[Highlight] LeBron hits a running one leg bank shot to game the Raptors and go up 3-0 in the series
Not my OG!
I remember this play but forgot it was OG that was defending. Not much more he could have done there just a great shot.
iirc siakam was supposed to help and blitz lebron but didnt for some reason, og did his best but bron was just different this season
“didn’t for some reason” he wanted no parts of bron after those fadeaway jumpers on him in game 2
OG was getting roasted all series by James. It’s just an even bigger testament to how unstoppable and special the Lebronto run was. He wasn’t roasting people that didn’t belong– he was taking on one of the best man defenders in the game and he just couldn’t do anything to stop him.
I mean he was also a rookie
Exactly lol give the kid a break
LeBron in g3 just killed all hopes with those stupid fade away middies.
Bad shots but they all just kept going in
This reads very AI
Eh. I guess it’s getting indistinguishable then since I’m not. I do use AI like 24⁄7 in my day job so maybe I’m staring to mimic them, or they’re just getting better.
People who talk to AI that much def have a tendency to start repeating its patterns. Natural human instinct. The biggest LLM-ism you used was “he wasn’t X—he was Y”.
I wouldn’t be surprised. I legitimately “talk” to terminals more than people during the day. I will say that I have used the em dash for decades so it’s a bit annoying to see that one. All good though, I suspect it’ll all be indistinguishable sooner rather than later.
Yeah, like OG would block a critical shot in the final seconds of a playoff game. Doesn’t sound like him at all….
Yeah the thing about the greats is they can just throw up some bullshit that would get an average player benched and it’ll go in.
Getting cooked by 2018 LeBron isn’t embarrassing by any means
Plus, that was a crazy shot. Not much more you can do when you are trying to avoid fouling.
Fading left, right hand floater lol
Idk how many people on this sub actually hoop, but that shit is TOUGH
2 points is 2 points
Will you explain later?
yep no different than AD def on jokic’s shot, sometimes it is what it is
Yeah nobody was stopping that freight train
It’s not but it was by far the weakest Cavs team and everyone thought they would be smacked. The raptors getting beat by that Cavs team is at worst borderline not embarrassing.
This shot really overshadowed how OG hits a huge 3 to tie the game up.
I still remember how I felt during that game. I was so pumped for a moment. Then I saw the clock… 8 seconds is too much damn time left.
I spent the entire time out dreading what was coming. And then this play.. .
Yea - wasn’t Demar benched and OG played a major role in our (ultimately futile) comeback?
Thats the game. Demar with a -23 in a 2 point loss
In order for some to be playoff legends and rise above, others must Demar.
These are the moments the create players like the OG we know now
I remember watching this game live and feeling terrible for Toronto. It reminded me that the Hawks have also never beaten LeBron James in playoffs going 0-12, but never got the “LeBronto” treatment.
Dude I was so dejected after this loss. It felt like we had such a good squad but one fucking dude was just literal kryptonite for us. Like no matter what we did, LeBron was going to beat us in any way imaginable.
Lebronto really was a crazy era
Yall won a championship the second that dude left the conference
We won a championship the second we ditched Derozan. Dude is playoff cancer, one of the worst performers in history when compared to his regular season numbers.
Downvoted for speaking the truth. Derozan is an amazing player but a huge playoff dropper and getting rid of him to make space for Kawhi is 100% the reason you won in 2019
Like trading playoff poop for gold
and also Lebron wasnt in the East lol both things can be true
2016 was great. Our best season yet, and Derozan looked like he was shedding the DeFrozen label (he played pretty good that series). 2017 we had no Lowry and Cavs were all time offensively so it wasn’t bad to get swept. That built up to 2018 where we had our best season yet and Cleveland was the worst they’ve been in years giving us hope only for LeBron to toy with us for 4 straight games. Also JR Smith couldn’t miss.
To be fair to you guys, literally no one in the Eastern conference got past LeBron for almost an entire decade. The only years in the 2010’s LeBron wasn’t in the finals was 2010 and 2019.
ppl really don’t mention this enough when talking about Lebron’s greatness. For nearly an entire DECADE if you went to the Finals, you were facing Lebron James. It’s gotta be the craziest run in modern sports history next to Jordan’s 6 titles in 8 years
It’s ok they got their moment the next year
Yeah, the LeBronto thing definitely sucked but getting the chip erased all that from the hard drive for me.
It’s because it didn’t rhyme as nicely
LeCawks
AtLenta
I have a really stupid question.
Does “LeBronto” just refer to Toronto? Or does it also refer to the Brontosaurus?
