Is this the greatest individual choke in Finals history?

[russwest0]

http://scores.espn.go.com/nba/playbyplay?gameId=310602014&period=4

The Heat were up 88 to 73 with 7 minutes to go and looked like a LOCK to go up 2-0 in the Finals. Then suddenly:

5:28 77-88 LeBron James misses driving layup
3:27 84-90 LeBron James misses 16-foot jumper
1:31 88-90 LeBron James misses 26-foot three point jumper
1:05 88-90 LeBron James misses 25-foot three point jumper

Dirk hit the go ahead basket with 3 seconds left and then LeBron passed up the final shot to Wade who missed. The Mavericks went on to win the series thanks to more choking from LeBron and the rest was history.

[jzek]

has Larry Bird ever choked in the Finals? If he hasn't then that's another reason why Larry is ahead of LeBron in the all-time GOAT SF list...

[Dragic4Life]

:facepalm

[russwest0]

has Larry Bird ever choked in the Finals? If he hasn't then that's another reason why Larry is ahead of LeBron in the all-time GOAT SF list...

After LeBron pulled that "Decision" crap and then proceeded to put on the GOAT choking display, it was never even a question of if he'd ever surpass Bird or plenty of other all time greats. Their status could never be in doubt to a ring chasing choker.

[L.A. Jazz]

Larry is still ahead in the GOAT rankings.

[russwest0]

Larry is still ahead in the GOAT rankings.

And water is wet. LeBron fleeing Miami once the going got even a little tough only furthers the notion that he will never be a top 10 player of all time.

[russwest0]

:facepalm

By the way, I made this thread out of honest curiosity. If any NBA player has choked in the Finals more than LeBron did in 2011, then I'd legitimately love to hear who it was and what year so that I can read up on it.

[raprap]

has Larry Bird ever choked in the Finals? If he hasn't then that's another reason why Larry is ahead of LeBron in the all-time GOAT SF list...
Short answer? Yes.

[JohnFreeman]

Ewing 1994

[Dragic4Life]

2012 KD. Had the better, more stacked team than Lebron.

[Jlamb47]

Ewing 1994

He didnt leave his hometown to form a superstar squad.
And his expectations werent as high as Lebrons. Lebron was considered the next JORDAN.

And he went from averaging 30 points to like 17
Leading his team ins points all year

then finals come, Wade and Bosh averaging more points then him

this is by far the biggest Choke in NBA history

[Jlamb47]

2012 KD. Had the better, more stacked team than Lebron.

Thats incorrect, Russell was still stupid then and Harden wasnt elite lke he is now, and Ibaka was younger.

on top of that 2011 is a bigger choke

Kd can still lead the league in points, while Lebron points dip by half

[russwest0]

Thats incorrect, Russell was still stupid then and Harden wasnt elite lke he is now, and Ibaka was younger.

on top of that 2011 is a bigger choke

Kd can still lead the league in points, while Lebron points dip by half

Lol yeah, At least KD's scoring and efficiency went up in those Finals from his regular season numbers.

[JohnFreeman]

He didnt leave his hometown to form a superstar squad.
And his expectations werent as high as Lebrons. Lebron was considered the next JORDAN.

And he went from averaging 30 points to like 17
Leading his team ins points all year

then finals come, Wade and Bosh averaging more points then him

this is by far the biggest Choke in NBA history
Ewing was worse.

[Jlamb47]

Ewing was worse.

Yeah Ewing choked but he didnt leave his hometown in some g4y decision to join 2 prime players one of them being top 5 in the NBA at the time (Wade)
Snap all season long and in the playoffs to make it to the BIG FINALS
and choke

Lebron was so sh1tty in the 4th quarters dissappearing

Wade putting up 26 ppg
Bosh putting up 18ppg and Lebron putting up 17ppg :facepalm

Dude Lebron points dip so much and he wasnt even noticed on the court. But people were already calling him GOAT due to his stats

cmon now, im being real here not bias or just tryna boost
2011 Choke is probably one of the biggest choke in SPORTS history

Yeh Lebron is gonna go down as top 5 NBA player of all time probably
hes great and made that choking up, but he still choked in 2011

[Dresta]

Yeah, it was pretty terrible. Bron stans will go '18/7/7 he didn't play so bad...' but they ignore this game, where, after Wade put Miami up 15, Bron decided it was time for him to statpad, proceeded to grind Miami's offense to a halt, and lost them the game. All Bron needed to do was not try to statpad in a finals game and Miami would've won.

