LeBron James is well on the road to becoming one of the greatest NBA players of all time. He is a mix of pure muscle and extraordinary game sense that could pull any team to the top.
The most impressive part of any of his feats, however, is the ease at which he seems to carry them out. Further, on the court and in terms of sheer numbers he one-ups even Michael Jordan.
James has made it his personal goal to bring the championship to whichever team he plays in. Whether it was the Miami Heat or the Cleveland Cavaliers, no goal was out of his reach.
This season he seems to be making that dream a reality for the Los Angeles Lakers. Furthermore, each of these goals has been achieved in style. Each season, James leaves behind a plethora of poster-perfect dunks and a series of unbelievable plays that keeps the crowd at the edge of their seats. Here are the top 5 dunks from LeBron's high-flying career.
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#5 Dunking on Damon Jones (2005)
Since the first few seasons LeBron James played, he was out there to make a mark and prove what he could do. In his future home of Miami, James made his first major slam-dunk mark against Damon Jones. This was a play that did not match the standard rulebook that asks superstars to act like they've been there before, but proved as an early opportunity for LeBron to prove his cosmic talent.
With Shaquille O'Neal's commentary in the background, making the event even better, James dunked on Jones so hard he eventually moved to the Cavaliers. “You know, D-Jones never had a chance, and the minute I saw it happen, I knew they were gonna be showing that dunk over and over and over again," said Shaq.
#4 LeBron James Over Tim Duncan (2006)
This dunk is also known as the Statue of Liberty dunk and that title could not be more apt for any other move. Now, Tim Duncan is an absolute basketball legend. His team has won two finals against teams LeBron was in and has impeccable stats.
The Cavs had just taken a rebound on the far end of the court and the ball was in LeBron's hands. He calmly dribbled to the other end of the cour and drove in for what looked like a normal layup.
Little did anyone know that this would be the shot where LeBron would not only absolutely crush Tim Duncan but also become one of the most recalled dunks of all time. LeBron soared through the air, ball in one hand (just like the statue of liberty) and dropped it into the ring, no effort required.
#3 LeBron Posters James Johnson
An absolute "Kodak Moment", this dunk was picture perfect. Coming in easy from outside the defense area, LeBron maneuvered the ball in and jumped for a perfect dunk right over James Johnson. One wrong step in front of LeBron and this is what tends to go down.
Further, this was the start of lots and lots of post-season agony for the Bulls at the hand of LeBron James who would continue to torture them not only in the Cavs uniform.
This game further stands testimony to how James is working his way to becoming the best player there ever is. There have been many many analysts who have tried to figure out and put a pattern on how he plays his game, but since early on in his career he has been full of surprises and never fails to disappoint.
#2 The overlooked dunk on JaVale McGee
This was an astounding Finals' play in 2017. Not only did LeBron shine through with the dunk he put in, but it should the team coordination that that Cavs had built their success that season upon. However spectacular it may have been this dunk is often overlooked for a large variety of reasons.
Firstly, this dunk happened in quarter one of game one of the finals. This kind of coordination from the Cavs would lead anyone to believe that the series would have finished in much less than seven games, but it let to seven full games of gameplay.
Secondly, the Warriors won the title that year. Lastly, this was the same time that Jeff Van Gundy was professing on national TV about his love for Rihanna, so in a sense, she walked all over this dunk as well.
#1 LeBron James smashing over Kevin Garnett
This play was so massive, it not only shocked the stadium but also came so out of nowhere that it led to an immediate time-out from the shell-shocked Celtics. Now, Kevin Garnett is usually a very positive defensive player.
He normally knows how to block and will not get aggressive. Over time it looks like this pattern for him wears off against a particular LeBron James as can be seen during this play. However, even with the foul James still manages to put in a picture perfect dunk. The message here was pretty clear: you can't mess with the king.
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