NBA Playoffs: The 30 most unforgettable individual playoff runs

NBA: The 30 most unforgettable individual playoff runs: 3. LeBron James (2009)

During his first run with the Cleveland Cavaliers, LeBron James was often tasked with doing far too much for a team cobbled together with a wide variety of aging veterans. The 2008-2009 season was no different, as James made it to the Conference Finals alongside Daniel Gibson, Mo Williams, J.J. Hickson, Zydrunas Ilgauskas and Sasha Pavlovic to name a few. In turn, James needed to be legendary.

He led all playoff scorers at 35.3 points per game and added in 9.1 rebounds, 7.3 assists and 1.6 steals per game. This was coming off a year in which he played every game of the season save for the last game, as he was allowed the slightest bit of rest to make the playoff push.

In the first round, he extinguished the dying embers of the Goin’ to Work Pistons in four games before moving on to face the Atlanta Hawks. This was another sweep and the Cavaliers took care of both teams winning every game by double figures.

The Conference Finals was the epitome of James’ first tenure in Cleveland: individual brilliance and lackluster teammates. James averaged a mind-bending 38.5 points, 8.3 rebounds, 8.0 assists, 1.2 steals and 1.2 blocks per game in a six-game defeat to the Orlando Magic. He topped 40 points three times in the series and hit one of the most iconic shots of his career to win Game 2. Even more heartbreaking, this is the closest the league got to seeing James faceoff against Kobe Bryant, who was waiting in the NBA Finals for the winner.