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LeBron James: Top 10 Best Career Performances

By Aaron Ferguson

May 17, 2016; Cleveland, OH, USA; Cleveland Cavaliers forward LeBron James (23) reacts prior to game one of the Eastern conference finals of the NBA Playoffs at Quicken Loans Arena. Mandatory Credit: David Richard-USA TODAY Sports
May 17, 2016; Cleveland, OH, USA; Cleveland Cavaliers forward LeBron James (23) reacts prior to game one of the Eastern conference finals of the NBA Playoffs at Quicken Loans Arena. Mandatory Credit: David Richard-USA TODAY Sports /
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Apr 17, 2016; Cleveland, OH, USA; Cleveland Cavaliers forward LeBron James (23) drives past Detroit Pistons center Andre Drummond (0) during the second half in game one of the first round of the NBA Playoffs at Quicken Loans Arena. The Cavs beat the Pistons 106-101. Mandatory Credit: Ken Blaze-USA TODAY Sports
Apr 17, 2016; Cleveland, OH, USA; Cleveland Cavaliers forward LeBron James (23) drives past Detroit Pistons center Andre Drummond (0) during the second half in game one of the first round of the NBA Playoffs at Quicken Loans Arena. The Cavs beat the Pistons 106-101. Mandatory Credit: Ken Blaze-USA TODAY Sports /

May 31, 2007: Eastern Conference Finals Game 5 vs. Detroit Pistons

LeBron James willed the Cavs past the Detroit Pistons, who were playing in their fourth straight Eastern Conference Finals. LeBron’s best performance comes at the ripe age of 22 years old against one of the most complete teams.

It took double overtime for the Cavs to knock off the Pistons 109-107, all thanks to James’ gutsy performance.

LeBron scored the Cavs’ final 25 points, and 29 of the team’s last 30 to will the Cavs to the victory. He tallied 48 on an 18-of-33 (54.5 percent) shooting performance. He had nine rebounds and seven assists and took over a game like nobody had seen since Michael Jordan.

James capped his 48-point performance in his 50th minute by hitting a game-winning shot with 2.2 seconds remaining. He would then lead the Cavs past the Pistons in Game 6 to dethrone Detroit from one of their best runs atop the Eastern Conference.

Cleveland would ultimately lose to the Spurs, but the performance by James in Game 5 will go down as one of the best NBA Playoff performances in the history of the game, and it came when he was 22 years old.

Related Story: 25 Greatest NBA Playoff Performers Of All-Time

James’ story is continuing to be written, and more great games are still ahead of him. He rises to the occasion when his team is facing elimination, and has proven to elevate his game to the significance of the moment.