USA Today via Reuters
Sep 22, 2020; Lake Buena Vista, Florida, USA; Los Angeles Lakers forward LeBron James (23) reacts during the second half of game three of the Western Conference Finals of the 2020 NBA Playoffs against the Denver Nuggets at AdventHealth Arena. Mandatory Credit: Kim Klement-USA TODAY Sports
USA Today via Reuters
Sep 22, 2020; Lake Buena Vista, Florida, USA; Los Angeles Lakers forward LeBron James (23) reacts during the second half of game three of the Western Conference Finals of the 2020 NBA Playoffs against the Denver Nuggets at AdventHealth Arena. Mandatory Credit: Kim Klement-USA TODAY Sports
LeBron James went through fire during his early NBA career. His trial started with challenging the likes of the Detroit Pistons off their championship heyday in the Playoffs. By the time LeBron became a legitimate contender, a ‘Big 3’ in Boston awaited his arrival.
Watch What’s Trending Now!
Kevin Garnett, a member of the ‘Big 3’, along with Paul Pierce and Ray Allen, spoke about ‘breaking LeBron’ in 2019. He addressed those comments again on the Load Management podcast, specifically talking about James’s exit from Cleveland in 2010 after losing to Boston in the Playoffs.
"For all you LeBron lovers, who don't know sh*t…"
KG has a special message for LeBron fans on how he and the Celtics broke LeBron 💀
EPISODE: https://t.co/gq3yj65s1U pic.twitter.com/Bk05Ad2BgL
— Complex Sports (@ComplexSports) September 23, 2020
“For all you LeBron lovers who don’t know sh*t. Who was actually four or even two years old when I was talking about this and this was going on for probably what? 10? Like what, 12, 13 now? And ‘oh, you didn’t do anything.’ I get it. You’re defending. You love LeBron.
“When we formed in Boston, and you can never get past that. That’s why I say, we took the jersey off in 2010, he buried that jersey under the TD Bank Arena. That 23 Bron jersey was buried under the garden.”
LeBron James and his maturation against the Boston Celtics
USA Today via Reuters
Sep 8, 2020; Lake Buena Vista, Florida, USA; Los Angeles Lakers forward LeBron James (23) reacts during the second half of game three in the second round of the 2020 NBA Playoffs against the Houston Rockets at AdventHealth Arena. Mandatory Credit: Kim Klement-USA TODAY Sports
The playoff series between the Boston Celtics and the Cleveland Cavaliers was virtually a team of veterans schooling LeBron James. He was winning MVPs, but failing in the Playoffs. However, LeBron wouldn’t have become who he is today without that hard Celtics series.
LeBron has faced Boston in the playoffs six times, losing twice. Both those losses came in his early days with the Cavs, losing a seven-game series in 2008 and then a six-game series in 2010. However, LeBron exacted his revenge on the Celtics Big Three by ending their dynasty in two consecutive post-seasons in Miami (2011, 2012). He is 2-2 against the trio of Kevin Garnett, Paul Pierce and Ray Allen. Along with that, he also got Allen to team up with him for a ring in 2013.
Without the suffering Boston put on LeBron’s early career, he may have never matured into the superstar we see today. In some ways, we can thank Kevin Garnett for ‘breaking’ LeBron James. He broke him into one of the greatest players ever.
