When A 22 Year Old LeBron Made It To The Finals

At the age of just 22, with the weight of a franchise and city on his still-developing shoulders, LeBron James took the 2006-2007 Cavaliers on an unforgettable and improbable journey. This is the story of LeBron's first ever title run. Mixed Expectations While the 2006-07 season was supposed to be LeBron's year to cement himself as one of the game's best players, he wasn't surrounded with a lot of talent to help him do so. James was coming off a season in which he became the youngest player to ever win MVP at the All-Star Game, and led Cleveland to the postseason for the first time in nearly a decade. The Cavs won more games during that regular season than any of their previous teams dating all the way back to the 92-93 season, which was also the last time the franchise won a playoff series. LeBron had finally lifted Cleveland basketball back into relevancy, and everybody was looking for him to take the next step, but his supporting cast wasn't exactly championship caliber. Only one player on the roster at the time had been an All-Star, Zydrunas Ilgauskas, who had only received that honor twice in his career. If LeBron wanted to make the previous year not look like a fluke, he would have to strap a collection of role players on his back and carry them, finding a winning formula. The Cleveland coaching staff was well aware that they were going to lean on LeBron heavily for this team to have any success, so during the regular season, they played him over 40 minutes per game. By the end of the season, James had played nearly 600 more minutes than the team's next leader in minutes. LeBron was forced to do more than just log a lot of playing time. Every night, he was called upon to score because his teammates weren't able to consistently do so. Appearing in 78 regular season games, James was the Cavs' leading scorer in 66, on his way to averaging 27.3 points per game, which was more than the team's second and third highest scorers combined. During the regular season, LeBron had such an impact and so little help that at his win shares, the statistical estimate of the number of wins contributed by a player, was 13.7. Nobody else on Cleveland's roster had a win share above 7, focusing on just the offensive end of the floor. The win share difference between LeBron and his teammates became even more drastic. His offensive win shares was 8.0, while the Cavs' second highest was Anderson Varejao, at just 2.6. Thanks to all of this heavy lifting from King James, the Cavs finished second in the Eastern Conference with a 50-32 record, turning up the heat. Just when it seemed like the Cavs couldn't possibly ask LeBron to do any more for them, the playoffs arrived and his workload increased. In Cleveland's opening round series against the Wizards, James averaged 45.4 minutes per game. That number is even crazier considering none of the games went to overtime, which means he only sat out for about two and a half minutes per game. To nobody's surprise, LeBron made the most of those minutes as he put up an all-around dominant stat line for the series, with 27.8 points, 8.5 rebounds, 7.5 assists, and 1.8 steals per game. Those numbers equal the first-round sweep for James and the Cavs, as they made light work of the Wizards. Outnumbered, but not outclassed. In Cleveland's second-round matchup, their opponent, the New Jersey Nets, had three of the four best players on the court between the two teams. The Nets featured a big three before big threes became popular again, with Jason Kidd, Vince Carter, and Richard Jefferson. This meant that LeBron's heavy workload wasn't going anywhere. During the course of this series, he logged 44 minutes per game. And just like he had done all season, he filled up the stat sheet too, averaging 24.7 points, 7.3 rebounds, 8.5 assists, and 1.2 steals per game. While James' scoring dipped a bit, that can be attributed to him going out of his way to get his teammates involved more. LeBron knew that if he didn't do it, nobody else would. At just three assists per game, Larry Hughes was the only Cavalier to average more than two assists per game that series. With that said, LeBron still led both teams in scoring, but each of the series' next four highest scorers were on the Nets, further highlighting just how little help LeBron had. New Jersey pushed LeBron and the Cavs to a six-game series, but in the end, there was no stopping the king from advancing. Chance to make history In the Eastern Conference Finals, LeBron had the opportunity to send the Cavs to their first Finals in franchise history. Facing the Pistons, who had in each of the previous four seasons made the Finals or Conference Finals, James had his work cut out for him to say the least. Detroit's starting lineup was just as talented and well-rounded as it was experienced. Going up against Chauncey Billups, Richard Hamilton, Tayshaun Prince, Chris