Looking Back At LeBron James Most Underrated Performance: Game 2 Of The 2015 NBA Finals

Throughout his career, LeBron James has had many iconic playoff moments. Game 5 of the 2007 Eastern Conference Finals on the road in Detroit, where he scored 25 straight points late in the game to guide the Cavs to victory. Game 6 of the 2012 Eastern Conference Finals in Boston was perhaps the best game of his career, where, facing elimination, he ended the night with 45 and 15 to force a Game 7. The 51-point masterpiece in Game 1 of the 2018 NBA Finals. And of course, Games 5, 6, and 7 of the 2016 NBA Finals helped the Cavs come back from a 3-1 series deficit against the 73-win Golden State Warriors.

So yeah, LeBron has been pretty good in the postseason, to say the least, but buried beneath some of those unforgettable playoff games lies a performance I don't see people talk about nearly enough: Game 2 of the 2015 NBA Finals.

After already being without Kevin Love going into the series, it was going to be an uphill battle for the Cavaliers to beat the Golden State Warriors. But then in overtime of Game 1, Cleveland was dealt another blow when their star point guard Kyrie Irving went down with a fractured kneecap, ending his Finals early.

With Irving and Love, James was going to be the best version of himself for the Cavaliers just to have a chance in the series. Against a 67-win Golden State Warriors team led by league MVP, Steph Curry, LeBron had no margin for error.

Heading into Game 2, it was the first time in years people were saying a James-led team had no chance in the Finals. Instead, James put on one of the best performances of his career as he finished the game with 39 points, 16 rebounds, 11 assists, and 2 steals as the Cavaliers somehow, some way, stole Game 2 in the Bay Area with a 95-93 overtime win to even up the series headed back to Cleveland.

LeBron’s Game 2 masterpiece wasn’t about aesthetics. It was a matter of survival, and a superstar's refusal to go down without a fight.

Game 1 of 2018 may been eye-popping in terms of box score dominance. However, the game ended in a loss. Wade and Bosh were still there when the famous Game 6 in Boston in 2012 took place. 

It was different in Game 2 of the 2015 Finals. James was all alone, and in a moment where he could have quit, he gave everything he had, and while the Cavaliers did ultimately lose that series in six, they came away victorious that night.

There was no superteam. No superstar alongside him. It was just him, and in a career filled with iconic performances, this is one I wish more people talked about.