, never turned the ball over in the clutch and won every game. So when they see lebron missing a game winning shot or passing it they say Jordans never done that even tho theres evidence on youtube that he has just nobody bothers to find it because its not easily accessible.

[@fortynights1513]

One overlooked LeBron playoff series: The 2017 second round I believe it was 36 per game he averaged.

[@Arturo_Kilgore_Morgan]

I want to like this comment but it has 36 likes as I am typing this. Now I am sad cuz I know this will go away

[@farstrider4592]

Wasn’t that just Lebronto?

[@fortynights1513]

@@farstrider4592It was vs the Raptors.

[@matthewphilipp6115]

​@@fortynights1513no. Lebronto

[@themaverick_1937]

The series Bron was just toying the raptors, not even taking them seriously

[@iceeeyy3557]

I love it when we just appreciate great players, and not be comparing everything.

[@eyghen8529]

Exactly, it makes basketball more enjoyable, I just love ball from all decades..

[@fortynights1513]

That goes back to the closing statement of the goatmentary: “Appreciate Greatness”

[@Jeff_2x]

IMO LeBron's 2016-17 season doesn’t get talked about enough, felt like his offensive repertoire was clicking at the highest level like dang near 2018 level (E.g 2017 sweep vs Raptors where he averaged 36 on 57% shooting) broke MJ’s playoff record and despite losing in 5 in the finals he capped it off by averaging the most efficient and only 30+ pt triple double in Finals History.

[@juju-vl7oj]

Yea I agree. Lebron 2012-2016 he won 3 titles in 5 years with 5 finals appearances so it's the most successful stretch of his career but I think his peak was actually 2017 and 2018 playoff mode. The 2nd and 3rd best players Steph and KD at the time had to join forces with 2 other prime Hall of Famers Klay and Draymond and former Finals mvp 6th man Iguodala in my opinion greatest team of all time to overshadow Lebron's individual dominance. I know Lebron haters hate these hypotheticals because 4-6 makes them happy but Jordan or Shaq/Kobe wouldn't have any 3peats if they faced Lebron's finals opponents, especially not if their teammates were the 2015 or 2018 Cavs Lebron played with in the Finals. Even the 2014 Heat vs the Spurs wasnt all that even of a matchup because of Wade's knee issues. Averaged 19ppg on 54% during the season. 15ppg on 44% during the Finals. And the depth was all old and nearly washed.

[@fortynights1513]

@@juju-vl7ojIf you ask me, by his own standards, LeBron’s prime could be considered 2005-06 to 2017-18. That second half of it with those finals appearances and notable playoff performances, could be called his “prime within the prime”. Before then, he was just getting started, and after leaving Cleveland the second time, his true shooting hasn’t been the same at least in the playoffs.

[@funnbafan123]

@@juju-vl7oji know hypotheticals are stupid and this one prolly is, but they might have actually won in 2014 if bron didnt get cramps in game 1. they defo win that if he's healthy, and in reality they won game 2. so they go back to miami up 2-0 and i dont think miami blows that.

[@Brooklyn94269]

@@fortynights1513I would say his prime ended 2020, the bubble year. He still was playing at mvp level, elite playmaking and elite defense as well that year.

[@enjikap1217]

tbh if they don't have to face the golden state avengers in the finals I think 2017 goes down as an all-time year for lebron and the cavs

[@darthvader6120]

1st stint Cleveland Lebron is severely underrated when we talk about what version of him was him at his best

[@patrick05Morgan]

It’s not underrated it’s just pointless to bring up seasons that weren’t his best when the overwhelming majority of people already consider his heat years to be better. The media already spends time talking about what he had for breakfast every morning bro 😂.

[@somregularguy]

LeBron really has suffered from his success, he’s had incredible series’ that people didn’t think he could lead his teams over yet he done it countless times, eventually there’s only so much 1 player can do against much deeper, more experienced and well rounded teams. He’s not my GOAT but he’s definitely built a legendary historic career in his own right

[@yophaint4724]

Thank you for respecting greatness and giving credit where its due. I see to many Bron haters these days talk so bad about him its crazy.

