In Game 4, the Los Angeles Lakers defeated the Denver Nuggets 119-108, breaking the team’s curse at last. This victory not only kept the Lakers alive in the series after three straight losses, but it also put a stop to LeBron James and company’s 11-game losing run against Nikola Jokic’s squad. With 30 points, an energized LeBron James led the way at Crypto.com Arena to stave off a sweep and give the Lakeshow supporters some optimism. To win the series, though, the team will need to defeat the formidable Denver team three more times, an accomplishment never before seen in the NBA.
In the meantime, Dwight Howard, a former player for the Lakers, made a wise suggestion to end the GOAT controversy. Howard claimed that LeBron James should be named the uncontested GOAT if the Lakers pull off a 0–3 comeback in the series.
Howard used his X to share a graphic demonstrating the fact that no team has ever won after trailing 0–3. When a team falls behind 0–3 in a series, the record is 0-149, according to the graphic. Howard will declare his former teammate the “GOAT” of the league if LeBron James and company are able to surpass this mark in their matchup with the reigning champions. Howard posted on X and stated,
Lebron could be the first to do it! Then he the GOAT pic.twitter.com/LNVfoBDaiu
— Dwight Howard (@DwightHoward)
Although there is some truth to the four-time DPOY’s assessment, a team’s current record when trailing 0–3 in a seven-game series is 0-151. The Miami Heat defeated the Boston Celtics 0–3 in the Eastern Conference Finals of the previous season. After that, they won three straight before losing Game 7 at home, narrowly missing out on making history.
Teams up 3-0 in a best-of-7 series are 151-0 😳 pic.twitter.com/cQroTHFGJ5
— NBA on ESPN (@ESPNNBA) April 26, 2024
This was just the third time that a team trailing 0-3 forced a Game 7 overtime. But no team has ever come back from a 0-3 series deficit to win Game 7. Throughout his career, LeBron James has consistently overcome the odds, and only a novice player could surpass the four-time NBA Champion in this accomplishment.
