LeBron James Playoff Record: The Good and the Great!

LeBron James playoff record is 41-12 in playoff series and 182-100 in playoff games. He has won four NBA Championships: two with the Heat, one for the Cavs and one with the Lakers. LeBron is the all-time leader in playoff games and minutes played and points scored. He is at or near the top of the leader board in a variety of other all-time NBA playoff stats.

LeBron’s teams have made the playoffs in all but four of his NBA seasons. His Cleveland Cavaliers missed the playoffs his first two years in the league. He then made the playoffs every year since with the exception of 2019 and 2021 with the Lakers.

Table of Contents

Team: Cleveland Cavaliers

Playoff: 2006 (1-1 series record)

Matchup	Result	Games
Cavs vs. Wizards	Win	4-2
Cavs vs Pistons	Loss	3-4

The Cavs did not have much beyond LeBron: Larry Hughes was the 2nd highest playoff scorer.
They beat a Wizards team starring Gilbert Arenas and Antawn Jamison.
The Cavs lost a 7 game series to a Pistons squad starring Rip Hamilton, Chauncey Billups, Ben Wallace and others. The Pistons were coming off back-to-back NBA Finals including the 2004 NBA Championship.

LeBron James 2006 Playoff Stats

Games	Minutes	PTS	ASTS	RBDS
13	46.5	30.8	5.8	8.1

Playoff: 2007 (3-1 series record)

Matchup	Result	Games
Cavs vs. Wizards	Win	4-0
Cavs vs Nets	Win	4-2
Cavs vs Pistons	Win	4-2
Cavs vs Spurs	Loss	0-4

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The Cavs cruised past a wizards team starring Antawn Jamison and got past a Nets squad starring Vince Carter and Jason Kidd in the first two rounds.
The East Finals saw the Cavs once again getting by the former champion Pistons.
The roster of this Cavs team was thin: Larry Hughes was their second best scorer. It’s incredible LeBron got them to the NBA Finals.
They were not able to get past Tim Duncan and the Spurs in the NBA Finals. It was Duncan’s fourth title.

LeBron James 2007 Playoff Stats

Games	Minutes	PTS	ASTS	RBDS
20	44.7	25.1	8	8.1

Playoff: 2008 (1-1 series record)

Matchup	Result	Games
Cavs vs. Wizards	Win	4-2
Cavs vs Celtics	Loss	3-4

The Cavs once again defeated Antawn Jamison and the Wizards in round one.
They ran into a buzz saw in round two: Kevin Garnett, Ray Allen, Paul Pierce and the eventual NBA Champion Boston Celtics (Since I have a video of this championship on the about page of this blog, it is possible I might be a bit biased about how great that C’s team was!)

LeBron James 2008 Playoff Stats

Games	Minutes	PTS	ASTS	RBDS
13	42.5	28.2	7.6	7.8

Playoff: 2009 (2-1 series record)

Matchup	Result	Games
Cavs vs. Pistons	Win	4-0
Cavs vs Hawks	Win	4-0
Cavs vs Magic	Loss	2-4

The Cavs cruised by the Pistons, now mostly moved on from the team that won a title in 2009, and the Hawks, starring Josh Smith and Joe Johnson, in the first two rounds.
They were stopped by Dwight Howard’s Orlando Magic in the East Finals.
The Cavs still had not built much of a team around LeBron: Mo William, Delonte West and Anderson Varejão were the next three best players. It was going to be hard to win with these rosters and, in hindsight, you can see why LeBron’s first stop in Cleveland would soon come to an end.

LeBron James 2009 Playoff Stats

Games	Minutes	PTS	ASTS	RBDS
14	41.4	35.3	7.3	9.1

Playoff: 2010 (1-1 series record)

Matchup	Result	Games
Cavs vs. Bulls	Win	4-1
Cavs vs Celtics	Loss	2-4

The Cavs got past a Bulls team led by a young Derrick Rose in round one.
The C’s still featuring their Big 3 of Pierce, Allen and Garnett ended the Cavs season early in round 2.
LeBron was done with losing and famously took his talents to South Beach in the offseason leading into the 2010-2011 season.

