The Lakers took care of busine s in Game 6 Sunday night, defeating the Heat 106-93 en route to an NBA Finals win.
The win brings Los Angeles its17th NBA title, which ties the Celtics for the most alltime in NBA history. It also gives LeBron James his fourth title with his third different team (Heat, Cavs, Lakers). But there's a lot more history than that to discu s.
Below, we'll get into some of the more interesting stats a sociated with the Lakers' 2020 NBA Finals win.
DECOURCY:
LeBron makes history with Finals MVP win
LeBron James joins Michael Jordan as the only players in NBA History to win 4+ Finals MVPs and 4+ regular-season MVPs.
NBA History (@NBAHistory)
LeBron is the first player in NBA history to win a Finals MVP with three different franchises
ESPN (@espn)
James won the NBA Finals MVP in a unanimous 11-0 vote, making him 4-for-4 in winning MVP when his team won the NBA Finals. He not only becomes the first player to win a Finals MVP with three different teams, but he also joined Michael Jordan in some elite company.
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LeBron and Anthony Davis were a historic duo
LeBron James and Anthony Davis are the 1st pair of teammates to average 25 PPG on 50% FG in the same postseason in NBA history.
Dave McMenamin (@mcten)
Only duos to win the NBA Finals while both averaging 25+ PPG in the postseason:LeBron James Stephon Gilmore Jersey (27.6 in 2020)Anthony Davis (27.7 in 2020)Shaquille O'Neal (36.3 in 2002)Kobe Bryant (26.8 in 2002)
NBA History (@NBAHistory)
Anthony Davis and LeBron James will be the first pair of teammates to finish 1st and 2nd in postseason scoring (total points) in a postseason since Shaquille O'Neal and Kobe Bryant in the 2002 postseason.
ESPN Stats & Info (@ESPNStatsInfo)
We knew when Anthony Davis joined the Lakers that he'd make an impact, and he showed that in a big way when it mattered. Davis and James paired up to make some dominating performances throughout the NBA playoffs, and especially in the Finals.
James finished the series averaging29.8 points,11.8 rebounds and8.5 a sists. Davis finished the series averaging25.0 points,10.7 rebounds 3.2 a sists, 2.0 blocks and 1.3 steals.
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Jimmy Butler gave it his all
Jimmy Butler has played 180 of a potential 192 minutes in the last 4 games, which equates to 93.8%.That's the highest percentage over 4 games in the Finals since Kobe Bryant in 2004. (via )
SportsCenter (@SportsCenter)
According to Jimmy Butler is the 2nd player in NBA history to lead his team outright in points, rebounds, a sists, steals and blocks in a Finals series.The other player? LeBron James in the 2016 Finals against the Warriors.
ESPN Stats & Info (@ESPNStatsInfo)
Even though the Heat fell short of winning the title, it's worth noting Jimmy Butler's performance. The Heat star only played fewer than 40 minutes in one game during the Finals, and that was in Game 1 when Miami was down26 points entering the fourth quarter.
After Game 1, Butler rarely took breaks, and had some incredible Chris Reed Jersey performances (two triple doubles) to give the Heat two wins in this series.
LeBron is dominate everywhere he goes
LeBron James is the only player in NBA history to average 25+ PPG in the playoffs on 3 different franchises' championship-winning teams.
NBA.com/Stats (@nbastats)
After the Lakers win, James and Danny Green joined John Salley and Robert Horryas the only players to win NBA championships with threedifferent franchises. But James is the only one of those players who averaged 25-pluspoints per game throughout those title runs. James didn't just win titles, he led his teams to titles.
Lakers finish season 57-0 when leading after three quarters
Taylor Stallworth Jersey This is truly when you think about it. The Lakers were great at finishing opponents off this season, not losing a single game that they led when entering the final quarter. That isn't easy to do, and it's a key reason why they were able to take home the Finals trophy this year.
Rajon Rondo makes history in Lakers-Celtics rivalry
Rajon Rondo joins Clyde Lovellete as the only players to win a championship with the Lakers and the Celtics (2008). Clyde Lovellette won with the Minneapolis Lakers in 1953-54 and with Boston in 1962-63 & 1963-64.
NBA History (@NBAHistory)
Despite the Lakers and Celtics each owning17 NBA titles, only two players have ever won a title while playing for both teams. To take this stat further, Rondo becomes the only player to win a title with the Los Angeles Lakers and Boston Celtics.
Another interesting aspect of this is Rondo helped raise the Lakers' 17th banner and also the Celtics' 17th banner.
Rondo also now holds the largest gap between his first two rings Rodney Thomas Jersey (12 years). The largest gap between any two rings belongs toSam Ca sell (13 years).
Anthony Davis joined some elite company
Anthony Davis is one of five players to shoot 50-40-90 or better in the NBA Finals: (min. 20+ PPG). He joins Kevin Durant (2017, 2018), Chauncey Billups (2004), Penny Hardaway (2005), and Magic Johnson (1987).
NBA.com/Stats (@nbastats)
We already mentioned how Davis and James made a great duo, but Davis is a star all on his own. He joined some other notable players with his 50 BoPete Keyes Jersey -40-90 line (50 percent shooting, 40 percent3-point shooting, 90 percentfree throw shooting).
Anthony Davis joins basketball's Triple Crown
Davis joins seven other players to win basketball's Triple Crown NCAA Championship, Olypmic Gold Medal, NBA Championship.
