LeBron James Says Pat Riley Would’ve Broken Up Heat If They Lost to Celtics in Game 6 in 2012

Los Angeles Lakers superstar LeBron James revealed his mentality heading into his best performance as a member of the Miami Heat.

During an Instagram Live session on Thursday, James shared that he thought Pat Riley would have broken up the Heat if they lost against the Boston Celtics in Game 6 of the 2012 Eastern Conference Finals.

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"If we lose, Pat Riley may break us all up… My legacy gonna take a huge, huge hit if I don’t go out here and perform at an all-time high." @kingjames talked mentality and stakes of Game 6 of the ECF against the Celtics.

A post shared by Bleacher Report (@bleacherreport) on Mar 19, 2020 at 10:56pm PDT

James, 35, played for the Heat for four seasons.

While James delivered numerous high-level performances during his four years in Miami, none seem more memorable and clutch than his production against the Celtics in Game 6 of the 2012 Eastern Conference Finals.

Facing elimination on the road, James put together 45 points, 15 rebounds and five assists to will the Heat to victory. The Heat ended up winning that series before capturing the 2012 championship versus the Oklahoma City Thunder.

The 2012 NBA Finals triumph marked James’ first career championship.

However, if he didn’t win that decisive game against the Celtics, Riley could have easily decided to shake up the roster. After all, the Heat had just come off a loss to the Dallas Mavericks in the 2011 NBA Finals a season before.

Years later, the four-time MVP is still dominating the league.

The 17-year veteran is posting 25.7 points, 10.6 assists and 7.9 boards per game this season. Furthermore, the Lakers are the top seed in the Western Conference.

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