Lakers: The 5 worst playoff games of LeBron James' career

Lakers: The 5 worst playoff games of LeBron James’ career

By Jason Reed | Apr 1, 2021

DALLAS, TX - JUNE 07: LeBron James #6 of the Miami Heat wipes his face with his jersey against the Dallas Mavericks in Game Four of the 2011 NBA Finals at American Airlines Center on June 7, 2011 in Dallas, Texas. NOTE TO USER: User expressly acknowledges and agrees that, by downloading and/or using this Photograph, user is consenting to the terms and conditions of the Getty Images License Agreement (Photo by Mike Ehrmann/Getty Images) /

4 of 5

(Photo credit should read MARK RALSTON/AFP via Getty Images) – LeBron James /

2. The Boston Celtics put LeBron James in his place

One year after LeBron James carried the Cleveland Cavaliers to the NBA Finals the Boston Celtics put together a big three that would eventually win the NBA Championship over Kobe Bryant and the Los Angeles Lakers.

On the way to the NBA Finals the Celtics also took down LeBron James and the Cavaliers. Beating LeBron and Kobe in the same playoffs is no easy feat. LeBron and the Cavs put up a good fight and took Boston to seven games but were unable to get it done despite 45 points from LeBron in Game 7.

The Celtics were LeBron’s weakness before joining the Miami Heat and this first playoff matchup against the big three in Boston was not pretty. In terms of game score, this was the worst playoff game of LeBron James’ career.

LeBron scored 12 points on 2-18 shooting (0-6 from three) with nine rebounds, nine assists and 10 turnovers. That is how much LeBron had to do for this Cavaliers team; he nearly had a triple-double and it is still considered the second-worst playoff game of his career.

LeBron would go on to have a decent series in this one but it was not enough. The poor performance in Game 1 led to a four-point loss and an eventual series loss. He would eventually join the Heat to form his own big three in response.

That is where the worst playoff game of his career occurred, as it was part of an even bigger story that is the biggest smudge on his all-time career.