[robert_shaww]

Yeah, it was pretty terrible. Bron stans will go '18/7/7 he didn't play so bad...' but they ignore this game, where, after Wade put Miami up 15, Bron decided it was time for him to statpad, proceeded to grind Miami's offense to a halt, and lost them the game. All Bron needed to do was not try to statpad in a finals game and Miami would've won.

because of that sequence, those 7min, lebron wont ever be in the goat discussion. (he could be 10-5 best player ever...at most...)

[russwest0]

Yeah, it was pretty terrible. Bron stans will go '18/7/7 he didn't play so bad...' but they ignore this game, where, after Wade put Miami up 15, Bron decided it was time for him to statpad, proceeded to grind Miami's offense to a halt, and lost them the game. All Bron needed to do was not try to statpad in a finals game and Miami would've won.

It's funny, had he sat the final 8 minutes of this game like he did in game 5 vs the Spurs (where the Heat NEEDED him out there), the Heat would have won.

[robert_shaww]

It's funny, had he sat the final 8 minutes of this game like he did in game 5 vs the Spurs (where the Heat NEEDED him out there), the Heat would have won.

:bowdown:

[BoutPractice]

Wade played a key role in this particular debacle... LeBron shouldn't be absolved from blame, but it was a collective choke, and the lack of any semblance of a structured offense made things worse. (Talking about the one game here, not the series as a whole)

[pegasus]

Wade played a key role in this particular debacle... LeBron shouldn't be absolved from blame, but it was a collective choke, and the lack of any semblance of a structured offense made things worse. (Talking about the one game here, not the series as a whole)
When Lebron decides it's Lebron-ball time, there's not much the other players can do. Until then, they were sharing the ball, and Wade was carrying them to a comfortable lead.

Plus, Lebron's over the top celebration during that time out in the 4th quarter ignited the Mavs players. Lebron was a douche and payed for it big time.

[russwest0]

Plus, Lebron's over the top celebration during that time out in the 4th quarter ignited the Mavs players. Lebron was a douche and payed for it big time.

Is there a video of this? I don't recall this particular incident.

[JohnFreeman]

Is there a video of this? I don't recall this particular incident.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xwMuJiyl-P4

[WindmiLL]

When Lebron decides it's Lebron-ball time, there's not much the other players can do.


Please define ''Lebron ball'' and tell me if Lebron should play ''Lebron ball'' throughout the whole finals in 11' or not?

[pegasus]

Please define ''Lebron ball'' and tell me if Lebron should play ''Lebron ball'' throughout the whole finals in 11' or not?
When he pounds the ball at the top of the key, looking to either get a bucket or an assist out of every single goddamn possession. I believe it's also called "statpadding".

[Dragic4Life]

When he pounds the ball at the top of the key, looking to either get a bucket or an assist out of every single goddamn possession.
You just describe basketball offense.

[WindmiLL]

When he pounds the ball at the top of the key, looking to either get a bucket or an assist out of every single goddamn possession. I believe it's also called "statpadding".


OK. And should he use this more in the series against Mavs or not?

[PJR]

That was a bad sequence. But game 4 in it's entirety was far worse. 8 points on 3/11 shooting. :facepalm

[SupermanOnSteroids]

gotta be Lebron in 2011.

no one with a more stacked team ever went against a more mismatched opponent ever (who was predicted to lose in the first round) and came out looking like more of a fool after the finals.

LeWhopped got LeWhopped.

[GrapeApe]

Doesn't it get old perpetually recycling the same topic over and over?

[SupermanOnSteroids]

Doesn't it get old perpetually recycling the same topic over and over?
actually its still funny to me.

and since i represent 30-45% of the population demographic (not counting others involved), its still pretty damn funny.

[Magic 32]

2013 Finals Game 6 was close. Too bad Ray was there to pick him up from the grave he was digging.

4 Turnovers. 5 bricks

http://oi42.tinypic.com/i3uv6h.jpg
http://oi39.tinypic.com/2zize39.jpg
http://oi42.tinypic.com/1zyui37.jpg

[dubeta]

Durants 2012 has to be up there


Scored basically nothing when the games was close, only statpadded in garbage time


0.5 assist/turnover ratio

Averaged only 6 rebounds for a 7 footer

Got lit up by Mario Chalmers

Got abused in the post by lebron

And basically was left crying at the end

[Jlamb47]

Durants 2012 has to be up there


Scored basically nothing when the games was close, only statpadded in garbage time


0.5 assist/turnover ratio

Averaged only 6 rebounds for a 7 footer

Got lit up by Mario Chalmers

Got abused in the post by lebron

And basically was left crying at the end


Atleast he could statpad

Lebron in 2011 couldnt even Statpad

he had Wade and Bosh scoring more points lol

[tpols]

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xwMuJiyl-P4

I remeber this.. they lit a fire under jason terrys ass.

