No player in NBA history has ever played in more playoff games than LeBron James.
You don’t get to that point without going on a number of deep runs.
The only players who have been in more Finals games than the Lakers star are Bill Russell and Sam Jones, who won a number of championships together as teammates on the Celtics. Even fewer players have had more chances to punch their ticket to the Finals by making it to the Conference Finals.
James has actually made it to the Conference Finals more times than he hasn’t in his 20-year career. He has a history of taking care of business when he gets there, too.
MORE: Nikola Jokic rewrites history book with play in Game 1 win over Lakers
LeBron James Conference Finals record
The 2023 Western Conference Finals series between the Lakers and Nuggets marks the 12th time in his NBA career that James has been in the Conference Finals.
James went to six Conference Finals as a Cavalier and four as a member of the Heat. He’s earned two trips to the Conference Finals with the Lakers, the first coming in 2020 when he went on to lead Los Angeles to a championship.
James has an 11-1 record in the Conference Finals. His lone loss came in 2009 when the Cavaliers lost to the Magic in six games. James averaged 38.5 points, 8.3 rebounds, 8.0 assists, 1.2 blocks and 1.2 steals in the series.
James tied the series at 1-1 with a game-winning 3-pointer in Game 2. The NBA ranked it as the 15th-best play of his career a few years ago.
MORE: Revisiting LeBron James’ history in Conference Finals
How many Conference Finals has LeBron James been to?
James has been to the Conference Finals 12 times in his NBA career. That’s the second-most in NBA history, trailing only Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, who made 13 Conference Finals appearances.
Derek Fisher (11) and Magic Johnson (10) are the only other players in NBA history with at least 10 trips to the Conference Finals.
LeBron James Conference Finals career stats
Here’s what James is averaging in the Conference Finals through 65 career games:
- 41.3 minutes per game
- 29.4 points per game
- 8.7 rebounds per game
- 7.0 assists per game
- 1.6 steals per game
- 1.1 blocks per game
- 3.6 turnovers per game
- 51.5 percent field goal shooting
- 34.0 percent 3-point shooting
- 72.8 percent free throw shooting