(Photo by Matthew Stockman/Getty Images)
LeBron James of the Los Angeles Lakers is one of the most successful basketball players of all time.
There is no doubt that he is a generational talent that will be spoken of alongside Michael Jordan, Bill Russell, and the rest of the greats forever.
But is he also an underdog?
According to his friend and business partner Rich Paul, he has been the underdog in the majority of his Finals appearances.
Sitting down with Gil’s Arena, via ClutchPoints, Paul said: “He’s always the underdog. Every Finals he ever played, outside of 2012 and maybe 2011.”
“At 22 years old, [LeBron James] took a team to the Finals… He’s always the underdog. Every Finals he ever played, outside of 2012 and maybe 2011.”
Rich Paul says LeBron has been the underdog in 8 of his 10 Finals appearances
(via @GilsArenaShow)pic.twitter.com/R1TwilfCfU
— ClutchPoints (@ClutchPoints) September 5, 2023
That’s a statement that will certainly get quite a response from people.
James has been to the Finals an amazing ten times during his historic career.
He has, of course, won four times with three different teams.
There are certainly multiple times when most people would agree that James and his team were underdogs.
For example, the 2007 Finals mentioned by Paul in the clip above was definitely an underdog appearance.
The same could be true for the 2017 and 2018 Finals too.
But has he really been the underdog for every championship run aside from two, like Paul says?
Were his Lakers underdogs when they beat the Miami Heat in 2020?
Were his Heat underdogs when they pushed past the San Antonio Spurs in 2013?
Paul’s opinion is sure to create many more.
No matter where NBA fans land in this debate, one thing cannot be denied: ten Finals appearances in one career is very impressive, even if he hasn’t won them all.
Underdog or not, James has become one of the most important championship players in NBA history.
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