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This Is So Stupid

And Now, A Trenchant LeBron James Infographic

1:23 PM EDT on September 27, 2020

The upstart Denver Nuggets are done for the season, after they fell in defeat in Game 5 of the Western Conference Finals. It was the third 3-1 series deficit the Nuggets had faced in these playoffs alone, but there would be no stunning three-game comeback this time, as LeBron James dominated last night's action throughout, producing a masterful 38-point, 16-rebound, 10-assist triple-double that powered his Lakers through to the Finals.

It makes for a handy point of comparison when one team faces two of the NBA's biggest stars in consecutive rounds of a single playoff run. To wit: The Nuggets faced the Los Angeles Clippers, and their star forward Kawhi Leonard, in a seven-game series just prior to meeting the Lakers in the conference finals. After taking a 3-1 series lead over the Nuggets, the Clippers lost three straight elimination games and were eliminated. Please consult the following infographic that compares how Leonard and James stacked up in, oh, a random selection of their respective opportunities to eliminate the Nuggets and advance to the next round of the postseason.

Kawhi photo via Mike Ehrmann/Getty Images; LeBron photo via Kevin C. Cox/Getty Images; graphics via Chris Thompson/Defector; text by me

As you can see, you do, in fact, gotta hand it to LeBron James.

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