LeBron James down 3-0: How Lakers star has performed when facing sweep in NBA Playoffs

Over the course of his 20-year career, LeBron James has appeared in 53 NBA playoff series. Only four times in the series did one of his teams fall 3-0 down.

After losing Game 3 to the Nuggets in the Western Conference Finals, James’ Lakers once again faces a series deficit that history has proven insurmountable. In the NBA playoffs, 149 teams have fallen into a 0-3 gap. Nobody made it to the next round.

With no team breaking the deficit, the teams led by James are clearly no exception. That said, James does know a thing or two about making postseason history — he and the 2016 Cavaliers are the only team to come back from a 3-1 series deficit in the NBA Finals.

If anyone can make history, it’s a team with James.

As James and the Lakers attempt to do something 148 teams have failed, take a look at the previous three instances where a team including James had a streak win.

MORE: How many teams have come back to force a Game 7 after suffering a 3-0 deficit?

What is LeBron James’ record in a 3-0 loss?

James suffered three 3-0 losses ahead of the 2023 Western Conference Finals. His teams are 0-3 in these series, including a single-game record of 1-3.

MORE: How the Nuggets got a 3-0 lead over the Lakers in the series

History of LeBron James’ 3-0 deficit

Prior to this year, James was down 3-0 three times in the series, all in the NBA Finals.

James’ first 3-0 deficit of the series came during his maiden NBA Finals appearance in 2007, when Tim Duncan, Tony Parker and the Spurs forged a dominant lead in the series.

It would be another 10 years before a James-led team went down 3-0 in the Finals as his Cavaliers fell into a deep hole with the Warriors, who signed Kevin Durant the previous offseason. A year later, James and the Cavs suffered the same deficit again in the finals against the Warriors.

Year	Round	Opponent	series result
2007	NBA Finals	spores	lost 0:4
2017	NBA Finals	warrior	lost 1:4
2018	NBA Finals	warrior	lost 0:4
2023	Western Conference Finals	nuggets	Still open

LeBron James is trailing 0-3 in the series

James was swept twice and had to force a win once in Game 5. Check out James’ performances as he and his teams had one last chance to stave off elimination and avoid a series sweep.

series	James	Result
2007 NBA Finals	24 PTS (10-30 FG), 10 AST, 6 REB	Spurs 83, Cavaliers 82
NBA Finals 2017	31 PTS (11-22 FG), 11 AST, 10 REB	Cavaliers 137, Warriors 116
NBA Finals 2018	23 PTS (7-13 FG), 8 AST, 7 REB	Warriors 108, Cavaliers 85
2023 Western Conference Finals	Still open	Still open

In a series win, James averaged 26.0 points, 9.7 assists and 7.7 rebounds per game with a 43.0 percent shot rate from the field. In his only win, James hit a 31-point triple-double while his Cavaliers put on a historically dominant offensive performance.

With Los Angeles looking to go from victories to victorious, it will likely take a 2017 performance from James.