[@sebastiangonzales46]

​​@@yophaint4724they talk non sense and out of context instead of forming a constructive criticism

[@yophaint4724]

@@sebastiangonzales46 Fr man it’s annoying

[@TheDAWinz]

I think his entire 05-06 season is completely overlooked. 31/32 ppg on 50-35 (on 5 attempts from 3 at the time) -74 and getting the cavs over 50 wins, def was the MVP in my eyes back then and still think he could of won over Nash. A lot of people kind of forget the early lebron years and dont actually sit down and watch how he actually played.

[@hiphophead4891]

And he took the defending conference Champs to 7 games

[@quackmemes5410]

Nash was the mvp stop it

[@justc1re617]

@@quackmemes5410I’m a huge Nash fan but Lebron’s 2005-2006 season is imo the most overlooked mvp caliber season in the last 20 years. There isn’t another season like it in terms of people just actively forgetting how amazing Bron was that year. The cavs were only competitive bc they could lean on arguably the best all around player the game has ever seen.

[@juju-vl7oj]

@@justc1re617 there's an argument LeBron was already the best player in the world by year 3 in 05-06 on 20/21 year old. There wasn't a clear #1. Nash was mvp, Kobe 35ppg arguably his greatest season, Duncan in his prime, Dirk in his prime got to the Finals, Wade was amazing in the Finals. Since it was so close between the 5 players I usually think of it as Wade's year for his epic Finals performance.

[@justc1re617]

@@juju-vl7oj yea I totally agree. I think Kobe and Duncan have arguments but so does Bron. He really carried terrible teams to the postseason routinely and got far multiple times and nobody talks about it enough. Nobody gives him credit for those first 7 years in Cleveland like he should get

[@tmac731]

20 year old Derrick Rose put up 39 and 11 in his first playoff game

[@juju-vl7oj]

Forgot about that. He averaged 19ppg in 44minutes per game in the 7 game series loss though so understandable it was forgotten.

[@tmac731]

@@juju-vl7oj I don’t see how it was forgotten when Bulls v Celtics first round 2009 is one of the greatest series of all time. 7 games, 1 game ot, 2 games 2ot, 1 game 3ot

[@juju-vl7oj]

@@tmac731 Well just by definition, game 1 of Round 1 is litterally the least important playoff game , playoff stakes don't get any lower than that and very few performances in game 1s are remembered. I don't mean to say it has no importance but it would mean alot more if was game 7 or a must win game.

[@fortynights1513]

@@juju-vl7ojIf we are talking about first games of round one, one performance that deserves mention and never gets brought up: In Game 1 of the 2003 playoffs, Allen Iverson had a 55 point game on 74% true shooting and I believe 63% from the field, as well as eight assists (which led to 17 further points, so 72 scored or assisted on). And he did it against a top five to ten defense that year in the Hornets. That’s seven more points and roughly 20% better from the field than his finals performance in a game that didn’t even go into overtime.

[@funnbafan123]

@@fortynights1513donovan mitchell also had a game 1 vs the nuggets, 6th best defense in the nba, where he scored 57 pts with 9 rebounds and 7 assists 57.6 from the field 40% from 3 and 100% from the ft line 73.6% true shooting. but the jazz lost by 10

[@shawswervoo]

Probably the most overlooked series of his career. He use to kill DC every playoff series lol.

[@fortynights1513]

It’s probably overlooked because of everything he’s done since.

[@shawswervoo]

@@fortynights1513I think it might be because of Gilbert’s injury. Lebron & Gilbert both had a playoff duel against each other which people unfortunately forgot about it which is why it gets overlooked.

[@richardliu7838]

Before this video I did know about Lebron and Arenas dueling each other with 30+ppg each in this series, and ofc everyone knows about the game 6 Arenas free throws, but yeah I have never seen this talked about as one of Lebron's classic playoff performances until today.

[@shawswervoo]

@@richardliu7838 same, Gilbert’s injury flip the script & made the series forgettable. Gilbert & Lebron both dropped 40 in the same which was insane.

[@fortynights1513]

@@richardliu7838It’s probably overlooked in general because it was a first round series in a season where his team didn’t go all the way, and by someone who has won championships since.

[@jorgearias1324]

Watching lebron vs agent zero was insanse as a kid. Never forget lebron walking up to arenas during that free throw. Cold blooded

[@rome8180]

Luka Doncic would have a case for a better playoff debut if it wasn't for the turnovers. He had 42 points on 13-21 shooting to go along with 7 rebounds and 9 assists. Unfortunately for his case, he had 11 turnovers. Also, the Mavs lost. But that said, he was going up against a much better team in the Kawhi/PG Clippers at full health.

