LeBron James is no longer a member of the Los Angeles Lakers, but he made his mark on the franchise during his eight years with it. He consistently played at a high level during that time, even if certain aspects of his game had clearly slipped, and he delivered an NBA championship in 2020.
As we take a look at James' greatest performances as a member of the Lakers in chronological order, we go back to that special night in October 2020 when he led the storied franchise to the promised land and added to his already impressive resume.
Time for Ring No. 4
The Lakers weren't considered prominent favorites to win the NBA championship when the 2019-20 season started, but starting in the early weeks of the season, they gradually proved that they were the team to beat.
By the time the season was suspended due to the COVID-19 pandemic and then resumed inside the Walt Disney World Resort bubble, they were in great shape as far as title contention.
They shoved aside the Portland Trail Blazers, Houston Rockets and Denver Nuggets in five games apiece in the first three rounds of the playoffs to reach the NBA Finals. There, they met a Miami Heat squad that was inferior in talent but possessed plenty of resilience and fight.
L.A. took a 3-1 series lead, but it was unable to close things out in Game 5. Game 6 was thus its opportunity, as it didn't want to let the series go to a seventh and decisive game, especially against a Heat team that refused to cooperate with its lofty goals.
The Lakers burst out of the gates like a team that was starving for rings. They led 28-20 at the end of the first quarter, and they proceeded to massacre the Heat. Miami had nothing left, and it was helpless to stop an 18-2 run that gave the Lakers a 64-34 lead just seconds before halftime. Their lead grew to as many as 36 points, and their defense was suffocating the life out of the Heat.
Once the clock hit zero, the Lakers had themselves a 106-93 win and their 17th NBA world championship. James scored a modest 11 points in the first half, nine of them coming in the first period, but he finished with 28 points on 13-of-20 shooting, 14 rebounds and 10 assists.
He ended up averaging 29.8 points on 59.1% field-goal shooting and 41.7% from 3-point range, 11.8 boards and 8.5 assists a game for the series, which earned him his fourth finals MVP award. He became the first player to win an NBA Finals MVP award with three different franchises, and he also surpassed Michael Jordan as the second-oldest player to win the honor.
People will always allege that the 2020 NBA championship is illegitimate because it took place inside the bubble with no fans or travel to deal with. But it will always count as a special season in Lakers history, as well as one of James' most impressive individual seasons, especially given the fact that he also led the league in assists per game during the regular season.
This article originally appeared on LeBron Wire: LeBron James' greatest games with the Lakers: Getting his fourth ring
