LeBron James Leads 16-Time NBA Champion Lakers Back To Finals For First Time In 10 Years

It’s been a long decade. 

For a franchise used to winning championships in a city that demands greatness, the Lakers’ 10-year NBA Finals drought felt endless. 

LeBron James ended that spell Saturday. 

With a 117-107 win over the Denver Nuggets in Game 5 of the Western Conference Finals, the 16-time NBA champion Lakers will once again have the opportunity to compete for a title. 

James had 38 points on 15-for-25 shooting, 16 rebounds and 10 assists. He scored 16 of those points in the fourth quarter, making nine-straight shots after a scrappy Nuggets team had crept to within four points of the Lakers with 4 minutes and 35 seconds left. 

It was another incredible performance for the 35-year-old, who will be making his ninth NBA Finals appearance in the last 10 years after leading the Miami Heat there from 2011-2014 and the Cleveland Cavaliers there from 2015-2018.

The Nuggets, who overcame two 3-1 series deficits in the first two rounds of the playoffs, clawed their way out of a 16-point third quarter hole to tie the score at 84-84 with 11 seconds left in the third quarter. 

But James put the Lakers on his shoulders, closing out the team’s third-straight series in five games. 

During the Western Conference championship ceremony, James said his teammates asked him to take them to the finish line Saturday.  

“My shoulders is wide enough to carry a lot of load, but my mind is stronger,” he said.