Just toronto
brother my wizards were the first team he beat in the playoffs in 06, 07, AND 08. that’s right, his first rounds for his first 3 playoff runs were meeting up with my team and knowing damn well he’d beat us.
but toronto’s definitely hurt cuz they worked real hard to get a good team around them, got the 1 seed, COTY, while the cavs got notably worse. one of the funniest things of bron’s east runs is he rarely got the 1 seed and fans of those 1 seeds think they’d be the one to beat him just to get completely outmatched in the ECF. but 4 seed cavs stomped toronto in four games in the second round. i feel like if that series at least went to 7, they keep demar and casey maybe?
If it wasn’t for Biyambo playing waaaay above his ceiling the Cavs would’ve swept in 2016 getting to the finals too lol.
Becuase no one really thinks Atl was going to beat LeBron.
Toronto always claim the could get pass LeBron.
I think because there was no real animosity nor memorable series. It was fodder/NBATV level even the CF series.
I watched this at a wedding reception on my phone
How did the other guests react when you started pumping your fists and jumping up and down?
I do that at every wedding anyways
They join in, and then when enough people are doing it the bride and groom have to stop what they’re doing and start rap battling.
“She went to Bryn Mawr, that’s a private school. What’s the matter girl, you embarrassed?”
I watched this in a bathtub with my toaster
Bro I was also watching on my phone at a party 😂 I was drunk as hell I started going crazy
He was on one for this whole 4th too this was a great game
Yo same bro wtf ahaha
LOL nice
Same. Luckily my tears fit both occasions nicely
I watched this in Osaka Japan over breakfast
2 points is not 2 points. i’ll explain later.
Yea him saying that before the game was a fuckery. I mean look at Valanciunas’ reaction. Its really not just a 2 pt.
this was the day i stfu hating on lebron. was an avid hater since 05/31/07
So you saw that double OT game in real time. Bron shut my hatin ass too after that game, been a fan ever since.
yes that game is what made me hate him. i even had his shoes at the time and threw them mfs in the creek after the game. i wanted that 05 finals run back so bad
2018 LeBron also had the classic “zero level of concern” quote after going down 0-1 to Boston in the WCF
18 lebron was the biggest playoff carry job of all time
Honorable mention 07 lebron
It genuinely trips me out. Like, did he somehow know he was going to win the game with a 2? Or did he say the line and then manufacture the situation?
Game 2 he went off shooting a ridiculous string of mid-range fadeaway shots that was not something he was really known for before in his career. It was demoralizing, like how the fuck does LeBron suddenly have a unguardable Dirk fadeaway? I think this is the “Lebronto” game most people’s minds go to when you mention that word
The reporter was asking about a fadeaway shot “only being worth 2 points” and LeBron responded “2 points ain’t 2 points” poorly explaining that certain shots are momentum changers and the rest is history.
He hit this shot right after to win game 3 and effectively ended Toronto’s season, and I think for most people the combined 2 games and quote is one collective memory now.
the coldest quote in sports history to me. It just doesn’t seem real that it happened hahah
I remember r/nba was shitposting and meme’ing this quote then realizing what he meant afterwards.
It was posted before the game and people were clowning on it… then the game happened. Truly made me question my sanity
2018 Lebron was so ridiculous I’ve never been more confident in a player in my life. To this day I believe he would’ve averaged over 40 in the finals if he didn’t break his hand after game 1
blame JR
And George hill
And the refs for overturning a charge call years before challenges were a thing
And KD for being a lameass bitch
I knew you were a Cavs fan after reading your comment because we’re the only ones who acknowledge that EGREGIOUS overturned charge call, all the blame gets put on JR, but without that call he never would have been put in that position.
Yeah it gets looked over way too often
They have never reversed a call like that before. No challenge, no reason to even look at it other than making sure a “wrong call” didn’t go against GS lol
And K Love gifting curry the easiest and-1 ever with like 90 seconds left
I remember that overturned charge, it was unheard of at the time, esp that late in the game and it legit looked like a charge.
It is amazing how little flack hill gets for missing that free throw.
There’s a 1 in 4 or 5 chance of missing a free throw with basically no way to meaningfully improve unless you’re one of very few extremely gifted players. JR’s mistake was pure stupidity, no luck or skill involved.
Bro missed a shot, shit happens. What a crazy thing to say
But also, during our series against them in 2018, his entire squad of role players all played HoFers. Look up their shooting splits, it’s insane.
If they had played like that in the finals, they could have conceivably won.
2018 playoffs LeBron was the best version of LeBron and the single best version of a player I’ve seen in 30 years.
Perfect blend of his mental and physical abilities
In a way this was a blessing, getting stomped by the Cavs. Demar was ejected the next game, and Kawhi was traded for. The rest is hx.
100% agree. But ngl, I was in my feelings after that beatdown. The LeBronto stuff was mad annoying (even if true.)
This shot was so demoralizing it was like a sign from above that we will never get past Lebron
The Bulls, Hawks, Pistons, Celtics, and Pacers were saying the same thing.
