5 worst shooting performances by LeBron James across his NBA career so far

LeBron James is arguably the greatest player in NBA history, and his case could still be enhanced by greatness in the form of NBA championships, Finals MVP trophies and possibly surpassing Kareem Abdul-Jabbar as the all-time scoring leader in the history of the league.

Even though 'King James' isn't usually regarded as one of the best scorers ever, he is certainly a dominant scorer who's added several weapons to his offensive arsenal. We've seen him master the fadeaway jump shot, and he is an adequate three-point shooter, although he is not among the elite tier in that department.

LeBron James' career average of points per game is at 27 points per game in 1,311 games so far (regular season) and he ranks sixth in NBA history in terms of PPG and is virtually tied for the lead among active players with Kevin Durant.

Moreover, James' career field-goal percentage is at 50.4%, which is definitely impressive for such a long career. He's also made 35% of his three-pointers and has one scoring title to his name.

LeBron James' five-worst games in terms of field-goal percentage in his NBA career so far

However, there have been some off nights for LeBron James' offensively, which is normal. We saw him score eight points in Game 4 of the 2011 NBA Finals, and he has had a couple more games in which he did not look like himself.

In this article, we will give you LeBron James' five-worst shooting nights throughout his 19-year NBA career so far.

Without further ado, let us take a look.

Note: we will take games in which he played more than 20 minutes and attempted at least 10 field goals.

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#5 LeBron James vs Atlanta Hawks / 2003-04 NBA season

LA Lakers' LeBron James shoots against the Cleveland Cavaliers.

On November 22nd, 2003, LeBron James played in only the 14th game of his illustrious NBA career, and he struggled mightily against the Atlanta Hawks.

To that point in his career, LeBron James was putting up 17.6 points, 6.7 rebounds and 6.3 assists per game in his NBA career, but his 14th game was harsh.

In a nine-point loss for the Cleveland Cavaliers against the Hawks, James shot the ball 16 times and made three shots (18.8% from the field). He converted nine of his 10 free throws, but his 15 points were not enough for the Cavs.

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#4 LeBron James vs Dallas Mavericks / 2007-08 NBA season

Cleveland Cavaliers v Dallas Mavericks.

Coming off the first of his 10 NBA Finals' appearances in 2007, LeBron James was set to start the 2007-08 NBA season on a high, and certainly looked set to repeat his success from the 2007 NBA postseason and go a step further and win the title.

However, his 2007-08 NBA season got off to a rocky start. In the season-opening game against the Dallas Mavericks, LeBron James scored just 10 points in 36 minutes after making only two of his 11 field goals (18.2%).

He also had five turnovers and the Cavs were beaten easily by the Mavs on their own floor, with a 92-74 score.

#3 LeBron James vs New Jersey Nets / 2003-04 NBA season

LeBron James #6 of the LA Lakers shoots a three-point basket.

LeBron James had some rough nights in his rookie season, which was definitely normal for a player coming from high school and having lots of expectations, as well as a target on his back.

On February 11th, 2004, LeBron James was playing in his 50th career game in the NBA, and he had a terrible shooting night. Against the New Jersey Nets, who had played in the NBA Finals in the previous two years, James made just two of his 13 field goals (15.4%) and scored nine points in a 20-point loss at home.

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#2 LeBron James vs LA Clippers / 2003-04 NBA season

Photo Credit: AP.

In only the 19th game of his NBA career, LeBron James faced the LA Clippers on December 3rd, 2003, and 'The King', who was starting to heat up but lacked experience, scored just four points in 34 minutes of action.

Four points in an NBA game is the second-fewer points he's ever scored in a single game, and the lowest total in games in which he played more than 20 minutes.

James made two of his 13 attempts from the field (15.4%) and the Cleveland Cavaliers, expectedly, lost to LAC by 10 points on the road.

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#1 LeBron James vs Philadelphia 76ers / 2004-05 NBA season

Photo Credit: NBA.com.

In his sophomore year in the NBA, LeBron James established himself as one of the best players in the league, averaging 27 points, 7.4 rebounds and 7.2 assists per game in the regular season and appearing in 80 games.

He also made it to the All-Star Game for the first time in his NBA career, but certainly had two of the worst regular-season games of his career that year. On December 29th, 2004, James put up only three points in a loss to the Houston Rockets, but he played in just 17 minutes due to an injury, and missed all of his five field goals.

The other game, which tops this list in terms of his worst night in terms of shooting percentage, came on March 18th, 2005, when he made just three of his 20 field goals (15%).

In that game, against the Philadelphia 76ers, LeBron James did score 16 points after making 10 of 12 free throws, but his poor shooting night was too much for Cleveland to overcome and the team fell by 12 points at home against Allen Iverson and company.

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