[creepingdeath]

6:30 73-88 Dwyane Wade misses 24-foot three point jumper
0:36 90-90 Dwyane Wade misses 24-foot three point jumper
0:01 95-93 Dwyane Wade misses 28-foot three point jumper

[Kvnzhangyay]

All the greats have choked under pressure before, just Bran did a bit bigger than everyone else (although today's media certainly didn't help)

I mean Bird didn't do well in 85 finals off the top of my head, and OP probably wasn't old enough to know who tragic johnson is :lol

[NBASTATMAN]

http://scores.espn.go.com/nba/playbyplay?gameId=310602014&period=4

The Heat were up 88 to 73 with 7 minutes to go and looked like a LOCK to go up 2-0 in the Finals. Then suddenly:

5:28 77-88 LeBron James misses driving layup
3:27 84-90 LeBron James misses 16-foot jumper
1:31 88-90 LeBron James misses 26-foot three point jumper
1:05 88-90 LeBron James misses 25-foot three point jumper

Dirk hit the go ahead basket with 3 seconds left and then LeBron passed up the final shot to Wade who missed. The Mavericks went on to win the series thanks to more choking from LeBron and the rest was history.


LAKERS UP BY 24 second half vs Celtics is up there as well... Portland 92 lost a 15 minute lead at the end of the game.. Drexler, Lebron, and koBE.. All CHOKERS:rockon:

[Mr. Incredible]

Still managed to demolish OKC the very next year.

[KBaller33]

Yep, and I'm a LeBron fan. The man didn't want to shoot the ball. His confidence was just shot for no reason, especially after going off the previous two rounds. I don't understand why :confusedshrug:

[russwest0]

2013 Finals Game 6 was close. Too bad Ray was there to pick him up from the grave he was digging.

4 Turnovers. 5 bricks

http://oi42.tinypic.com/i3uv6h.jpg
http://oi39.tinypic.com/2zize39.jpg
http://oi42.tinypic.com/1zyui37.jpg

GOD DAMN!!!!! That was BAD...

[BuffaloBill]

2013 Finals Game 6 was close. Too bad Ray was there to pick him up from the grave he was digging.

4 Turnovers. 5 bricks

http://oi42.tinypic.com/i3uv6h.jpg
http://oi39.tinypic.com/2zize39.jpg
http://oi42.tinypic.com/1zyui37.jpg


Yeah I remember watching that thinking "Jesus, Lebron is about to become the laughing stock of the nba once again." Good thing shuttles was there to save his ass.


But 2011 bron worst choke of all time

[Stringer Bell]

Lebron in 2011 was really bad. Given his immense talent and the way he underperformed, and how close the nature that 3 of the 4 Mavericks were, it is definitely up there among the worst choke jobs ever.


2013 Finals Game 6 was close. Too bad Ray was there to pick him up from the grave he was digging.

4 Turnovers. 5 bricks

http://oi42.tinypic.com/i3uv6h.jpg
http://oi39.tinypic.com/2zize39.jpg
http://oi42.tinypic.com/1zyui37.jpg

That was indeed bad, but a big reason why San Antonio really got back in the game was because Lebron had an excellent first 8 minutes of the 4th quarter. They were down 10 after 3.

Lebron screwed up repeatedly in games during the 2011 Finals that were very winnable.

Kobe's 2004 Finals, except for game 2, was dreadful. Shaq should have gotten touches and shots, as he was pretty efficient, even going 16 of 21 in one game when he put up 36 and 20. Kobe was off, and he kept shooting more and more.

Ewing's 1994 Finals was awful on the offensive end. Everyone remembers Starks's game 7 miss-a-thon, and not Ewing's 7-game miss-a-thon. Two of those Rockets wins were very close, winning by 4 in game 3 and 2 in game 6. Ewing shot a combined 15 for 49 in those 2 losses. It took him 160 FG attempts throughout the series to score 132 points. Although in his defense, he blocked a lot of shots and rebounded well in that ugly series.


All the greats have choked under pressure before, just Bran did a bit bigger than everyone else (although today's media certainly didn't help)

I mean Bird didn't do well in 85 finals off the top of my head, and OP probably wasn't old enough to know who tragic johnson is :lol

Magic had key mistakes in games 2 and 4 in the 84' Finals, and also some turnovers late in game 7 when the Lakers were closing the gap, with Boston up just 3.

Still, it's not like Magic was playing bad throughout the series. He still averaged 18, 7, and 14 a game on 56% shooting. Bird averaged 24, 9, and 5 the next year.

