Los Angeles Lakers: 30 greatest individual performances in team history

Los Angeles Lakers: 30 greatest individual performances in team history: 25. LeBron James takes out the Heat

LeBron James doesn’t always play with an edge. As he would often say, he’s a pass-first player. Still, at times, when he felt like scoring, there was nothing anyone could do about it. During an early season game against the Miami Heat, he was simply locked in.

James destroyed a group of misfits as he poured in 51 points while shooting over 60 percent from the field. Efficiency with James isn’t always lauded considering that most of his shots come from close to the basket but on this night, we have no choice but to talk about it.

Never known as a great 3-point shooter, something got into James. He knocked in six from distance and shot a ridiculous 75 percent.

Unsurprisingly, his plus/minus was off the charts at +20. As previously mentioned, James has always been a pass-first guy and tends to rack up the assists no matter how hot his hand is. On this night, he wasn’t passing the ball no matter how open his teammates were. Having won back-to-back titles with the Heat in the early 2010s before breaking somewhat unceremoniously, it was clear that James had revenge on his mind. Whatever the reason was, James earned a spot on this list in just his first year wearing the purple and gold.