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LeBron James has a 12-9 series record after Game 1 loss, 12 wins are most in NBA history

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James Foglio
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James Foglio Sports Editor

James is a Basketball Insiders contributor. He earned his bachelor's degree in English and Creative Writing from Southern New Hampshire University. James enjoys watching sports and helping gamblers win money.

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Sports Editor

Updated18 May 2023

Lakers LeBron James has a 12-9 series record after Game 1 loss, 12 wins are most in NBA history

LeBron James of the Los Angeles Lakers has a 12-9 series record after losing Game 1, and his 12 wins are the most by any player in NBA history. The 19-time All-Star also has 15 30-point triple-doubles in his playoff career, the most in league history.

James leads Oscar Robertson (8), Russell Westbrook (6), Nikola Jokic (5), James Harden (3), Stephen Curry (3), Luka Doncic (2), and Jimmy Butler (2). The four-time Finals MVP recording another triple is a top prop bet.

Per multiple NBA betting sites, LeBron James and the Lakers have third-shortest odds to win the championship. Check out which sportsbooks are showing better odds for the Boston Celtics and Denver Nuggets.

Over the last 25 years, LeBron James has played in 12 conference finals. That’s more than the Lakers (10), Spurs (10), Celtics (8), Heat (8), Warriors (6), Cavaliers (6), Pacers (6), Pistons (6), Mavericks (4), Suns, (4), and seven other teams.

Additionally, James has a 10-1 record in conference finals series. After the Lakers defeated the Warriors in six games of last week’s conference semifinals series, the four-time MVP won an NBA-record 41st playoff series.

The 20-year veteran passed Derek Fisher (40), Robert Horry (39), Kareem Abdul-Jabbar (37), and Tim Duncan (35). James is 3-0 in conference finals Game 7s as well.

Lakers superstar LeBron James has a 10-1 record in conference finals series, last defeated Nuggets in 2020 WCF

In the Lakers’ 132-126 loss to the Denver Nuggets in Game 1 of the 2023 Western Conference Finals, James recorded 26 points, 12 rebounds, nine assists, and one block in 40 minutes of action.

Plus, LeBron James shot 9-of-16 (56.3%) from the field and 8-of-11 (72.7%) at the foul line. Denver outscored the Lakers 37-25 in the first quarter. Los Angeles’ only lead came on James’ basket to open the game.

“Yeah, it took us a half to get into the game, and that was pretty much the ballgame right there,” said LeBron James. “They punched us in the mouth to start. … I know the game is won in 48 minutes, but they set the tone in 24 minutes, and we were playing catch-up for the next 24.”

For Game 2 on Thursday night, sportsbooks show the Lakers as 5.5-point underdogs against Denver at Ball Arena.

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