I don't think that can compare to other cases like Kobe, Ewing, and Lebron where they were bad pretty much all series long.

[tpols]

D-Whistle
6:30 73-88 Dwyane Wade misses 24-foot three point jumper
0:36 90-90 Dwyane Wade misses 24-foot three point jumper
0:01 95-93 Dwyane Wade misses 28-foot three point jumper

Lebron
5:28 77-88 LeBron James misses driving layup
3:27 84-90 LeBron James misses 16-foot jumper
1:31 88-90 LeBron James misses 26-foot three point jumper
1:05 88-90 LeBron James misses 25-foot three point jumper


Jason Terry (sparks the comeback)
6:18 73-88 Jason Terry makes 16 foot jumper
5:45 75-88 Jason Terry makes layup
5:20 77-88 Jason Terry makes 2 FTs
3:11 86-90 Jason Terry makes 14 foot jumper

Dirk (tags in and completes the comeback)
2:44 88-90 Dirk makes 18 foot jumper
:57 90-90 Dirk makes layup
:26 93-90 Dirk makes 25 foot three point jumper
:03 93-93 Dirk makes driving GW layup


Wade in last attempt to win the game, down 95-93, chucks a long 3, misses and pleads to the ref in disbelief while lying on the ground after having performed a key role in one of the worst chokes of all time.

http://i.imgur.com/1LhryWT.gif

:lol

[Dresta]

6:30 73-88 Dwyane Wade misses 24-foot three point jumper
0:36 90-90 Dwyane Wade misses 24-foot three point jumper
0:01 95-93 Dwyane Wade misses 28-foot three point jumper
Yeah, says it all really: that Wade (the guy with 36 points) only got one shot before the lead had been cut from 15 to zero because Bron was trying to statpad. It doesn't strike you as strange that a team's leading scorer wouldn't get a single shot as a 15 point lead evaporated over the last 6 minutes with Lebron dominating the ball?

[GrapeApe]

Wade is by no means absolved of blame. After he hit the corner 3 to go up 15 he was already envisioning the parade. As bad as LeBron was late in that game and the rest of the series, Wade should have kept his foot on the gas and went for the jugular. If there was any time to be selfish it was right there. He checked out, no excuses. Had he not gone into "super-friend" mode the Heat go on to win that game, the series, and he'd have 2 FMVP's right now.

[JT123]

Yeah, says it all really: that Wade (the guy with 36 points) only got one shot before the lead had been cut from 15 to zero because Bron was trying to statpad. It doesn't strike you as strange that a team's leading scorer wouldn't get a single shot as a 15 point lead evaporated over the last 6 minutes with Lebron dominating the ball?
Look at these pathetic excuses. :roll:
Why didn't Wade DEMAND the ball from Lebron? We all know that Lebron prefers to pass the ball anyway. You Wade stans need to make up your mind. Either Lebron needed to defer to Wade more or he needed to be more aggressive. Can't have it both ways. :no:

[Rodmantheman]

http://38.media.tumblr.com/tumblr_m603fgFBua1qabwaco1_500.gif

[stalkerforlife]

http://scores.espn.go.com/nba/playbyplay?gameId=310602014&period=4

The Heat were up 88 to 73 with 7 minutes to go and looked like a LOCK to go up 2-0 in the Finals. Then suddenly:

5:28 77-88 LeBron James misses driving layup
3:27 84-90 LeBron James misses 16-foot jumper
1:31 88-90 LeBron James misses 26-foot three point jumper
1:05 88-90 LeBron James misses 25-foot three point jumper

Dirk hit the go ahead basket with 3 seconds left and then LeBron passed up the final shot to Wade who missed. The Mavericks went on to win the series thanks to more choking from LeBron and the rest was history.

I've never seen it put in that perspective.

Definitely hurts his legacy.

[Mr.Kite]

This is worse


[SAS 84-86] Duncan Layup Shot: Made (19 PTS) Assist: Parker (7 AST)
Team Timeout : Regular 07:31
James Substitution replaced by Lewis 07:31
Bosh Substitution replaced by Andersen 07:31
Battier Substitution replaced by Allen 07:31

[ArbitraryWater]

Yeah, says it all really: that Wade (the guy with 36 points) only got one shot before the lead had been cut from 15 to zero because Bron was trying to statpad. It doesn't strike you as strange that a team's leading scorer wouldn't get a single shot as a 15 point lead evaporated over the last 6 minutes with Lebron dominating the ball?

Lol wut? This is Wade's 2nd biggest mistake ever (after deciding to removing his meniscus)

Who scores 36 points through 3 1/2 quarters, and then stays scoreless and passive to end the game? When you see 'Bron chuck up bricks, you gotta DEMAND THE BALL.. Please, dresta.

