Lebron James Played Three Games With a Broken Hand in NBA Finals

—blogged by @lovelikejhoney

Friday, in a press conference after the Cavaliers inevitable loss in the NBA Finals, team captain #LebronJames, appeared with a cast on his right hand. He explained the injury as a self-inflicted, deep bone contusion he got from punching the whiteboard in the locker room after Cavs’ Game 1 overtime loss back on May 31. ⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀

“I pretty much played the last three games with a broken hand,” James said in the postgame Q & A. “I had emotions on (how) the game was taken away from us,” he continued, “I had emotions of (how) you just don’t get an opportunity like this on the road versus Golden State to be able to get a Game 1.”

The emotional, yet frustrating, loss for Game 1 stemmed from the several questionable calls made by the referees, George Hill’s missed free throw, Coach Ty Lue’s unused timeout and J.R. Smith’s inattentive rebound that led to overtime. Soaking in the bundle of mistakes made, resulted in one painful blow leaving James injured for the next three games. 

ESPN published side-by-side photos of the obvious damage comparing his swollen right hand to his healthy left. James’ hand was so swollen after Game 1 that the initial MRI didn’t reveal clear results. 

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After establishing his right hand indeed broken, many marveled at his ability to still perform at a high level despite being injured. In the final three games, James averaged 28.3 points, 10.7 assists, and 8.7 rebounds; in addition to scoring a playoff career-high of  51 points in Game 1.

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Remember Lebron’s two-handed, off-the-backboard dunk in Game 3? Now knowing one hand was injured, does this build respect and officially make him the GOAT? Or do you think James revealing his injury is a sorry excuse to the 4-0 final series loss?