LeBron James’ Hall of Fame career pivoted on one game, claims his former teammate Shane Battier.
2025 saw the Oklahoma City Thunder return to the NBA Finals for the first time since 2012. Back then the young OKC squad were defeated 4-1 by a vastly superior Miami Heat.
The 2012 win was redemption for LeBron James and the Miami Heat ‘Big 3’, owner Pat Riley and coach Erik Spoelstra, after their shocking loss to Rick Carlisle’s Dallas Mavericks in 2011.
But it was a close-run call that the Miami Heat even got to the Finals. They were pushed right to the edge in the Eastern Conference Finals by the Boston Celtics in 2012.
The Celtics held a 3-2 series lead before LeBron James powered back in TD Garden with an insane performance that former teammate Shane Battier ranks as the best ever.
Leading 3-2 in the series, the Boston Celtics just had to win at home to close out and eliminate the Miami Heat.
This was easier said than done. The Celtics were met with a fiery performance from a determined LeBron James, who clinically overpowered and outplayed them.
Battier recalls that the Heat knew the knives were out among fans and media if they lost, and there would be severe repercussions.
He told Pablo Torre Finds Out: “They are saying ‘look there’s no way the Heat are going to win this game’.
“We know if we lose Game 6, this is maybe the most failed experiment, highly publicized failed experiment and there is blood on everybody’s hands.
“They drove the hearse to TD Bank Arena that night.”
Battier says that despite this, the mood in the Miami Heat locker room was calm, and paid tribute to LeBron James.
“Before the game there wasn’t like a big rah-rah speech. It was like ‘look, we got to be ourselves, we been through the fire’, and there was a trust.”
LeBron James was truly dominant in his Game 6 performance, putting in a display for the ages as the Heat won on the road 98-79.
| Points | Rebounds | Assists | FG | 3PT | |
| LeBron James | 45 | 15 | 5 | 19-26 | 5-9 |
In 2025 this ranks as LeBron James’ ninth highest-scoring playoff game, and at the time it was his third highest.
But in the context of everything the win meant to the Miami Heat and LeBron James personally, Shane Battier regards it as not only the superstar’s best game ever, but the best of any player ever.
“The LeBron game. That was the inflection point for his entire Hall of Fame career.
“Of anybody, LeBron knows he has the most at stake, the most. He was very calm that day, he didn’t say a lot.
“But let me tell you what, when that _____ has the look, man. Let’s go. It’s like when Adam turns into He-Man.”
“It was almost like an aura around him, oh my god this is unbelievable.”
“It’s the greatest game I have ever seen anybody play. Given the stakes, given the gravity of the situation, given like the the the historical implications.”
LeBron James and the Heat went on to win Game 7 with a 101-88 score, with LeBron James putting up another 31. But it was in Game 6 where he really broke them.
The Heat went on to beat the OKC Thunder in the Finals, with LeBron winning the first of his four NBA titles.
A former teammate of LeBron James, Shane Battier feels confident about where the former Heat star ranks in the GOAT debate.
He has a humble reason why he regards LeBron James to be greater than Michael Jordan.
“I’m always going with LeBron for a simple reason. LeBron did something twice that Jordan, I don’t think could have done once.
“He won two NBA titles with Shane Battier at starting power forward. LeBron dragged me across the finish line.”
It is remarkable to consider that in 2012, LeBron James was playing in his ninth NBA season, after being drafted back in 2003.
And 13 years after 2012, LeBron James is still going strong, one of the star players for the LA Lakers.
He is yet to confirm his future, but former teammate Udonis Haslem is totally convinced he will be returning for another year, to play his 23rd season in the league at the age of 41.
