Los Angeles Lakers star LeBron James has done a whole lot of winning during his NBA career, but he needed some time to get there.
It took him many years and wasn’t until his third trip to the NBA Finals that he finally became an NBA champion, as he broke through with the Miami Heat in 2012.
Before earning his first ring, he had one unsuccessful trip to the promised land with the Cleveland Cavaliers (in 2007) and another unsuccessful trip in his first season with the Heat (in 2011).
He recently revealed that in his debut Heat season, he was afraid of “letting so many people down” in the 2011 NBA Finals, which Miami lost in six games to the Dallas Mavericks.
“My 1st year with the Heat I wanted to win so bad that I also had the fear of letting so many people down”
— LeBron James speaks on the fear of letting people down by losing during his first year with the Heat
(Via @mindthegamepod) pic.twitter.com/c12qr1zity
— Heat Culture (@HeatCulture13) May 15, 2025
Expectations were immense for James and co-stars Dwyane Wade and Chris Bosh as they formed a trio on the Heat. In their first season together, they established themselves as clear threats, but they weren’t able to finish the job.
The Heat won 58 games in the Big 3’s debut season and then ran through the Eastern Conference side of the playoff bracket, but the Mavs gave them trouble in the championship series.
James didn’t meet the moment in the 2011 NBA Finals, as he averaged just 17.8 points per contest during the six games. He wasn’t terribly inefficient, and he still chipped in 7.2 rebounds and 6.8 assists per game, but his scoring wasn’t at the level the Heat needed it to be. He was even held to eight points in Game 4.
Fortunately, James and the Heat got redemption, winning back-to-back titles in the following two seasons. Those were the first and second championships of James’ career, and from there, he was able to win more rings during other stops in his career.
His third championship came in 2016 during his second stint with the Cavs, and his fourth championship came in 2020 with the Lakers in the NBA bubble. If he continues his NBA career, he will look to add at least one more ring to his collection and retire with five or more.