Ranking LeBron James' Best Career NBA Finals Performances

This list is ranking the best single-game NBA Finals performances of LeBron James' career. 

Heading into the Miami Heat's matchup with the San Antonio Spurs, James has played in 15 NBA Finals games to date. 

Those 15 games include four with the Cleveland Cavaliers in 2007, six with the Miami Heat in 2011 and five more with the Heat in 2012.

James has recorded three double-doubles and two triple-doubles in those 15 appearances thus far. He is also 6-9 overall from a win-loss standpoint. 

His best series, not coincidentally, is his most recent trip to the Finals in 2012 when James was crowned an NBA champion for the first time.

No. 6: James Records Double-Double in Game 4 of '07 Finals

The last time LeBron James met the San Antonio Spurs in the NBA Finals he was representing the Cleveland Cavaliers.

During that 2007 matchup, James' first trip to the Finals, San Antonio loaded the paint defensively and dared James to beat them with the jump shot.

For a combination of reasons, including James shooting 4-of-20 from three-point range and 35.6 percent from the floor overall for the series, the Cavaliers were eliminated in four games.

Despite being swept, however, Cleveland only lost Game 3 and Game 4 by a total of four points. 

Game 4 was the closest margin, with Tony Parker and the Spurs squeaking out a 83-82 victory. 

In that game, James recorded his only double-double of the series with 24 points, 10 assists and six rebounds.

He matched Parker's scoring effort that night, who would go on to be named Finals MVP, while dishing out more assists than the Spurs' starting five combined (7).

No. 5: LeBron Goes for 29 and 14 in Game 3 Against Thunder

After splitting the first two games of the 2012 NBA Finals in Oklahoma City, the Thunder traveled to Miami to tip things off in Game 3.

On his way to helping the Heat take a 2-1 lead in the series, LeBron James finished with 29 points on 11-of-23 shooting from the field. 

He also collected an NBA Finals career-high 14 rebounds in Game 3, nine of which came off the defensive glass.

The Heat earned a hard-fought, 91-85 victory over the Thunder as a result.

The 29 points that James scored, along with the 14 rebounds he grabbed, were each a game high. Kevin Durant finished with 25 points and Kendrick Perkins collected 12 rebounds as the next highest Thunder players in each category.

No. 4: James Leads Heat to Game 1 Win over Dallas Mavericks

Despite recording a triple-double in a Game 5 loss to the Dallas Mavericks, with 17 points, 10 assists and 10 rebounds, LeBron James' 2011 NBA Finals performance is classified among the biggest disappointments of his career. 

That narrative is fueled by the eight points he scored on 27.3 percent shooting in Game 4, his six turnovers in Game 6 and ultimately because the Miami Heat were eliminated in six games.

During Game 1 of that Finals series with Dallas, however, all was right in the world of LeBron James. 

James shot 56.3 percent from the floor overall on his way to scoring 24 points, collecting nine rebounds and dishing out five assists in a 92-84 win that gave Miami a 1-0 lead in the series. 

He also knocked down four of his five attempts from three-point range on the night before Miami went on to lose Game 2. 

No. 3: LeBron Scores NBA Finals Career-High 32 Points

Russell Westbrook, Kevin Durant and the Oklahoma City Thunder stunned the Miami Heat and the basketball universe with a convincing 105-94 win in Game 1 of the 2012 NBA Finals. 

Trailing 1-0 in the series—after a disappointing effort in the 2011 Finals against the Dallas Mavericks—LeBron James responded with a dominating performance in Game 2. 

While scoring in a variety of ways, James finished with an NBA Finals career-high 32 points to go along with eight rebounds and five assists. 

He attacked the basket enough in Game 2 to earn multiple trips to the free-throw line, where James converted by making 12 of his 12 attempts on the night. 

He also shot 10-of-22 from the field overall while leading Miami to the 100-96 win.

No. 2: James Nearly Triple-Doubles in Game 4

What is sometimes lost on LeBron James' triple-double performance in Game 5 of the 2012 NBA Finals is that he just about did the same in Game 4.

While leading the Miami Heat to a 104-98 win over the Oklahoma City Thunder, to go up 3-1 in the series, James finished with 26 points, 12 assists and nine rebounds. 

His 12 dimes were more than the Thunder's starting five combined (10) to dish out on the night. James also shot 50 percent along the way, connecting on 10-of-20 shots from the floor.

No. 1: LeBron Triple-Doubles to Secure First Title

With his first NBA championship within reach, LeBron James turned in the best Finals performance of his career. 

Matched up against Kevin Durant and the Oklahoma City Thunder in Game 5 of the 2012 NBA Finals, James registered a triple-double with 26 points, 13 assists and 11 rebounds. 

He played 44 minutes along the way while shooting 9-of-19 from the field. The Miami Heat clinched their first championship of the Big Three era convincingly, by a score of 121-106.

The 13 assists he dished out were an NBA Finals career-high for James, along with being more than the Thunder starters accounted for collectively (9) on the night.

Teammates Chris Bosh and Dwyane Wade also excelled alongside James, scoring 24 and 20 points respectively in the win.