NBA Finals 2017: LeBron passes Magic Johnson for All-Time Finals rebounds

Despite a poor Game 1 performance in the NBA Finals 2017 overall, the Cavs still got a record breaking game from LeBron James.

After the Warriors broke out of the second half, it seemed pretty clear that Cleveland wasn’t going to win Game 1. Surprisingly enough, that’s nothing new for LeBron James.

The best player in basketball is now just 1-7 in Game 1 of the NBA Finals. His only win came against the Dallas Mavericks in 2011.

Along the way, James put a lot of the early scoring and ball handling on his shoulders. Obviously, even for him, it wasn’t enough to get the Warriors out of the game.

Once Stephen Curry clicked, it was lights out for Golden State.

Kevin Durant also saw his return to the NBA Finals not go unnoticed. Right away, Durant made it clear that he’s where he wants to be and on a mission. Dunk after dunk, Durant made sure to send a message to LeBron James that this isn’t the same Warriors team from a year ago.

Be that as it may, James still found a way to climb the record books. According to a report from Cleveland.com, Johnson was bumped to ninth all-time while James jumped to the eighth spot.

Per the report:

"LeBron James added to his already legendary NBA Playoffs resume early in Game 1 by passing Lakers great Magic Johnson for eighth place on the career NBA Finals rebounding list.Later, James became the only player in league history to amass 6,000 postseason points."

For the Cavaliers to win, LeBron James is most likely going to have to be at his very best. We thought we saw it all with how the Cavs depended on him a year ago, but now there’s no excuses.

There are no injuries or anything like that to worry about, so production matters.

Next: 15 Free Agent Targets For Clippers

Either Cleveland will defend their title, or Golden State will win it’s second ring in three seasons.