Written by Matt Moore at CBS Sports.com
We’ve seen a lot of sides of LeBron James at the NBA Finals. That’s going to happen when a man has been at a press conference for the final game of eight different Finals. We’ve seen him petulant (2011), we’ve seen him giddy (2012). We’ve seen him joyful (2016) and we’ve seen him frustrated (2015).
In 2014, LeBron James was mostly checked out. He knew the Spurs were better, but knew he had more greatness in him, that he had more greatness ahead of him. People in Miami would suggest that in the back of their minds, they knew even then his heart was headed back to Ohio.
In 2017, we saw a new LeBron James at the podium after a Finals loss. After Golden State defeated Cleveland 129-120 on Monday in Game 5 of the NBA Finals to win the series 4-1, James joined two other players (Elgin Baylor, Jerry West) to lose five Finals. James was confident, saying he knew he left it all on the floor, he knew that he couldn’t play better than he did in these five games.
And it’s hard to argue with him after he averaged a triple double — 34 points along with 12 rebounds and 11 assists. He shot 56 percent, 39 percent from 3-point range. He was incredible.
Let’s be clear on this. There is nothing more James could have done. Nothing. He went to the rack relentlessly in Game 3. It wasn’t enough. He shot more 3-pointers in this series than he ever has. It wasn’t enough. He defended Kevin Durant and was guarded by Kevin Durant and found holes in a defense that moves so well and attacks him so well and he still scored or found open shooters. It wasn’t enough.
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