Here are theplayers to earn this achievement:
Clyde LovelletteBill Ru sellK.C JonesJerry LucasQuinn BuckerMagic JohnsonMichael JordanAnthony DavisDanny Green makes interesting history
Despite mi sing the potential game-winning shot in Game 5, Danny Green still played an important role on this Lakers team. And he's now won the NBA Finals in two straight seasons, with two different teams. He becomes just the sixth player to accomplish such a feat.
Here are all theplayers to earn this achievement:
Pep Saul: Royals (1951), Lakers (1952)Jackie Moore: Nationals (1955), Warriors (1956)Steve Kerr: Bulls (1998), Spurs (1999)Patrick McCaw: Warriors (2018), Raptors (2019)Chris Boucher: Warriors (2018), Raptors (2019)Danny Green: Raptors (2019), Lakers (2020)John Calipari alumn wins title
Anthony Davis will become the 15th Kentucky alumni to win a NBA Championship, and the first under John Calipari.
After it was announced that Bam Adebayo and Goran Dragic on Friday night, many fans on Twitter were willing to call the game a wash and pronounce the Lakers winners.
Adebayo has been a defensive savant in the paint andprovided plenty of offense. He is the team's third-leading scorer in the playoffs, averaging 17.8 points,to go with 10.9 rebounds and 4.6 a sists in 35.9 minutesper game.
Dragic has been the Heat's second-leading scorer this postseasonbehind Jimmy Butler, averaging 19.9 points along Sean Rodriguez Jersey with 4.6 a sists in 33.4 minutes per game.
Still, the show must go on. There will be a Game 2, which means Miami coach Erik Spoelstra needs to figure out how to replace his do-it-all big man and his veteran point guard. Here are a few ways he could approach that challenge:
Players who could replace Goran DragicSG Tyler Herro (16 postseason games;16.3 points, 3.9 a sists in 33.1 minutes per game)
Herro is the obvious option to plug into the starting lineup. He hasn't started a game the entire postseason but he has played starter's minutes off the bench. He has been very effective on the offensive end, although he will have to find some of the magic he had in his 37-point performance in Game 4of the Eastern Conference finals if the Heat are to challenge Mike Schmidt Jersey the Lakers more than they did in Game 1.
Most points in a Playoff gameAge 20 or younger42: Magic Johnson37: TYLER HERRO *36: Derrick Rose34: Brandon Jennings29: Tony Parker* Off the bench
Ballislife.com (@Ballislife)
Even if Herro is able to replicate that kind of performance, Miami will still need other players off the bench to step up.
NBA FINALS:
G Kendrick Nunn (10 games;4.7 points, 1.1 a sists in 12.4 minutes per game)
The undrafted wing had an excellent regular season, averaging 15.3 points and 3.3 a sists in 29.3 minutes per game to earnFirst Team All-Rookie honors. His performance in the playoffs has beenabysmal, to the point he fell out of the regular rotation. He is Lenny Dykstra Jersey shooting 38.5 percent from the field and 20.8 percent from 3-point range in the postseason.
Hemay have played himself back into the rotation in Game 1 of the Finals, however, after scoring 18 points on 8-of-11 shooting (2 of 4 from 3)in 20 minutes. If he can give the Heat a similar lift off the bench in Game 2, then they might still stand a fighting chance. Will Middlebrooks Jersey
F Andre Iguodala (16 games;4.2 points, 1.6 a sists in 19.8 minutes per game)
Don't count on seeing Iguodala run the point at any point, but with Herro getting a bump in minutes as the primary ballhandler, you can expect to see more of the 2015 Finals MVP on the wing. The Heat acquired the 36-year-old vet because of his experience in these kinds of games, so anticipate himbecomingeven more involved as the series goes on.
Players who could replace Bam AdebayoF/C Kelly Olynyk (13 games;5.8 points, 4.2 rebounds in 12.5 minutes per game)
Things didn't go all that well for Olynykin Game 1:He had four points on 1-of-5 shooting in 18 minutes. He didpull down fiverebounds and dish out four a sists, however. He isn't going to provide nearly the same level of defense as Adebayo, but if he can rediscover his shooting stroke he made 40.6 percent of 3-point attemptsin the regular season compared to just 29.4 percent thus far in the postseason then he could give the Heat the spacingneeded to make shooters like Herro and Duncan Robinson more effective.
F/C Meyers Leonard (Onegame;Zeropoints, zerorebounds, twoa sists in nineminutes)
This feels like a ma sive long shot.
Leonard hasn't played since Game 3 of the Eastern Conference semifinals vs. the Bucks, and he didn't contribute much then. But he was an effective role player in the regular Carlos Santana Jersey season, averaging 6.1 points and 5.1 rebounds in 20.3 minutes per game. Spoelstra hasshortened his bench in the postseason, which has left Meyers without a role, but he'll likely see some action in Game 2. Similarly Nick Williams Jersey to Olynyk, he shot 41.9 percent from 3-point range this season, so it's po sible he could find a rhythm and earn more playing time the restof the series.
F Jae Crowder (16 games;12.3 points, 5.5 rebounds in 31.0 minutes per game)
Don't be surprised if Spoelstra takes a page out of Mike D'Antoni's playbook and goes with a no-big lineup, with Crowder as the biggest player on the floor at 6-6 and235 pounds. Crowder has been playing most of his minutes as a small-ball four. Spoelstra will likely look to avoid such lineups when LA's Anthony Davis and Dwight Howard are in the game, but it will allowhim to put his best five offensive players on the floor together.