8. 2018 Cleveland Cavaliers
Record: 50-32, lost 4-1 in finals
Best Teammate: Kevin Love
Regular Season Rankings: 5th offense/29th defense/14th net rating (+1.0)
Best Team Faced: Golden State Warriors
Regular Season Record: 58-24
Regular Season Rankings: 3rd offense/11th defense/3rd net rating (+5.9)
Best Team Avoided: Houston Rockets, 65-17/1st net rating (+8.4)
Average Playoff Opponent Net Rating: +4.625
This was Impossible: Part II. Partly because Golden State was borderline unbeatable and partly because this was the worst team James ever carried to the Finals. Also, while the Warriors spent their conference finals doing battle against a roster deliberately constructed to take them down, Cleveland squared off against the happy-to-be-here Celtics and their 18th-ranked offense.
7. 2016 Cleveland Cavaliers
Record: 57-25, won 4-3 in finals
Best teammate: Kyrie Irving
Regular Season Rankings: 3rd offense/10th defense/4th net rating (+6.3)
Best Team Faced: Golden State Warriors
Regular Season Record: 73-9
Regular Season Rankings: 1st offense/6th defense/2nd net rating (+10.6)
Best Teams Avoided: San Antonio Spurs, 67-15/1st net rating (+11.1); Oklahoma City Thunder, 55-27/3rd net rating (+7.4)
Average Playoff Opponent Net Rating: +4.8
So how hard was this, really? No franchise outside of the Celtics has tested LeBron quite like the Warriors. Coming back from a 3-1 deficit to beat them here was the crowning, sweetest feat of a career filled with too many to count. Nevertheless, DeMar DeRozan’s Raptors, whom the Cavs faced in the Eastern Conference finals, were not Durant’s Thunder or Kawhi’s Spurs.
6. 2015 Cleveland Cavaliers
Record: 53-29, lost 4-2 in finals
Best Teammate: Kyrie Irving
Regular Season Rankings: 4th offense/18th defense/5th net rating (+4.8)
Best Team Faced: Golden State Warriors
Regular Season Record: 67-15
Regular Season Rankings: 2nd offense/1st defense/1st net rating (+9.9)
Best Teams Avoided: Los Angeles Clippers, 56-26/2nd net rating (+6.9); San Antonio Spurs, 55-27/3rd net rating (+6.3)
Average Playoff Opponent Net Rating: +4.775
So how hard was this, really? Despite Golden State’s meteoric rise and a net rating advantage nearly as large as the Cavs faced back in 2007, this was pre-Durant and LeBron very well might have beaten them if not for injuries suffered by Kyrie Irving and Kevin Love during the playoffs.
5. 2014 Miami Heat
Record: 54-28, lost 4-1 in finals
Best Teammate: Dwyane Wade
Regular Season Rankings: 3rd offense/11th defense/4th net rating (+5.1)
Best Team Faced: San Antonio Spurs
Regular Season Record: 62-20
Regular Season Rankings: 5th offense/4th defense/1st net rating (+8.1)
Best Teams Avoided: Los Angeles Clippers, 57-25/2nd net rating (+7.3); Oklahoma City Thunder, 59-23/3rd net rating (+6.4)
Average Playoff Opponent Net Rating: +2.775
So how hard was this, really? LeBron’s final Miami team was his weakest, and San Antonio was on a mission to avenge a finals loss the previous season that fell through their fingertips at the end of Game 6 and Game 7. They were one of the most aesthetically pleasing groups ever assembled, with several wondrous passers and a selfless approach to offense that kept Miami in stressful rotations until they broke. The Spurs finished that postseason with over 1500 more passes than any other team, and, with Kawhi Leonard and Tim Duncan as two defensive anchors in different spots on the floor, had one of the best defenses in the league.
4. 2011 Miami Heat
Record: 58-24, lost 4-2 in finals
Best Teammate: Dwyane Wade
Regular Season Rankings: 2nd offense/5th defense/2nd net rating (+7.8)