Edit: Of course the fault lies on both their shoulders... Not talking about the '11 Finals in general, though Wade f'cked up the ending of game 4 as well, but here, LeBron bricked, Wade did too.. Wade had the hot hand and started taking shots when it was too late.

[russwest0]

Lol wut? This is Wade's 2nd biggest mistake ever (after deciding to removing his meniscus)

Who scores 36 points through 3 1/2 quarters, and then stays scoreless and passive to end the game? When you see 'Bron chuck up bricks, you gotta DEMAND THE BALL.. Please, dresta.

So now it's Wade's fault that LeBron started dominating the ball trying to statpad and threw the game?

It's also funny how LeBron's statpadding attempt cost them all the way up until the final seconds where he decided he didn't want to shoot anymore and then an out of ryhtym Wade was forced to take the clutch shots and he missed :roll: :roll: :roll:

It's classic LeBron really. The guy plays almost exclusively for stats. He's the Wilt of our era.

[Frozen1]

Lebron is a fraud.

2011 finals and 2013 finals game 6 were top 1 and top 2 greatest chokes ever.

[oti]

He was too scared of the posibilty of Wade getting finals MVP , worst choke in history

http://wehoopny.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/05/582514_445122822182914_367810133247517_1541783_124 6581064_n-450x300.jpg

[russwest0]

He was too scared of the posibilty of Wade getting finals MVP , worst choke in history

Yeah, and Bron stans always try to shit on Kobe for winning finals without winning a FMVP... :oldlol:

[Dragic4Life]

D-Whistle
6:30 73-88 Dwyane Wade misses 24-foot three point jumper
0:36 90-90 Dwyane Wade misses 24-foot three point jumper
0:01 95-93 Dwyane Wade misses 28-foot three point jumper

Jason Terry (sparks the comeback)
6:18 73-88 Jason Terry makes 16 foot jumper
5:45 75-88 Jason Terry makes layup
5:20 77-88 Jason Terry makes 2 FTs
3:11 86-90 Jason Terry makes 14 foot jumper

Dirk (tags in and completes the comeback)
2:44 88-90 Dirk makes 18 foot jumper
:57 90-90 Dirk makes layup
:26 93-90 Dirk makes 25 foot three point jumper
:03 93-93 Dirk makes driving GW layup


Wade in last attempt to win the game, down 95-93, chucks a long 3, misses and pleads to the ref in disbelief while lying on the ground after having performed a key role in one of the worst chokes of all time.

http://i.imgur.com/1LhryWT.gif

:lol
This is true.

Wade takes the blame for me imo for that whole series.

[oti]

This is true.

Wade takes the blame for me imo for that whole series.

Why? because he kept the series close and delivered the games on a plate to Bron for LeMasterChoke?

[Dragic4Life]

Why? because he kept the series close and delivered the games on a plate to Bron for LeMasterChoke?
I'm not gonna have an intelligent discussion with someone who calls Lebron that.

POS.

[oti]

oh i see ..

so after more than 3 years you still cant handle the fact your favourite had the worst finals performance by a superstar in recent memory and you are offended when ppl call it choke?

[Jlamb47]

Lebron made his choking up by winning 2 rings and going to finals 4 times
But 2011 is the greatest individual choke lol

[Dragic4Life]

Lebron made his choking up by winning 2 rings and going to finals 4 times
But 2011 is the greatest individual choke lol
This is the greatest choke moment by an all time great:

http://assets.sbnation.com/assets/2818167/duncanmiss.gif

[Big#50]

LOL move on. He won two rings since then.

[Solid Snake]

http://scores.espn.go.com/nba/playbyplay?gameId=310602014&period=4

The Heat were up 88 to 73 with 7 minutes to go and looked like a LOCK to go up 2-0 in the Finals. Then suddenly:

5:28 77-88 LeBron James misses driving layup
3:27 84-90 LeBron James misses 16-foot jumper
1:31 88-90 LeBron James misses 26-foot three point jumper
1:05 88-90 LeBron James misses 25-foot three point jumper

Dirk hit the go ahead basket with 3 seconds left and then LeBron passed up the final shot to Wade who missed. The Mavericks went on to win the series thanks to more choking from LeBron and the rest was history.


Of these 4 events, only 1 is considered a choke.

I'll let you guess which one that is.

[Hey Yo]

Thats incorrect, Russell was still stupid then and Harden wasnt elite lke he is now, and Ibaka was younger.

on top of that 2011 is a bigger choke

Kd can still lead the league in points, while Lebron points dip by half
So why did Vegas have OKC as the favorites at tipoff?