[@g.o.a.tjames8861]

Luka doesn't get enough credit because he loses to Great teams (GSW & Healthy Clippers)

[@funnbafan123]

@@g.o.a.tjames8861fr even took the clippers to game 7 and had a buzzer beater in game 2.

[@briant1745]

Luka has been cooking in the playoffs, if they built around him better we could see Dallas in contender territory

[@MRHIMDOWNSTAIRS12]

You’re right the only difference is bron was doing it on both ends

[@t99155]

Rusty got that real life Toy Story Pixar face type build

[@akeme25]

This series was the first time I started watching LeBron more frequently. Of course, I knew who he was and knew he was one of the best players in the game, but I didn’t see him on TV much and only saw him when the Cavs played the Nuggets. So to actually watch him for the first time and watch him go off like that was just mind-blowing for me

[@moneymoney3235]

At 38 In year 20 too.

[@akeme25]

@@moneymoney3235 Exactly I was 14 when I first watched him. Now I’m 31 and he’s still killing it lol

[@Gio-pn9qn]

Luka had 42 9 and 7 but did have 11 turnovers but I think it was worth mentioning

[@joshuaatehortua7352]

I was waiting for him to mention luka in the conversation of other players cause luka holds the record for the most point in a playoff debut

[@adamstallings1196]

"A team with a gunslinger lead guard", I see what you did there

[@carlpeterson8279]

Luka’s first playoff game: 42 pts, 9 ast, 7 reb, 11 to Great video, Rusty

[@TakeoneDoe]

this is one of your best videos ever. reminds me of early Dom 2k. great editing, informative, and a great topic i havent seen on nba youtube

[@asherjohnson6678]

Man I forgot all about him! What happened to him, do he still make videos?

[@TakeoneDoe]

@asherjohnson6678 he became more of a twitch streamer. But he's back to making videos like this check put his latest work

[@joelman1989]

That “you know if you miss this one that’s game” had me dying of laughter. The mind games is crazy.

[@connorl618]

All these years I hear the intro😂 just now subscribing….. a left a like👍🏼

[@joshuacachon3610]

Great video Rusty 🔥🔥🔥

[@ACFord]

23. Dang, RB ... you're a kid!

[@ballerboi4980]

mans mentioned drew gooden and then showed a pic of Danny Gonzalez lol

[@Professional_Dirtbag_Hippie]

Okay but what about Luka’s first playoff game? Or DRose’s first playoff game

[@fortynights1513]

Those two had games that were better than several mentioned. Luka in particular was 42 points, 7 assists, and 9 rebounds, and is certainly in the discussion.

[@aracno4460]

Trae young’s was tuff too

[@hotterthanasuntheiii2918]

@@fortynights1513he had 11 turnovers tho

[@rustybuckets]

Honestly I was thinking strictly LeBron in comparison to all time greats. Not LeBron vs every debut playoff performance.

[@aracno4460]

@@hotterthanasuntheiii2918 fax

[@flipflopzg]

Luka's first ever playoff game at age 21 was a solid 42 7 9 in the bubble on 63%, 33%, 93% splits. He did have 11 turnovers though... He ended the series that they lost 4-2 with 31 9,2 9,8 averages...

[@JerAld2229]

I was a Bron hater during this time and I was a witness. Never seen someone so young and make the right plays almost every possession, I was so furious I always turn off the tv and left wondering how.

[@vick0602]

it would be really cool if u could do some world cup coverage from a team usa pov. Greetings from Spai, we want to repeat as world cup champs :D

[@JoshTph]

@ 5:09, "A gun slinging guard"😂😂😂😂

[@dansimpson5056]

One of your best vids fs never knew this about bron def should get talked about more let’s be real bron is really the most dominant player of all time even tho I love Shaq

[@asdfoio]

not forgotten with wiz fans. i was mind blown every time they gave LeBron a layup winner in the final minute so often. loved agent zero. if it wasnt for injuries, i would speculate hed be in the conversation with Curry and Magic for greatest PG ever

[@jahnelss]

