After appearing in 10 finals and winning four of them, LeBron James is on the NBA’s Mount Rushmore as one of the greatest to play the game. Before going into the amount of blocks that the 21-time NBA All-Star has piled up, let us look at the greatest block LeBron made on Andre Iguodala in the 2016 NBA Finals.
After tying the series up 3-3 in the 2016 NBA Finals, and making a remarkable comeback, there was exactly 1 minute and 51 seconds left in the fourth quarter where LeBron made the most iconic block in NBA Finals history. If Iguodala would have scored, Golden State would have won that game. The famous phrase “Defense wins championship,” is what exactly happened in Game 7 of the 2016 Finals. LeBron was the best player on the planet during his second time in Cleveland.
In 2015, when LeBron joined the Cleveland Cavaliers for the second time, fans were still bitter about how he had left the city before to play alongside Chris Bosh and Dwayne Wade. Kyrie Irving was the best player in Cleveland but he had no playoff experience prior to LeBron’s arrival. Irving was injured in the very first game of the Finals, and Kevin Love was suffering from a broken arm. The odds were against LeBron but it still took six games for Golden State to win the championship.
After the Game 5 loss against the Warriors in 2015, reporters asked him a question about whether he felt undermanned with two of his best players out and if he was feeling some pressure. LeBron simply said, “Nah, I feel confident because I am the best player in the world… It’s simple”. Recently, in March 2024, James also became the first player in NBA history to put up 40,000 career points, another feat that has added to his vast accolades on the basketball court.
LeBron James is mostly known for his offense. This means his scoring, passing, IQ, and court vision. However, his defense has always been heavily underrated. He is one of the most elite defenders to play the game. Today we look at LeBron’s versatility on the defensive side of the court.
How many blocks has LeBron accumulated in his NBA career?
LeBron James has so far accumulated 1,114 blocks in all the regular season games he has played in so far. This ranks him 90th all-time for total number of shots blocked. Meanwhile, in his postseason career, LeBron has blocked 275 shots in the playoffs which makes him 10th all-time in postseason history. His total blocks (regular season + postseason) stand at 1,389, as of October 2024.
As mentioned earlier, LeBron’s defense is underrated because he has won a lot of games in his career that were extremely close and went down to the wire, with his shot-blocking ability. He has some of the most elite timing and reach when he is trying to block a shot. He is also aware of the fact that if the shot is contested with improper timing, he can get called for goaltending.
In fact, LeBron has a unique ability that is commonly known as the chase-down blocks. Throughout James’ career, he has blocked most of his shots by coming from behind and swatting the shot away in the nick of time. The best defensive play in his career was in Game 7 of the 2016 Finals on Andre Iguodala. Some of his other famous shot-blocking plays were when he blocked Tiago Splitter, while he tried to posterize LeBron in the 2013 NBA Finals featuring the Miami Heat and the San Antonio Spurs.
James is one of the best players both on the offensive and defensive side of the floor. He is one of the most complete players to ever play the game of basketball.
FAQs
A. LeBron James is often referred to as "King James" or simply "LBJ."
A. LeBron James has worn the number 23 for most of his career, but he also wore number 6 during his four seasons with the Miami Heat.
A. LeBron James is married to Savannah Brinson, his high school sweetheart.
A. LeBron James has three children: LeBron James Jr. (Bronny), Bryce Maximus James, and Zhuri James.
A. No, LeBron has not won the Defensive Player of the Year.