Lol I can assure we were not worried about trying to get past LeBron, we were just happy to be there
but not for 2006-07…
sure but that was 12 years before this moment lol
Man i burst into tears after this went in. Especially because wed fought so hard to come back in this game. So crazy that this was basically the catalyst for our championship
And Dwayne Casey was fired
Leblessing
As much a I love DeMar it’s always worth remembering that his last on-court moment as a Raptor was getting a Flagrant II.
Sucks this guy just isn’t clutch. Dude is missing the clutch gene.
Can’t dribble, can’t shoot 3s, can’t make free throws. Not my GOAT.
Kind of insane how the haters try to push this narrative. Dude is, by far, the leader in playoff buzzer beaters.
#1 in clutch points too
I remember a dude telling me that dumb “LeBron ain’t clutch” bullshit just after this series vs Raptors. Blind delusional haters will always repeat the same crazy shit lol
He was unbelievable that whole postseason. 8 40pt games.
Most in a playoff run ever.
In my opinion, 2018 LeBron is the greatest version of a player to ever play.
Remember - his best skill is passing!
Haha, that part. Top 5 in assists all time.
My ass woke up early to stream this game when I was in fuckin China, ruined my day 😂
I lived in China for two years and all my favorite teams sucked 👍
At least the local player nicknames were good for you
LeBronto
Dude just destroyed us every time. There was one series he was telling Patrick Patterson where to stand for OUR offensive sets because PatPat was in the wrong spot. Like Jesus Christ.
Kyle still gave him his career high 43 once though, so at least there’s that.
bron always treated the east teams as his kids but was their a specific reason why u guys struggled so much. i mean this version of the cavs was the worst iteration of bron’s 2nd stint. and every other team got 3 or 4 games from them.
i do remember kevin love not being great that playoffs except for the toronto series tho, so cavs really just had their number
The 2016 series was competitive, at least. The only team in the East to take a game off the Cavs that year, let alone 2.
We tied the series up and LeBron said basically “I’ve been in some tight 2-2 series… this isn’t one of them.”
And then he proceeded to win the next 2 without any real effort. So yeah it was close, but not really lmao.
You guys deadass won immediately after he left the conference lmao
kinda messed up hes as good of a player as he is while still having a trillion videos of him forcing the coach to put certain players on the court then telling those players to run specific plays over and over because he noticed something and doesnt think the other coach will adapt quick enough
Bron seemed the most unserious for this series. Basically won a whole playoff game with nothing but turnaround fadeaway jumpers
I could hardly believe it watching that shit live.
Fish grease hot and smooth as butter.
I do think that year he may be the best basketball player I’ve ever watched. I remember Jordan’s last two chips but I was too young to understand it so I gotta give it to Bron
Watched this live at a marina dive bar on the Ohio River and when he hit this shot the place exploded, beers flying everywhere, people jumping around grabbing each other. You just had to be there to appreciate LeBron’s greatness.
Makes it look like anyone could just go out and do that. Smooth.
This is why Lebron should go to Canada.
Funniest gamewinner ever
No need for the video clip - I feel like this is burned into fans’ long-term memories almost as much as any other play.
It was just so. goddamn. funny.
It was not.
Funny, that it. It’s burned in exactly like you said.
🐐🐐🐐
LeBronto was a great era. Remember watching this on the bus home
something tells me we’ll see this playoff run one more time before he retires
The LeBron doc is gonna be tough to watch for Raptors fans of all ages
Playing HORSE on a game winner in the Eastern Conference Semis
One of the biggest fuck-you’s by Lebron in his career.
By this point in time he already had the nickname LeBronto from years prior of killing the raps. But this was 2018, when he didn’t have Kyrie, they made a trade deadline deal and got some useless parts like IT and so on. So this was the year where theoretically, the Raps should have had a chance (although nobody thought so).
And yet….no, not only does Lebron dominate them in the first 2 games, he wins game 3 in the most ridiculous humiliating fashion possible for the Raps, a running one legged fadeaway bank-shot.
I think this loss forced Masai to get serious and trade DeMar, blow it up, even for a 1-year rental of kawhi.
Cavs were also coming off a first round 7-game series against the Oladipo Pacers that they needed two LeBron game winners just to survive. Plus Kevin Love was injured coming into this series. This was easily the pre-Kawhi Raps’ best chance. And yet! The close-up cuts to OG and Lowry say it all. They knew in that moment they were gonna get swept.
IT was in the Kyrie trade. The 2018 deadline was to get rid of the useless parts from the Kyrie trade and bring in some other detritus. Out: IT, Channing Frye, Shump, Jae crowder, Derrick rose, Dwyane Wade In: Jordan clarkson, Larry nance, George hill, Rodney hood
Was Toronto the 1 seed? And did they get swept in the 2nd round? Oof, no wonder they went all out for Kawhi.
Insanely difficult shot that is underrated because of how easy he made it look.