Webber, and Rasheed Wallace, the Cavs on paper were very outmatched. To have a chance, they would lean on LeBron more than ever before, having him play over 46 minutes per game during the series. Things did not get off to a good start in the series whatsoever for LeBron and the Cavs. Cleveland quickly fell into a 2-0 deficit, and LeBron was struggling mightily against this suffocating Detroit defense. James scored just 10 points in Game 1 and 19 points in Game 2, shooting a combined 12 for 34 from the field. With his back against the wall and people starting to count him out, LeBron bounced back in a major way in Games 3 and 4. In Game 3, James nearly recorded a triple-double with 32 points, 8 rebounds, and 9 assists. In Game 4, he kept the momentum going with 25 points, 7 rebounds, 11 assists, and 3 steals as the Cavs tied the series at 2-2. Heading into Game 5, both teams knew what was at stake. It was essentially a must-win, as historically speaking in a best-of-7 series, teams that win Game 5 of a series tied at 2-2 go on to win that series over 80% of the time. With neither team giving an inch in Game 5, the Cavs led by one with just over six minutes left. LeBron realized that it was time to put an entire city on his back. James scored 29 of Cleveland's final 30 points, including the team's final 25 in a double-overtime thriller. He went 11 for 13 from the field during the stretch, as the Pistons had no answer for the King. With two seconds left in Double OT, LeBron, while being surrounded by four Pistons defenders, majestically soared through the air for a layup and the win. Pistons point guard Chauncey Billups said, "'We threw everything we had at him. We just couldn't stop him.'" With this superhero performance, LeBron seemed to have crushed Detroit's spirit, as the Pistons then folded in Game 6. The Cavs cruised to the finals with a 16-point win, as James got the job done with 20 points, 14 rebounds, 8 assists, 2 blocks, and 2 steals. The Big Stage By now, it was no secret that this Cavs team would only go as far as LeBron could carry them. The question was, did he have enough left in the tank to overcome a budding dynasty in the Spurs? Led by a core of Tony Parker, Manu Ginobili, and Tim Duncan all in their prime, San Antonio had won the title in two of the previous four seasons, and made the playoffs in each of the previous nine. The experience gap between the Cavs and Spurs could not have been wider. Heading into the series, San Antonio's roster had 8 players with finals experience, combining for 103 games played. Meanwhile, Cleveland only had one player with experience in Eric Snow, who played 11 total games with the 1996 Sonics and 2001 76ers. While the majority of experts chose the Spurs to win the series, not all hope was lost for the Cavs, as Cleveland that year actually was victorious in both of the team's two regular season meetings. However, the Cavs' inexperience showed in Games 1 and 2 in San Antonio. The Cavs couldn't find a rhythm, shooting just over 40% from the field, as the Spurs took a commanding series lead. With the series shifting back to Cleveland, the Cavs looked for one more big performance out of the King to turn things around. LeBron in Game 3 did his part, scoring over one third of Cleveland's points with 25, while adding in 8 rebounds, 7 assists, 2 steals, and 1 block. Although the Cavs outscored the Spurs by 4 with James on the court, they were outscored by 7 in the 6 minutes he rested and lost the game by 3. Down 0-3, all hope was lost for Cleveland, but they never gave up. LeBron in Game 4 did what he could, scoring 24 of the team's 82 points, in addition to his 6 rebounds and 10 assists. Just like the previous game, the Cavs outscored the Spurs with him on the floor for 46.5 minutes, but unfortunately for him and Cleveland, they still lost by 1. The moment just seemed to be too much for the inexperienced Cavs, as LeBron finally ran out of gas. Other than James, no Cavalier during the finals scored more than 16 points in any game. On the other hand, the Spurs relied on a balanced trio of Parker, Ginobili, and Duncan, who during the series combined for 59 points per game. While LeBron's haters sure loved bringing up how he got swept in the finals, the fact that the Cavs outscored the Spurs in both games 3 and 4 when he was on the court says it all. Statement made. Even though the season didn't end how LeBron or the Cavs wanted it to, the league was put on notice. James was a force to be reckoned with and had the ability to take over and win a game on any given night, regardless of the opponent or team around him. What he was able to do at such a young age with this particular roster wasn't supposed to be possible. He inspired hope in a city that had been deprived of a winning sports team for years. If anyone was going to be able to bring Cleveland its first professional sports title since 1964, it was going to be LeBron.