LeBron James has won four NBA championships and four Finals MVPs across three different franchises, but every championship tells a completely different story. One ended one of the longest championship droughts in American sports, one finally got the biggest monkey of LeBron’s career off his back, another completed a dominant back-to-back run, and the fourth proved that even at 35 years old, LeBron could still lead a franchise to the top of the NBA.
But not all rings are equal. When I rank LeBron’s four championships, I’m looking at the difficulty of the run, the opponent, the pressure surrounding LeBron and, most importantly, what each championship meant to his legacy.
Here is my ranking of LeBron James’ four NBA championships from No. 4 to No. 1.
#4 — 2020 Los Angeles Lakers
Los Angeles Lakers defeat Miami Heat, 4–2
Let’s get something out of the way immediately: the 2020 championship counts.
Yes, it happened inside the NBA Bubble after the season was suspended because of the COVID-19 pandemic. There were no traditional home crowds, players were separated from their normal lives, and the entire postseason looked unlike anything we had ever seen before. But every team played under those circumstances.
If anything, winning inside the Bubble presented its own challenges. There was no true home-court advantage and no friendly crowd to provide energy when things went wrong. LeBron was also 35 years old. By that age, most NBA superstars are well into the decline of their careers. LeBron was still competing for the title of best player in basketball.
The Lakers finished the regular season as the No. 1 seed in the Western Conference before defeating Portland, Houston and Denver on their way to the Finals. Waiting for them was LeBron’s former team: the Miami Heat.
Alongside Anthony Davis, LeBron controlled the series. He averaged 29.8 points, 11.8 rebounds and 8.5 assists per game while shooting 59.1% from the field in the Finals. The Lakers won the series in six games, and LeBron captured his fourth Finals MVP.
In doing so, he became the first player in NBA history to win Finals MVP with three different franchises: Miami, Cleveland and Los Angeles. The championship also carried enormous emotional significance for the Lakers organization following the death of Kobe Bryant earlier that year.
So why do I have it fourth? Because something has to be. When compared with the historical significance and pressure surrounding LeBron’s other three championships, I simply don’t think 2020 carries the same weight. It remains a legitimate championship and an important part of LeBron’s legacy. It’s just not his best ring.
#3 — 2013 Miami Heat
Miami Heat defeat San Antonio Spurs, 4–3
This might have been the best version of LeBron James we have ever seen. The 2012–13 Heat were a machine, winning 66 games and producing a remarkable 27-game winning streak, while LeBron captured the fourth regular-season MVP award of his career.
At his absolute peak, LeBron could do virtually everything on a basketball court. He could score at the rim, facilitate an offense, dominate in transition, rebound and defend virtually anyone.
Miami eventually reached the NBA Finals for the third consecutive season, where it met Tim Duncan, Tony Parker, Manu Ginóbili and the San Antonio Spurs. And this series nearly ended in heartbreak.
San Antonio took a 3–2 series lead and entered the closing seconds of Game 6 on the verge of winning the championship. You know what happened next. LeBron missed a three-pointer, Chris Bosh secured the offensive rebound and kicked the ball to Ray Allen in the corner.
Bang.
One of the greatest shots in NBA history tied the game. Miami survived overtime and forced Game 7, and that’s where LeBron finished the job.
With the championship on the line, LeBron scored 37 points and grabbed 12 rebounds, knocking down five three-pointers as Miami defeated San Antonio 95–88. He was once again named Finals MVP.
People will always mention Ray Allen’s shot when discussing this championship, and rightfully so. Without it, Miami probably doesn’t win the title. But basketball is a team sport, and championship teams need championship moments from players other than their biggest superstar. Allen gave Miami that moment, and LeBron still had to deliver in Game 7.
And he did.
The 2013 championship completed Miami’s back-to-back titles and came during arguably the greatest individual stretch of LeBron’s career. Yet I still rank it behind his first championship because of what was at stake in 2012.
#2 — 2012 Miami Heat
Miami Heat defeat Oklahoma City Thunder, 4–1
People who didn’t experience the LeBron discourse going into the 2012 playoffs might not fully understand the amount of pressure he was under.
LeBron had left Cleveland in 2010 to join Dwyane Wade and Chris Bosh in Miami. The Heat immediately became the villains of the NBA. Then came the 2011 Finals.
Miami lost to Dirk Nowitzki and the Dallas Mavericks, and LeBron struggled badly by his standards. He averaged only 17.8 points per game during the series and scored just eight points in Game 4.
The criticism was relentless. People questioned whether LeBron could perform when the pressure was highest, whether he could close games, whether he could ever win a championship and whether joining Wade and Bosh had actually made things worse for his legacy.