I turn 33 this year Greatest first round of all time: Celtics vs Bulls Yall already know where im going with this 😎

[@davidmartinez52420]

That was one of the best playoff series regardless of round, but it's definitely been forgotten because it was a 1st round series

[@anthonycobbs8000]

The gill disrespect is wild, that man is the blue print for guards today lol

[@javiercuevas292]

I take Luka first ever playoff game over lebron's Luka 42 7 9 With much better efficiency from the field and ft line yes luka had 11 turnovers but played less minutes and tougher competition

[@MikeBeltMikeBelt]

we get it, hater, lol

[@poly_g6068]

You say tougher competition but neither Kawhi or Paul George averaged 29ppg that season like Gilbert Arenas did.

[@2nifty201]

@@poly_g6068pg and kawhi can actually guard/matchup with luka and lebron. Gil was a guard that didn’t play defense. And though arenas averaged 29 both pg and kawhi are clearly better

[@user-pm1fn8dv5q]

Paul pierce had a fire first playoff stat line honestly, 31, 3, 11 with 3 blocks and 4 steals

[@RonquixoteDIII]

A top 10-20 lebron james series is something I would love to see.

[@AlbaSoldier09]

Worth mentioning: Kobe was 18 years old and played 1 minute in that game. LeBron was 21 years old and played 48 minutes. The only reason I write this is because he just brushed Kobe's game off without explaining the context. All playoff debuts are not created equal.

[@davidmartinez52420]

I think it's funny how you showed Drew Gooden's Twitter page after you showed a picture of Danny Gonzalez thinking he was Drew Gooden...lol

[@socksonfeet8125]

I remember this series. I think this is why people always hate on Lebron because he rarely ever played like this again in the playoffs, he just took over when he needed to. He became a smarter player over the years but his athleticism never took over quite like he did in the early days.

[@orlandowright2323]

8:03 Thats not even the KZbin Drew Gooden, thats Danny Gonzalez 😂

[@andrewufot5617]

Lukas first playoff game: 42 7 9

[@bluesnem8396]

11 tov

[@kingdinodragonite3470]

​@@bluesnem839642pts on just 21 shots tho. Played a better team

[@colesymans8654]

DeAaron Fox dropped 38 in his playoff debut

[@bpmachete]

Many of the players named didn't miss the playoffs for their first two years of professional ball either... I love the edit that didn't show the 4 steps but at least you said it. Btw Arenas, Agent 0 defense, is the second worse defender of all time.

[@Mistadgaf1998]

Lukas first playoff game should've at least been mentioned

[@devinsanidiot1150]

You should make a video of the Lebron and wizards rivalry

[@jxybear6178]

so much pain for us wizards fans....

[@benflis1618]

Good video idea

[@OathBoy_562]

Those Cavs jeresys are ELITE

[@robertmoore294]

I look at LeBron as the next Michael Jordan at that era because that game was still feeling like the 90s basketball.

[@colewrld901]

This series fucked me up, because on one hand lebron was an Alien, but on the other hand i was a huge gilbert fan, so seeing him get punked at the line by bron was brutal lol

[@TDK11410]

I’m going to have to disagree with him having the best playoff debut as personally I’d give it to Luka who had 42pts 7 rebounds & 9 assists with 3 steals on 62% from the field against Pg & Kawhi (also the clippers where considered title favourites by a big group of nba fans or at least favoured to come out of the east)

[@winter9242]

His turnovers hurt him though

[@Deuce1042]

Luka had 11 turnovers though.

[@younggod3906]

As A Wizards Fan This Series Hurts . Questionable Officiating Also. All In All LeBron Was A Different Animal

[@ovojdabanks210]

Okay but don’t forget about 2011. The one they try to make you forget

[@sebastiangonzales46]

Nah people will always bring that up, without that 2011 meltdown bron wouldn't be the best in this era. After that loss it literally shaped him to be a better player overall. At the same time it's also a big stain on his legacy

[@kobe2kallday]

​@@sebastiangonzales46I think he mean't the 2011 playoffs because lebron was soooo good in the playoffs but people tried to forget that because of the finals, now if he is talking about the finals it self I don't know why he bring that up because it's 12 years ago

[@wyattfriend7360]

Series like this really open your eyes to the fact that this man had the best individual career ever. He had the difficulty level turned up to the max. You wanna say 6 vs 4. 6 for 6 in the finals. Well Lebron faced and defeated challenges Jordan never had to face. MJ was on the super team. So much lies told about Lebron its the dumbest thing in sports, because people have so many wrong ideas about Bron. He's the best ever. You put a bulls team around him or a great organization like that. I think it's 10 rings. But Lebron went to the finals 10 times... and was the BEST player every time (except 2011) Thats actually enough. The best player ever.. might lose to 2017 GSW or Spurs. on the Cavs!