LeBron James 2010 Playoff Stats

Games	Minutes	PTS	ASTS	RBDS
11	41.8	29.1	7.6	9.3

Team: Miami Heat

Playoff: 2011 (3-1 series record)

Matchup	Result	Games
Heat vs Sixers	Win	4-1
Heat vs Celtics	Win	4-1
Heat vs Bulls	Win	4-1
Heat vs Mavericks	Loss	2-4

After losing twice to Boston’s big three, LeBron put his own together in Miami. LeBron, Dwyane Wade and Chris Bosh would win two titles together not in this, their first year together.
They got by Elton Brand’s 76ers and an aging Boston Big 3 in the first two rounds.
Derrick Rose was a full-on superstar at this point, but he was not enough to stop the Heatles in the East Finals.
The Heat were shocked by Dirk Nowitzski in his only title in the Finals.

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LeBron James 2011 Playoff Stats

Games	Minutes	PTS	ASTS	RBDS
21	43.9	23.7	5.9	8.4

Playoff: 2012 (4-0 series record 1st Championship)

Matchup	Result	Games
Heat vs Knicks	Win	4-1
Heat vs Pacers	Win	4-2
Heat vs Celtics	Win	4-3
Heat vs Thunder	Win	4-1

The Heat got by Carmelo Anthony’s Knicks and a fun Pacers squad featuring David West and Danny Granger in the first two rounds.
My Celtics made what would turn out to be their last stand of the Big 3 Era, pushing the Heat to a game 7 before falling in the East Finals.
The NBA Finals saw an incredible collection of talent with the Heat starring their three Hall of Famers and the Thunder bringing Kevin Durant, Russell Westbrook and James Harden. What was an incredible match up on paper turned out to be less than that in real life with the Heat winning easily.

LeBron James 2012 Playoff Stats

Games	Minutes	PTS	ASTS	RBDS
23	42.7	30.3	5.6	9.7

Playoff: 2013 (4-0 series record 2nd Championship)

Matchup	Result	Games
Heat vs Bucks	Win	4-0
Heat vs Bulls	Win	4-1
Heat vs Pacers	Win	4-3
Heat vs Spurs	Win	4-3

The Heat cruised past Monta Ellis’ Bucks and a Bulls team now starring Jimmy Butler in rounds 1 and 2.
In the Eastern Conference Finals, the Heat once again defeated the Pacers now featuring Paul George, David West and others.
The Finals were an epic showdown with Tim Duncan and Kawhi Leonard’s Spurs. Former LeBron opponent, now teammate, Ray Allen hit an all-time shot to keep the Heat alive in game 6.

LeBron James 2013 Playoff Stats

Games	Minutes	PTS	ASTS	RBDS
23	41.7	25.9	6.6	8.4

Playoff: 2014 (3-1 series record)

Matchup	Result	Games
Heat vs Bobcats	Win	4-0
Heat vs Nets	Win	4-1
Heat vs Pacers	Win	4-2
Heat vs Spurs	Loss	1-4

The Heat got past Kemba Walker and the Charlotte Bobcats in round 1 then dispatched a Nets team with Joe Johnson and an aging Paul Pierce in round 2.
The East Finals saw the Heat getting past the same Paul George, David West – led Pacers team they defeated the prior season.
In the NBA Final, Miami could not get past the same Spurs team they beat in the previous Finals. Kawhi Leonard was the MVP while a 37-year-old Tim Duncan collected his fifth NBA title.
LeBron’s contract was up and he surprised most of us by returning home to Cleveland for unfinished business.

LeBron James 2014 Playoff Stats

Games	Minutes	PTS	ASTS	RBDS
20	38.2	27.4	4.8	7.1

Team: Cleveland Cavaliers (Round 2)

Playoff: 2015 (3-1 series record)

Matchup	Result	Games
Cavs vs Celtics	Win	4-0
Cavs vs Bulls	Win	4-2
Cavs vs Hawks	Win	4-0
Cavs vs Warriors	Loss	2-4

The Cavs swept a Celtics team with Isaiah Thomas in his first year with the team then got by the Bulls now co-starring Jimmy Butler and Derrick Rose.
The Hawks, starring Al Horford and Paul Milsap, were a regular season dynamo. The team was coached by future champion Mike Budenholzer. They were not the same threat in the playoffs and the Cavs dispatched them in four games.
In the NBA Finals, Kyrie missed all but one game. LeBron still led the Cavs to two wins but they were not up to the challenge of the modern Warriors. This version of Golden State starred the trio of Steph Curry, Klay Thompson and Draymond Green.