Another failure in 2012 would have amplified every one of those questions.
Then came Game 6 in Boston.
Miami entered the game trailing the Eastern Conference Finals 3–2. Lose, and the season was over. LeBron responded with one of the greatest elimination-game performances in NBA history: 45 points, 15 rebounds and five assists.
Anyone who watched that game remembers the look on his face. There was no celebrating and barely any emotion. LeBron walked into Boston and dismantled the Celtics.
Miami won Game 6, returned home to win Game 7 and advanced to the NBA Finals. Waiting for them was an Oklahoma City Thunder team loaded with young talent in Kevin Durant, Russell Westbrook and James Harden.
Oklahoma City won Game 1. Miami then won the next four.
LeBron averaged 28.6 points, 10.2 rebounds and 7.4 assists per game during the Finals as the Heat defeated Oklahoma City in five games. For the first time in his career, LeBron James was an NBA champion.
He was also Finals MVP.
The 2012 championship changed the entire conversation surrounding LeBron. MVPs, scoring records and highlight plays weren’t enough anymore. LeBron needed a championship, and after the disappointment of 2011, he came back the following year and got one.
Without 2012, there is no discussion about four championships, no back-to-back run and no established championship pedigree to eventually bring back to Cleveland. This was the moment LeBron finally climbed the mountain.
That’s why I rank his first championship No. 2.
#1 — 2016 Cleveland Cavaliers
Cleveland Cavaliers defeat Golden State Warriors, 4–3
There was never really a debate about No. 1.
The 2016 championship isn’t just LeBron James’ greatest championship. It has an argument as one of the greatest championship runs in the history of professional sports.
Start with the opponent. The Golden State Warriors had just finished the regular season 73–9, breaking the 1995–96 Chicago Bulls’ record for the most regular-season victories in NBA history. They were the defending champions, Stephen Curry had become the first unanimous MVP in league history, and Golden State looked destined to complete one of the greatest seasons basketball had ever seen.
Then the Warriors went up 3–1 in the NBA Finals.
It looked over. No team in NBA history had ever overcome a 3–1 deficit in the Finals. Cleveland needed to win three consecutive games against a 73-win team, including Game 7 in Golden State.
Then LeBron and Kyrie Irving went nuclear.
In Game 5, they each scored 41 points. Cleveland survived. Game 6 returned to Ohio, where LeBron scored 41 points again, adding 11 assists and eight rebounds.
Cleveland survived again.
Suddenly, there was one game left: Game 7 in Oakland. Winner takes everything.
With less than two minutes remaining and the score tied at 89, Andre Iguodala raced toward the basket in transition. It looked like Golden State had an easy layup.
Then LeBron came flying into the picture.
Blocked by James.
It remains one of the greatest defensive plays in NBA history.
Kyrie Irving followed with the biggest shot of his career, drilling a three-pointer over Stephen Curry to give Cleveland the lead. Kevin Love then produced a crucial defensive possession against Curry.
Seconds later, it was over.
The Cleveland Cavaliers were NBA champions.
LeBron finished Game 7 with 27 points, 11 rebounds and 11 assists, recording a triple-double in one of the biggest games in NBA history. His dominance throughout the series went even further, as LeBron became the first player ever to lead both teams in points, rebounds, assists, steals and blocks over an entire playoff series.
But even those numbers don’t fully explain why this championship is different.
Cleveland hadn’t won a major professional sports championship in 52 years. LeBron was from Akron. The Cavaliers drafted him first overall in 2003, and he spent seven years trying to bring Cleveland a championship before leaving for Miami.
Then he came home.
When LeBron returned in 2014, the goal wasn’t ambiguous. He came back to bring Northeast Ohio a championship. Two years later, he delivered one against a 73–9 team after trailing 3–1 in the NBA Finals.
You couldn’t write it much better.
When it was finally over, LeBron collapsed to the floor in tears before delivering the words that perfectly summarized everything:
“Cleveland, this is for you!”
Every championship added something different to LeBron James’ legacy. 2012 proved he could win, 2013 proved he could do it again, 2016 gave him immortality in Cleveland, and 2020 proved his championship window could follow him to a third franchise and well into his 30s. Four championships, four Finals MVPs and three different franchises, but if I have to choose one above the rest, 2016 stands alone.
Now the real question is whether the story ends at four. Can LeBron add a fifth championship to his résumé with Philadelphia? If he can somehow climb the mountain one more time at this stage of his career, there may eventually be another ring that needs to be added to this ranking.
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