[@aliciagonzales8351]

That drew gooden joke was funny

[@justsomejusstsome8994]

however that was Danny Gonzalez. Or am I missing that part of tje joke

[@Purlypurlington]

I knew 44% on 8 attempts sounds fishy (it is even considering this) but when you said “that’s like 30 attempts in todays game” I was like 😭😭😭😭😭

[@MikeBeltMikeBelt]

Most of the ESPN experts had the Wizards winning this series. Gil was on fire and their supporting cast was just better. They felt that LeBron would just not be ready or have the help - well, one of those were still true :p

[@akwesirobinson1710]

I feel like lebron be magic 2009 was underrated because dude literally almost put up 39 9 9 vs the dpoy but because he lost they forget About or down play it and prime Gilbert arenas is underrated and he would always compete with lebron in those series

[@hanad7018]

Celtics v bulls 2009 best first round series ever

[@egantheman8765]

Undisputed Consensus GOAT

[@MrOctober44]

Rusty still acting like he's only 23. 😂😂

[@ClutchRoyl]

Gotta say Lukas playoff debut (42,7,9 and 3) may bethe greatest of all time

[@ayyyayay]

Didnt know much ab the wizards series, all ik before continuing to watch this video is he absolutely demolished gilbert arenas

[@LilRick96]

Gil averaged 34, 5, 5 with 2 stls on 46 % fg and 43% from 3. How did he demolish Gil? 🤔

[@ayyyayay]

@prettyrickyd47 minutes after making the comment i learned gilbert was also having an amazing series, i just forgot to the delete this L tbh

[@user-dp8ij2ev3f]

And this was his first playoff series lmao. Bron has been clutch for nearly 2 decades now.

[@dontworryidontknowwhereyou7972]

Nah I’ve definitely seen this video before

[@dallinbarnes1672]

Can’t discredit d rose first playoff series. Was hoping it was brought up. Still, could talk all day about underrated LeBron series’s

[@thefrankster875]

Rusty please discuss whether or not Stephen Curry’s really the best he’s ever been

[@fortynights1513]

Another few overlooked playoff series: Michael Jordan averaged 45 in his first playoff series win against Cleveland in 1988. Magic Johnson averaged a triple double in the 1983 western conference finals. And Kobe averaged 35 vs the Kings in 2001.

[@JonnyC]

Nobody was talking about blud

[@fortynights1513]

@@JonnyCdoesn’t mean they didn’t play well. Was mentioning those because I don’t see anyone bringing those up like the series in this video.

[@1vaultdweller]

Kobe averaged a pathetic 7.5 points in his first playoff series 8.8 in his second 11.3 in his third 3,7 in his fourth 10.0 in his fifth That series in 2001 was like his 34th playoff series lmao Dont get coy

[@1vaultdweller]

Jordan averaged 29.3 points in his first playoff series in 85 He went from an efficient %51 shooting from field in regular season to a below league average %43 shooting in playoffs

[@fortynights1513]

@@1vaultdwellerIt most certainly wasn’t one of his first playoff series. But could it be said to be one of his best?

[@kylinmooney167]

Lebron is the greatest player ever period

[@LetMeEatDem]

They named a whole territory after him lmao

[@King_Mupasi_77]

Luka Doncic first ever playoff game, 42 pts, 9 ast , 7 rebounds, younger against prime HEALTHY! Kawhi and PG 🤷

[@kobe2kallday]

He bearly got guarded and turn the ball over 11 times

[@SaiyanStrengthh]

Probably a legitimate argument to whether LeBron or Luka's first playoff game was better. Luka fell short of a triple-double, but just barely.

