Over his 16-year career, LeBron James has played on everything from super-teams to lottery teams.
But which of those teams were the best? James often gets credited for dragging teams to the playoffs — he did it last season with the Cleveland Cavaliers — and many think he'll have to do it again with his new Los Angeles Lakers team.
But which of those teams gave James the most support? Which were sturdy enough to be truly elite teams that dominated the league, rather than average teams with one dominant player?
There's no exact formula for answering such a question, but to rank the best teams of James' 16-year career, we included several factors: team record, net rating (the amount by which a team outscores opponents per 100 possessions), their playoff record and net rating, and ultimate finishing point (e.g. Finals, Conference Finals, etc.).
We also looked at James' usage rate (to see how much work he was doing), his win shares (calculated by Basketball-Reference), and the number of players who made All-Star teams in that season. Lastly, we used a bit of logic and subjectivity.
Below is our ranking of James' best teams:
16. 2003-04 Cavaliers
Record: 35-47, 9th seed in East
Playoffs: n/a
Net rating: -2.9
Number of All-Stars: 0
Explanation: The first team of LeBron's career was his worst. The 2003-04 Cavs were coming off a 17-65 season that got them the No. 1 pick to select LeBron. He immediately came in and led the team in scoring, usage, and win shares. None of his teams ever finished below-.500 again.
15. 2004-05 Cavaliers
Record: 42-40, 9th seed in East
Playoffs: n/a
Net rating: 0.7
Number of All-Stars: 1 — Zydrunas Ilgauskas
Explanation: The next year, the Cavs improved by seven games to finish over .500, but they still missed the playoffs. James improved by leaps and bounds, averaging 27-7-7 as a 20-year-old. He even had a fellow All-Star in Ilgauskas, who averaged 16 points and 9 rebounds per game. It was the last season James missed the playoffs entirely.
14. 2007-08 Cavaliers
Record: 45-37, 4th seed in East
Playoffs: Lost in second round
Net rating: -.5
Number of All-Stars: 0
Explanation: The 2007-08 Cavs came back down to Earth after a Finals run the year before. Their offense improved mildly from some additions to the team, but their defense regressed from fourth in the league to 11th. They ultimately lost in seven games to the star-studded Celtics.
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