It was super common for people to say that Lebron was not slowing down when he was in Cleveland. I think the reality of the situation is that his peak in Miami was significantly higher than a lot of people think, so that even when his decline started to happen, it was very hard to notice. I'm just going to try to contextualize just how freakishly good LBJ actually was in 2012-2013.
2012-2013
Stats: Regular Season: 26.8Pts/8.0TRB/7.3AST. Shooting Splits: 56.5/40.6%/75.3%
Post Season: 25.9PTS/8.4TRB.6.6AST. Shooting Splits: 49.1%/37.5%/77.7%
Awards: MVP, First Team All Defense, First Team All NBA, Finals MVP
Team Record: 66-16, NBA Champs.
Most People would cite this both as Lebron's peak year, and the peak of the Miami Heat. Coming off of their first ring, the Heat were dominant in the regular season. They put together a 27 game win streak, and were in control of the first seed in the east for almost the entire regular season.
What really stands out about Lebron's year was his insane efficiency. Only 9 Players ever have had years where they averaged 26.8/8/7.3. Of Those 9 Years, only 3 players shot above 50 percent. No one ever came close to 56.5% besides Lebron. When you combine his total usage and his efficiency,this season really starts to stand out as truly incredible and historically great. Simply put, no other player in the modern era was able to impact the game in this many ways while being this efficient. He had a ridiculous .3320 W/S Per 48, the highest since the 1972-73 season.
Defensively, Lebron was an incredibly unique asset during this time. While he was a terrific man-man defender, his biggest strength was his speed and anticipation off the ball, and his ability to cover 5 positions. The Heat allowed 3.5 points less per 100 Possessions when Lebron was on the court. He received only 1 less All Defense Vote then Tony Allen, and actually tied with him in terms of First Place Votes for All Defense. He Finished Second in Defensive Player Of The Year voting behind Marc Gasol. Lebron finished with all but one 1st Place MVP Votes that year, one of the biggest snubs of all time.
While his efficiency did dip in the post season, Lebron still had a historically great post-season run. His VORP was almost twice as high as Kawhi Leonard's, who had the second highest VORP in the postseason (2.9-1.5). He also had the Most Win Shares, and the Highest Plus/Minus.
With Both Chris Bosh and Dwayne Wade injured for the majority of the playoffs, the Heat were still able to beat a very good Pacers team in the ECF, and beat the Spurs in an all-time great 7 game series. In The last 2 games of The Series, Lebron put up 32/11/10, and 37/12/4 respectively. He also hit the series clinching jumpshot over Kawhi Leonard in Game 7 to wrap up his historically great season.
In Conclusion, I think this season has a very good case for being the best year any player has had, especially in the modern NBA. It is the most efficient regular season of all time with this kind of usage rate, regardless of era. In the Postseason, while his efficiency did take a hit, Lebron still completely dominated advanced stats, while the Heat's second and third best players were battling injury the whole time.
2012-2013
Stats: Regular Season: 26.8Pts/8.0TRB/7.3AST. Shooting Splits: 56.5/40.6%/75.3%
Post Season: 25.9PTS/8.4TRB.6.6AST. Shooting Splits: 49.1%/37.5%/77.7%
Awards: MVP, First Team All Defense, First Team All NBA, Finals MVP
Team Record: 66-16, NBA Champs.
Most People would cite this both as Lebron's peak year, and the peak of the Miami Heat. Coming off of their first ring, the Heat were dominant in the regular season. They put together a 27 game win streak, and were in control of the first seed in the east for almost the entire regular season.
What really stands out about Lebron's year was his insane efficiency. Only 9 Players ever have had years where they averaged 26.8/8/7.3. Of Those 9 Years, only 3 players shot above 50 percent. No one ever came close to 56.5% besides Lebron. When you combine his total usage and his efficiency,this season really starts to stand out as truly incredible and historically great. Simply put, no other player in the modern era was able to impact the game in this many ways while being this efficient. He had a ridiculous .3320 W/S Per 48, the highest since the 1972-73 season.
Defensively, Lebron was an incredibly unique asset during this time. While he was a terrific man-man defender, his biggest strength was his speed and anticipation off the ball, and his ability to cover 5 positions. The Heat allowed 3.5 points less per 100 Possessions when Lebron was on the court. He received only 1 less All Defense Vote then Tony Allen, and actually tied with him in terms of First Place Votes for All Defense. He Finished Second in Defensive Player Of The Year voting behind Marc Gasol. Lebron finished with all but one 1st Place MVP Votes that year, one of the biggest snubs of all time.
While his efficiency did dip in the post season, Lebron still had a historically great post-season run. His VORP was almost twice as high as Kawhi Leonard's, who had the second highest VORP in the postseason (2.9-1.5). He also had the Most Win Shares, and the Highest Plus/Minus.
With Both Chris Bosh and Dwayne Wade injured for the majority of the playoffs, the Heat were still able to beat a very good Pacers team in the ECF, and beat the Spurs in an all-time great 7 game series. In The last 2 games of The Series, Lebron put up 32/11/10, and 37/12/4 respectively. He also hit the series clinching jumpshot over Kawhi Leonard in Game 7 to wrap up his historically great season.
In Conclusion, I think this season has a very good case for being the best year any player has had, especially in the modern NBA. It is the most efficient regular season of all time with this kind of usage rate, regardless of era. In the Postseason, while his efficiency did take a hit, Lebron still completely dominated advanced stats, while the Heat's second and third best players were battling injury the whole time.
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