[@CahlilWesson]

and brons statline was more pts,reb,ast

[@CahlilWesson]

its gonna be weird in 5 yrs when bron retires and luka takes over and everyone compares him to bron like they did bron and jordan

[@SaiyanStrengthh]

Not more points. Luka's debut playoff game was 40 or 42, I don't really remember

[@juju-vl7oj]

@@CahlilWesson I love Luka but I don't know if I believe he'll have nearly a decade as arguably the #1 guy and in the championship picture every year like LeBron from 2009-2018. I think Luka can win a ring or 2 but I think Jokic and Giannis will still own at least the next 2-3 years. Then Luka will be in year 8 or 9 27 or 28 the age alot of alltime greats not drafted into amazing situations with Hall of Fame teammates won their first title. But then I think it's possible Wembenyama owns the league.

[@moneymoney3235]

Lebron haters gonna be mad at this one. They still made no other player can perform like him on the biggest stage. Lead both teams in points,assist, steals, blocks, and rebounds. Your favorite player has not performed better or had a better finals. FACTS 🐐

[@Jeff_2x]

Funny enough, this series is mostly known for LeBron touching Gilbert Arenas on the shoulder 😂

[@yewotheu8434]

Luka Doncic scored 42 points and added 7 rebounds, 9 assists and 3 steals in Game 1 of the 2020 First Round

[@MrTheKamir]

I thought you were like 29-31 :O

[@More-Sauce-Man]

No one forgot. It just doesn't do anything to change the Lebron conversation. It's just a part of his great, Hall of Fame career. That's all.

[@doktor3196]

And that right there made him the greatest player of all time. Also because Nick Wright keeps saying it.

[@brookemcneal147]

MJ's first playoff game he was a rookie vs the division winning 59 win Bucks who were the 2 seed...Lebron's first playoff game wasn't til his 3rd season vs the 41-41 Wizards.

[@ElliotScottDating]

I try telling people this but they don't wanna believe jt. Jordan also had srug addicts as teammates and the worst record in franchise history the year prior to his rookie year. Going against a 59 win bucks as a fuckin rookie. LeBron wasn't even making the playoffs until they traded for Larry Hughes and still lost to a 41 wizards team lol

[@brookemcneal147]

@@ElliotScottDating ... Exactly...And yet you have never heard anybody saying some dumb shht like "Lebron couldn't win til Larry Hughes" or whatever like they do with MJ. Even tho that's literally what happened,Lebron couldn not and did not make the playoffs period til LH got there,a *15 ppg contributing starter*. Scottie averaged *7.9 ppg off the bench* his first year with MJ and yet jackass clowns run a round talking that 'MJ couldn't til Scottie' stuff. Pure clown-ness.

[@jamesmarshall6619]

And at age 19 and 20 Jordan was the best player in college basketball and didn't get back to the Final Four. LeBron was playing in the NBA. Jordan is still the greatest but if we're going to punish LeBron for his first two years in the league at 18/19 and 19/20, then we should criticize Jordan for not getting to the Final Four at North Carolina when he played on a stacked team at 19 and 20.

[@brookemcneal147]

@@jamesmarshall6619 ... Huh?...So because Lebron didn't make the playoffs til his 3rd season and i posted that fact,it means he's being punished? And then,you have it completely backwards...Every MJ hater or Lebron fan for the last 7-8 years has regurgitated "MJ couldn't beat Larry Bird" or " MJ couldn't make it outta at he first round" or "MJ was 1-9 bla bla bla" anytime they're in a comment section arguing against MJ. Well all of those 'criticisms' are about MJ in his first 3 season's pro.The tv clowns leave that out. So i simply posted what Lebron did his first 3 season's pro by comparison...and you call it a punishment. Oh and college has nothing to do with this.The Goat is a professional distinction.

[@j-rey-]

I will preface this by saying that Lebron is my 1B to Jordan's 1A, and I don't actually believe my following statement, it is just what I have heard from other basketball fans. The opinion I have heard is that it is kind of a biproduct of how humans handle stress. There is a huge difference between performing well during the first 47 minutes of an important game versus being able to drain a make or break shot at the last second of said game. I know it has happened more than once, but I can only recall when he made a last second layup against (the Pacers) Paul George in 2013 or 2014. I think that is why people say Lebron is not clutch. Those final seconds are like being hunted by a T-Rex. Your cortisol levels are insane and you are barely able to stop shaking. Jordan was able to hit those shots, especially when it was most important (game 6 vs Jazz), but Lebron was never able to make a buzzer beater for a SIGNIFICANT playoff win. And when I say "significant," I mean not in a weak eastern conference playoff run.

