I’m in my 30s, so I’ve been watching Lebron’s career since HS. A huge narrative during his 1st CLE stint and at MIA was that he wasn’t clutch. The stats showed him to be a good clutch player, but detractors said he passed up the shot too much and didn’t have the MJ or Kobe killer mentality. It seemed this faded in the second CLE stint, and was almost completely gone after he moved to LA.
Was there a specific moment / shot / title that changed this? Because I think most people now consider him a fantastic clutch player, and yet it feels this sentiment has grown gradually over time rather than turn like a switch.
In his first stint with the Cavs , I don’t think he had a bad reputation because that team was clearly overmatched. In fact he had a great “clutch” moment scoring 25 straight against Detroit.
Then his rep took a hit in between, first when he seemingly checked out on the Cavs; and then when he seemingly choked (or at least took too much of a backseat) in the Finals against Dallas.
Cleveland’s win against Golden State (and his play the year before, really) erased that.