LeBron James has only missed the playoffs three times since entering the NBA in 2003 and has advanced to the NBA Finals on 10 occasions.
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LeBron James and the defending NBA champion Los Angeles Lakers lost 113-100 to the Phoenix Suns in Game 6 of their first-round series on Thursday. The elimination brought an end to an impressive record in James’ career.
Prior to the loss, James had a 14-0 first-round series record in playoff appearances for the Lakers, the Cleveland Cavaliers and the Miami Heat.
James faced an uphill climb he had never faced in his career. This was the first time ever that his team was losing in a first-round series entering a Game 6.
It was also the first time in James’ career that his team lost back-to-back games in the opening round. The Lakers were previously up 2-1 in the series before losing the next three games.
James has only missed the playoffs three times since entering the NBA in 2003. He has also advanced to the NBA Finals on 10 occasions. Last season, James set the league record for most postseason games played in a career.
— Los Angeles Lakers (@Lakers) June 4, 2021
The Lakers faced the injury bug all season, with substantial time missed by James and star center Anthony Davis. The team was the seventh seed in the Western Conference and had defeated the Golden State Warriors in a one-off play-in game, with James hitting the winning shot.
This match though, was different. He would occasionally approach a teammate or an assistant so that he could lean in close for a one-sided conversation. But he otherwise seemed resigned to the reality of the situation.
Perhaps there was hope, in some distant corner of Lakerland, that he could muster more of his familiar magic to help the team avoid elimination two days later in Los Angeles.
Instead, the Lakers were bound for more of the same: more offensive fireworks from the Suns, more disappointment, more questions about their future.
“It’s been draining,” James said, referring to the past 18 months. “Mentally, physically, spiritually, emotionally draining.”
The Lakers faced their share of obstacles. Their run to last season’s championship came in the middle of a pandemic and stretched into October.
The 2020-21 season started about two months later. Despite the short break, the Lakers got off to a strong start, going 21-6 before injuries slowed them down.
Anthony Davis is extraordinarily talented and helped fuel the Lakers championship, but nobody is accusing him of being the sturdiest player in the league.
Prone to injuries for much of his career, he missed about two months this season with a calf strain, and his problems in the playoffs cost the Lakers at the worst time.
James, 36, was not immune to injury, either. He sprained his right ankle in March and missed a total of 26 games before the playoffs.
On Thursday, he tried to tow the Lakers back from a 29-point deficit, helping cut it to 10 in the fourth quarter. He finished with 29 points, 9 rebounds and 7 assists.
But he acknowledged afterwards that his ankle was still bothering him. He said he was looking forward to a full off-season.
One gets the feeling that, how he bounces back from this season could very well define this phase of his career.
