LeBron James says 2011 loss to Mavericks still ‘burns him’ to this day

Now that LeBron James is up 1-0 in the NBA Finals, one would think that he would be feeling good about the place that the Los Angeles Lakers are in the series against the Miami Heat. But the only other time LeBron’s team won Game 1? It was his first NBA Finals as a member of the Miami Heat and his team ultimately lost the series in six games to the Dallas Mavericks. After the game, he was reflecting on how much that loss has helped him become the player he is now, because of how much pain the memory gives him.

Lakers’ LeBron James said he was focused on closing out Finals Game 1 vs. Heat because of memories of blown lead from 2011 Finals Game 2 vs. Mavericks: “That s—- burns me to this day.” pic.twitter.com/5SNQalV78c

— Ben Golliver (@BenGolliver) October 1, 2020

James and the Heat were up 1-0 against the Mavericks but lost a double-digit lead in Game 2 to leave the first two games at 1-1. The Mavericks then got red hot from the 3-point line, while also being led by Dirk Nowitzki, having the playoffs of his life. That James leans on that memory, now in his first NBA Finals with the Lakers against the Heat, is a sign he’s trying to show the young Lakers it’s a lesson they don’t want to learn.