LeBron James 2015 Playoff Stats

Games	Minutes	PTS	ASTS	RBDS
20	42.2	30.1	8.5	11.3

Playoff: 2016 (4-0 series record 3rd Championship)

Matchup	Result	Games
Cavs vs Pistons	Win	4-0
Cavs vs Hawks	Win	4-0
Cavs vs Raptors	Win	4-2
Cavs vs Warriors	Win	4-3

The Cavs swept a forgettable Pistons team starring Andre Drummond and the same Al Horford-led Hawks in the first two rounds of the 2016 playoffs.
In the East Finals the Cavs got past Kyle Lowry, DeMar DeRozan and the Toronto Raptors.
In the NBA Finals, the Cavs got past the same Warriors with Steph, Klay and Draymond. Kyrie hit the big shot in this one.

The Warriors added KD the next season to make sure there were no more close losses.

LeBron James 2016 Playoff Stats

Games	Minutes	PTS	ASTS	RBDS
21	39.1	26.3	7.6	9.5

Playoff: 2017 (3-1 series record)

Matchup	Result	Games
Cavs vs Pacers	Win	4-0
Cavs vs Raptors	Win	4-0
Cavs vs Celtics	Win	4-1
Cavs vs Warriors	Loss	1-4

The Cavs swept the Paul George-led Pacers in round 1 then did the same to DeMar DeRozan and the Raptors in round 2. An injured Kyle Lowry played only two games in the series.
The Cavs got past a fun, upstart Celtics team in the East Finals. The C’s had Al Horford but their real star at the point was Isaiah Thomas, who somehow finished 5th in the MVP balloting in 2017. He was injured in the series and played only two games. The injury effectively ended his career.
In the Finals, the now-starring KD Warriors were too much for the Cavs who were only able to win one

LeBron James 2017 Playoff Stats

Games	Minutes	PTS	ASTS	RBDS
18	41.3	32.8	7.8	9.1

Playoff: 2018 (3-1 series record)

Matchup	Result	Games
Cavs vs Pacers	Win	4-3
Cavs vs Raptors	Win	4-0
Cavs vs Celtics	Win	4-3
Cavs vs Warriors	Loss	0-4

The Cavs faced the same four teams in the same order in the 2018 playoffs that they had in 2017. The results were the same though the series were somewhat different.
The 2018 Cavs no longer had Kyrie who had been traded to the Celtics for Isaiah Thomas. The trade was one of those rare ones that hurt both sides!
The Pacers, now starring Victor Oladipo, Domantas Sabonis and others, put up a fight in the first round winning the first two games and dragging the Cavs to 7 games.
The Raptors still had Kyle Lowry and DeMar DeRozan and it still was not enough.
The C’s were supposed to star Kyrie Irving and Gordon Hayward but injuries put Jaylen Brown and Jayson Tatum at center stage at very young ages – they showed signs of what was to come dragging the series to seven games.
The Finals vs the loaded Warriors were the same story without Kyrie that they had been with him: The KD, Steph, Klay, Draymond Warriors could only beat themselves. No one else had a chance.

LeBron James 2018 Playoff Stats

Games	Minutes	PTS	ASTS	RBDS
22	41.9	34	9	9.1

Team: Los Angeles Lakers

The 2019 Lakers did not make the playoffs.

Playoff: 2020 (4-0 series record 4th Championship)

Matchup	Result	Games
Lakers vs Blazers	Win	4-1
Lakers vs Rockets	Win	4-1
Lakers vs Nuggets	Win	4-1
Lakers vs Heat	Win	4-2

After being surrounded by young players his first year in LA, LeBron recruited Anthony Davis to the Lakers and things changed for the team.
The 2020 NBA Playoffs were unique because of the global pandemic that shut down the league temporarily then caused the end of the year and playoffs to be completed in the Disney World bubble.
There were no fans, no travel and a completely unique setting. Some observers say this benefited an aging LeBron. I think that it is very hard to say who benefited from the bubble.
The Lakers cruised past Damian Lilliard’s Portland TrailBlazers then James Harden’s Rockets in the first two rounds.
The Denver Nuggets were led by Nikola Jokić and Jamal Murray but they could not handle AD and LeBron.
In the bubble Finals, the Lakers got past an unsurprisingly gritty Jimmy Butler-led Miami Heat team.

