Coming off a loss and an underwhelming NBA Finals performance against the Dallas Mavericks in 2011, LeBron James once again found himself on the brink of elimination the following year against the Boston Celtics in the Eastern Conference Finals.
It was Game 6, with the Miami Heat trailing 3-2 in the series. A loss would have been a brutal blow to LeBron’s legacy, potentially marking two straight postseason runs without a championship after his move to Miami, and another loss to the Celtics, a team that had always stood in his way even back in Cleveland.
The stakes couldn’t have been higher for Miami, and no one faced more pressure than LeBron. But as then Miami players, Udonis Haslem and Mike Miller remember it, LeBron had already let them know, in no uncertain terms, that Miami wasn’t losing that night.
Haslem: “That game in Boston, the bus showed up an hour and a half before tip… He looked at us like this, and said, ‘Don’t worry about it.'”
Miller: He looked at me, and said, ‘Killer, I’m throwing everything at them. I’m shooting every bullet, the gun. Imma’ take the clip out, throw at them, and Imma’ throw the gun at them too.’”
Jamal Crawford: “What’s your favorite version of LeBron James?”
Udonis Haslem: “Miami Heat version… That game in Boston, the bus showed up an hour and a half before tip. He looked at us like this, and said, ‘Don’t worry about it.'”😂
(via @theOGsShow)pic.twitter.com/2uzIH67F3S
— ClutchPoints (@ClutchPoints) January 29, 2025