Wilfredo Lee/Associated Press
Every artist has a masterpiece, and for James, the 2012-13 season is his “Mona Lisa.”
He tipped off the campaign by scoring 26 points on 16 shots, grabbing 10 rebounds and not committing a single turnover in 29 near-flawless minutes against the Celtics. He only pushed the pedal down further from there.
He wasn’t just ahead of his peershe was lapping the field several times over. By year’s end, he was holding per-game averages of 26.8 points, 8.0 rebounds and 7.3 assists, while owning a pristine 56.5/40.6/75.3 shooting slash and defending at an All-Defensive first-team level. The Heat won a franchise-record 66 games, including the second-longest winning streak in NBA history (27).
He muted what could’ve been a spirited MVP debate, despite Durant’s going for 28.1 points per night on 51.0/41.6/90.5 shooting. James collected all but one first-place MVP vote, with Carmelo Anthony spoiling his opportunity to be the first ever unanimous winner. (Anthony also kept James from sweeping the Player of the Month awards by claiming the Eastern Conference’s honor in April.)
The Heat blitzed their first two playoff opponents and then needed seven games to dispatch the Indiana Pacers. But James opened that series with a buzzer-beater and closed it with a 32-point, eight-rebound performance. While the lasting image of the 2013 Finals might be Ray Allen’s miracle make to send Game 6 to overtime, James was Finals MVP (after collecting his fourth regular-season MVP), averaging 31.8 points, 9.8 rebounds and 6.8 assists over the final four contests.
“LeBron was unbelievable,” Tim Duncan told reporters after the series. “We just couldn’t find a way to stop him.”
That season, the best of James’ career, there was no stopping him.
All stats courtesy of NBA.com and Basketball Reference unless otherwise noted.
Zach Buckley covers the NBA for Bleacher Report. Follow him on Twitter, @ZachBuckleyNBA.