He did this on my birthday. Best present ever
thanks for reminding me jerk
Turn the 0-2 into the 0-3 dawg
Man it was brutal being a raptors fan during this era. Couldn’t make a comment without lebronto appearing
That whole 2018 carry job was all-time. Only LeBron could do that. Then get to the Finals and put up 51 pts against a juggernaut and still lose, smh.
The layup when Morris is holding him down is still my favorite moment from that run.
What he say fuck me for
I was just practicing this shot in my driveway last night and I wasn’t even fully running like he is and it’s impossible lmao
It was always funny to me how little effort Hubie Brown put into staying unbiased during the Cavs Raptors series. Even when LeBron makes this shot you can hear him make a disappointed noise in the background 😂
3peat Shaq
1st 3peat Jordan and
2013⁄2018 LeBron are the highest peaks in NBA history
Lebronto game. Also as a Raps fan, this is exact moment live is when I accepted Lebron is the GOAT over Jordan
Posting this without a trigger warning for raptors fans. Not very considerate…
OG was like “I’m gonna have a game winner like that one day in the playoffs. You’ll see.”
bro if i was a raptors fan i woulda ended myself at the end of that game.
This series was one of the more emphatic beatdowns of the 2010’s decade
When 2 points weren’t just 2 points
This didn’t even feel like time ran out, it was more LeBron decided the game should end. I swear we were just extras in a LeBron movie for 5 years
I watched this live, and as a neutral fan during this playoffs (none of my teams were relevant), this was devastating to watch. Not that I was rooting for the raptors. I was just rooting for more basketball.
The warehouse i work at during that time is filled with Raptors fans and i was the only lbj fan, i had to go to work with Samosa and timmies just so they won’t eat me alive. The drinking and party we had the year after was epic tho!
It’s kinda fucking crazy that LeBron basically had the east on lock for like 5 years
8*
Lebron need to be banned from Canada for the shit he did to the raptors
Remember this night. PTSD. Thought we had the series locked up until that one went in.
We were so damn good every year but just had to go up against the unstoppable force that is LeBron each time
Peak LeBronto
Bro the game where he was just cooking on fadeaways is still burned in my brain
He just made it look so…easy
he was unstoppable that season
This was an all-time response to Undisputed the night before
Peak LeBronto. I remember this well.
I remember this shot and how he played in this post season. He seemed to have leveled up so much even as late in his career as it was then.
Bro I was having a good day.
lol, Lowry going WTF for like 1 minute
leBronto
Is that Travis Kelce celebrating at :18?
Everyone and their mama knew he was gonna hit it but not like that! He a showman lol
funniest moment after this was bayless and broussard complaining about this shit not having the “ultimate level of difficulty”
Dudes will say with a straight face that LeBron wasn’t/isn’t clutch.
I remember leaving this sub and forcefully ignoring basketball for at least 6 months. Even thinking about it hurts. Textbook traumatic experience.
Such a ridiculous shot. That entire run was one of the greatest by an individual player I’ve ever seen.
DOWNVOTED 😭😭😭
It’s only right for Lebron to join the Cavs now and continue his East dominance
Honestly best thing to happen to raps. Went down 25 thanks to.playing derozan and benched him to tie the game. Then got him shipped for kawhi 😂. Goddamn derozan was such a bad player by eye test and all metrics.
Dr. J used to do that one fairly often in the 70s..
Game them. Never seen that phrase before. I like it.
He’s going back to Cleveland isn’t he?
damn that one-leg bank was filthy lebron just cooked em to go up 3-0
This is just an all timer. How nonchalant LeBron’s shot was. How stunned and lost the Raps were.
Argh fuck don’t remind me of this shit again
It’s craaaazy I don’t even remember this or any other LeBron related Raptors games
How did Lebron know Drake and Derozan had already planned their Mexico trip in the spring
I didn’t like this the first time I saw it.
After the 2016 finals, this was my favorite LeBron playoff series ever.
I will never forget this! I’m a raps fan and I couldn’t sleep at all that night because of how depressed I was.
Whatever… we won a championship in 2019 so fuck all this lol
How many would have that this Rap squad would go on to win a chip with some of that same core?
Man, even I felt defeated with that one
Damn. I was hoping to hear Fred on the call.
and “hotter than fish grease” was a DIFFERENT game
Damn, I really wish I was watching back then.
Can’t wait until he signs with the Raptors next week!
Kyle looks sad
Lol i was at this game.. Ended up getting black out drunk and passing out behind Butcher the Brewer in the alley
And this is when LeBronto was created
This is the one shot that will forever haunt my memory
I actually just pulled up the most clutch players in NBA history and LeBron has the most game winners I think at 8? Statistically, he’s higher than Kobe and some other very clutch players.
KYLE LOWRY LOOK LOST AF 😂 he tryna process what just happened