LeBron James' Six-Straight Finals Appearances Overview as Cavaliers Reach 2nd-Straight NBA Finals: 'We're Still Not Satisfied At All'
"We're still not satisfied at all," is the statement Kyrie Irving gave reporters after the Cleveland Cavaliers eliminated the Toronto Raptors in Game 6 of the 2016 NBA Playoffs Conference finals. The Cavs are back to the NBA Finals for the second straight season and they seem to be hungier than ever to give the organization it's first Larry O'Brient trophy and the city of Cleveland its first championship (at the professional level) in 52-years.
The Cavs powered their way through the Playoffs winning 10-straight games and they closed the series with the Toronto Raptors at the Raptor's own turf - the Air Canada Centre. The Air Canada Center is arguably one of the NBA's toughest venues to win for a visiting team. Cleveland had not been able to beat Toronto there all season up until yesterday night.
Finally a Win at Air Canada Centre
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It was an important win for the Cavs who lost two straight against DeMar Derozan and Kyle Lowry's Raptors backed by the notoriously loud and empowring "We the North" fans in Toronto. The Cavs were pressued to prove themselves in last night's road game and they certainly delivered.
James scored 33 points, Kevin Love had 20 points / 12 rebounds while Kyrie Irving added 30 points and the "Big 3" alone totaled 83 points out of the Cavs 117 points. Toronto scored 87 points in total.
For LeBron James, it's a trip back to his six-straight NBA Finals (7th appearance overall) and the statement he gave after the game sounded similar to Irving's.
"I know our city deserves it, our fans deserve it. But that gives us no sense of entitlement. We've still got to go out and get it. We've still got to go out and prove ourselves."
LeBron James has played a core role in leading the Cavs to the finals this and last year as well as leading the Heat to four straight finals during his tenure in Miami.
Cavs Coach Tyronne Lue had positive remarks for Cleveland's no. 23.
"He's just a great player," Lue said to AP via NBA.com. "He's a proven winner. He's always won over the course of his career. To go to six straight finals is unbelievable."
A Look at Lebron's 6 NBA Finals Appearance
2007 Cavs (0) vs. Spurs (4)
The Cavs were debuting in their first ever NBA Finals appearance. While excitement was high for Cleveland, the team was young and inexperienced. The San Antonio Spurs on the other hand had several trophies under their belt. LeBron was 23 years old and the Cavaliers didn't have a strong supporting cast.
2011 Heat (2) vs. Mavericks (4)
It was LeBron James vs. Dirk Nowitzki and James menaced by Jason Terry. The heat were up 2-1 early in the series but there after it was all downhill for Miami. After Dallas won the championship we remember how word spread quickly of the Mavs celebration at Miami's Club LIV. Right, we remember those pictures.
2012 Heat (4) vs. Thunder (1)
The Heat out-powered the Thunder in this one. The Thunder were new back then but nonetheless playing and shooting well. James and the Heat showed some struggle in game one but at the end Jame's athleticism and strength were no match for Durant, Westbrook and Harden. The Thunder simply had no answer for James who was rewarded NBA Finals MVP. It was also the time Kevin Durant became famous.
2013 Heat (4) vs. Spurs (3)
This was a memorable one for James. James was probably more glad over lobbying for Ray Allen than anything else as Ray Allen saved Game 6 with his memorable three pointer. Chris Bosh grabbed James' missed shot, got it to Allen, and Allen forced overtime. The series went to game 7 and James had an incredible Game 7 scoring 37 points. The Heat were back to back in championships and were eyeing for no. 3
2014 Heat (1) vs. Spurs (4)
The Spurs were too much for the Heat this time around. It wasn't LeBron's series. It was Kawhi Leonard's. Leonard was named NBA Finals MVP and the Spurs cruised through. Spurs had home-court advantage and were out-doing the Heat in every way possible.
2015 Cavs (2) vs. Warriors (4)
The Cavs were up 2-1 but Golden State Warriors handled Cleveland and ended winning the last three games. Let's remember that Irving and Love were injured this time around which resulted in LeBron posting multiple triple doubles. Being short-staffed, the Cavs were no match for Stephen Curry and the Warrior's team-play. Standouts were Stephen Curry, Andre Iguodala and Klay Thompson.
