NBA Finals 2020: LeBron James, Jimmy Butler and Most Impressive Performances

An NBA champion has been crowned.

Can you believe it's LeBron James?

Of course you can, since the 2020 NBA Finals produced the fourth title run of the King's career. It also provided the first of potentially many rings for Anthony Davis, who teamed with James to give the Los Angeles Lakers an all-time tandem that could not be stopped—no matter how hard Jimmy Butler and the Miami Heat tried.

With this unique, bubble-based, six-game collision behind us, let's revisit the best individual performances this series produced.

LeBron James, Los Angeles Lakers

Eleven voters chimed in on the Finals MVP race, and all 11 reached the same conclusion: James was the winner in unanimous fashion.

It his was his fourth Finals MVP, placing him second on the all-time list behind only Michael Jordan. James also became the first player to earn the distinction with three different franchises, having previously collected two for the Heat and one with the Cleveland Cavaliers.

There were times in which this year's honor was up for debate, but James silenced that talk with back-to-back brilliant efforts. In Game 5, he posted 40 points (on 15-of-21 shooting), 13 rebounds, seven assists and three steals in 42 minutes. During the championship-clincher in Game 6, he stuffed the stat sheet with 28 points (13-of-20), 14 rebounds and 10 assists in 41 minutes of work.

"I just think it is a true testament to his greatness to be able to sustain this type of success year in, year out," Miami coach Erik Spoelstra told reporters. "Different uniforms. New players and new teams going after him. It's a real testament to that commitment. He's seen everything. At this point in his career, it's just about winning."

James' least productive game, by Basketball-Reference's game score metric at least, featured 25 points, 10 boards, eight dimes and a 56.3 percent conversion rate from the field. He was unreal this series.

Jimmy Butler, Miami Heat

Had the Heat forced a Game 7 and not imploded in spectacular fashion in Game 6, then Butler might have earned a few MVP votes regardless how the last collision came out.

He was that kind of dominant. His masterpieces in Games 3 and 5 were both performances for the ages. In the first, he had 40 points, 13 assists, 11 rebounds, two steals and two blocks. In the second, it was 35 points, 12 boards, 11 dimes, five thefts and one rejection. Combined, he shot 25-of-39 from the field (64.1 percent) and 24-of-26 at the line (92.3 percent).

The Heat won those two games by 14 combined points. Basically, if he wasn't historically elite, then Miami had no chance.

"He is a winner, he is a leader, he is a motivator, a mentor and just a supreme competitor," Spoelstra said. "And when you get to this level, I think so many people forget about that, the competition and what you can bring out of an entire franchise when you're wired to that level of fierce competitiveness."

Butler paced the Heat in total minutes (258), points (157), assists (59), rebounds (50), steals (13) and blocks (five). Most categories weren't particularly close.

Anthony Davis, Los Angeles Lakers

Had the Lakers swept this series—and, more importantly, ended it before Davis reaggravated a heel contusion—the Brow's first taste of the NBA Finals might have featured a Finals MVP.

In Games 1 and 2, there was no more powerful force on the floor than 2012's top overall pick. He scored 66 points and snared 23 rebounds across the two contests, converting 26 of his 41 field-goal attempts (63.4 percent) and all 11 of his free throws.

Davis sort of returned to Earth after that, battling foul trouble in Game 3 and that heel problem late in the series. That forced him to "settle" for series averages of 25.0 points, 10.7 rebounds, 3.2 assists, 2.0 blocks and 1.3 steals while compiling an absurd 57.1/42.1/93.8 shooting slash.

He had a series-best plus-49 raw plus/minus across 229 minutes, which L.A. won by 10.1 points per 100 possessions.

"It just makes it all worth it. It was tough times, but I'm a champion," Davis said. "When I got traded, that's all I wanted was to be a champion, to be able to compete and be able to win. I was able to do that my first year with the Lakers."

James was the best player over the course of the series, but there moments when Butler played him to a draw (or even edged ahead). Davis, though, was the hurdle the Heat could never clear. When he was rolling, Miami was powerless to stop him.