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LeBron James 2020 Playoff Stats

Games	Minutes	PTS	ASTS	RBDS
21	36.3	27.6	8.8	10.8

Playoff: 2021 (0-1 series record)

Matchup	Result	Games
Lakers vs Suns	Loss	2-4

Before 2021, every LeBron team to make the playoffs had made the NBA Finals for 9 straight seasons! The 2019 Lakers did not make the playoffs, but every other season when his teams made the playoffs, he led them to the Finals.
The Suns made the Finals after defeating the Lakers in the first round. They starred Chris Paul, Devin Booker and DeAndre Ayton.
An ailing Anthony Davis only played in 5 of the 6 games in the series.

LeBron James 2021 Playoff Stats

Games	Minutes	PTS	ASTS	RBDS
6	37.3	23.3	8	7.2

The 2021 Lakers did not make the playoffs as both AD and LeBron missed large chunks of the season.

Playoff: 2023 (2-0 series record)

Matchup	Result	Games
Lakers vs Grizzlies	Win	4-2
Lakers vs Warriors	Win	4-2
Lakers vs Nuggets	Loss	0-4

The Lakers sprung to life in the second half of the 2022-2023 season and showed it was not a fluke in the playoffs.
They got by a Grizzlies team that was in disarray with the antics of both Dillon Brooks and Ja Morant making headlines for all the wrong reasons.
The Lakers then got past Steph Curry and the Warriors in a clash of legendary teams and players in round two.
The Lakers looked like they may have recaptured the Magic after beating Steph Curry and the Warriors, but those hopes were crushed by Nikola Jokic and the Denver Nuggets who swept them on the the way to their first NBA Finals.

LeBron James 2023 Playoff Stats

Games	Minutes	PTS	ASTS	RBDS
16	38.7	24.5	6.5	9.9

LeBron James’ career playoff statistics

LeBron James has made the playoffs in all but four of his nineteen seasons in the NBA so far. His career statistics are amazing.

In addition to being the all-time NBA leader in games and minutes played and points scored in the playoffs, LeBron is first in total steals, fourth in rebounds and second in total assists.

Some will say LeBron has such great playoff stats because the league has changed. They will point to expansion and longer playoff rounds as a major reason why LeBron has played so many playoff games.

They might also point out that LeBron came directly to the league from high school and has lasted a long time in the league, allowing him to play many more playoff games than other all-time greats.

All of this is true, but LeBron also has some of the best stats ever on a per game basis as well. He is sixth in points per game in the playoffs, 19th in assists per game, 4th in PER, 3rd in Win Share per 48 minutes, 3rd in Box Plus/Minus and 1st in Value Over Replacement Player.

No matter how you measure it, LeBron James has some of the best all-time playoff stats ever!

Games	Minutes	PTS	ASTS	RBDS
282	41.3	28.5	7.2	9.0

LeBron James has gone 41-11 in playoff series and 182-100 in playoff games in his career up to this point. He has won four championships with three different teams: the Miami Heat, the Cleveland Cavaliers and the Los Angeles Lakers.

Summary: LeBron James Playoff Record

The post provides an in-depth overview of LeBron James’ playoff journey throughout his career. It highlights his remarkable record, with 41 series wins and 182 game victories.

LeBron has clinched four NBA Championships, winning two with the Miami Heat, one with the Cleveland Cavaliers, and one with the Los Angeles Lakers.

Notably, he holds multiple all-time playoff records, including most playoff games played, minutes played, and points scored. Additionally, the post discusses the teams LeBron has played for and their playoff performances, showcasing his ability to consistently lead his teams to the postseason.

It emphasizes the impact he had on the success of his squads, even in seasons where the supporting cast was relatively weak. LeBron’s exceptional playoff statistics further solidify his status as one of the greatest players in NBA history.