[@sephirrothvt]

How about luca's?

[@taj3618]

Luka had 42 9 7 in his first playoff game

[@carlesbertranpujol]

Luka was amazing in his first playoff series as well, maybe he's the one to compare him to

[@patrick05Morgan]

Conveniently doesn’t mention that luka had a better playoff debut than lebron when he had 42 points and 9 assists against the clippers.

[@jamesmarshall6619]

because he had 11 turnovers, that's a lot of turnovers. Doesn't mean his debut was bad, it was still really good but if you hit double digit turnovers then hard to qualify as best. He was great overall that series, just needed someone else to step up.

[@urbaindelva7869]

​@@jamesmarshall6619 His teammates did step up during that series. The Clippers were just able to overcome that.

[@wyattfriend7360]

My guess, 2009 vs Magic

[@brockjensen2473]

That’s my goat

[@JerAld2229]

then he took the mighty pistons to 7 games, unreal

[@xzzz444x9]

2007,2011 ,2014,2015,2017,2018,

[@donnydutcher3310]

Only valid criticism is for 2011 and 2015, 2014 is a maybe but the spurs played so incredibly that its hard to criticize anyone for losing to them

[@etanabu2232]

bro put 2018 like it wasn't one of the most insane runs from a one man team

[@donnydutcher3310]

@Zayden842 i dont think theres much blame, i just think its the most winnable finals out of the other ones

[@captaintre44]

Lebron hate is so weird…. So are we using MJ first 6 years in the league against him?

[@xzzz444x9]

@@captaintre44 it’s not hate , just posting his other amazing performances

[@diegochavez6203]

Kobe average 35.9 and 7. Versus the Kings and 33, 7 and 7 versus the Spurs at age 21 but I guess this is impressive too

[@jarrettwashingtonjw]

How about 2020 Luka?

[@kaseemburr4825]

I’m gonna miss him when he retires

[@danimalman3]

Man those gold wizards jerseys were so underrated.

[@jahnelss]

Shid, who forgot? YOU?! I WOULD NEVA 😎🤌🏿

[@matthieusaade3616]

Luka's 1st playoffs game at 21yo (2020) against 2 of the best defenders in the game Kawhi+ PG , plus Morris trying to injure him 42pts 7 Reb 9ass 3 steals on 61% shooting. How is that not better than LeBron first game ?

[@DgSezn]

If you actually watched the series he was barley being guarded by them because of the amount of switches he got himself off pg and Kawhi into a better matchup like Pat Bev or Marcus Morris

[@matthieusaade3616]

​@@DgSezn And why was that ? They didn't want to get embarrassed by a chubby. Rookie Luka made PG touch the ground 1v1 . It doesn't change the facts , Rusty's talking like LeBron first playoff game was the best individually when it was not .

[@kobe2kallday]

@@matthieusaade3616 luka barley got guarded and still got 11 turnovers nobody said lebron playoff debut was the best he is talking about the unforgetful games lebron had in the 06 playoffs

[@DgSezn]

@@matthieusaade3616 you did not watch the series Pg and Kawhi wanted to guard him you could literally see Luka call for a screen to get Pat Bev on him on his game winner Whenever Pg and Kawhi had Luka on them they destroyed him and didn’t call for screens for them to get guarded by Thj or Jalen Brunson

[@lumilikha]

This was when he did the stupid "crab dribble" thing

[@Marshall0722]

Nope. I checked out as soon as he mentioned the Wizards. Three years straight Lebron faced them and the 1st round. They were barely even a .500 team each year and part of the reason the eastern conference was call the NBA Least. A franchise that hasn't even won 50 games during a season since 1979. No shade on Lebron because he is one of the greatest players ever, but the Wizards is not something to mention because they were average at best and it took Lebron 6 games to beat them.

[@dsantrix5154]

Orlando magic series

[@adanmxml9226]

My brother you are 23 ? ?????? Come on mannnnn

[@thicc8098]

i couldve done that tbh

[@VikingsGoingAllTheWay]

No way your under 33

[@ericbarr8285]

I don't think he traveled