A history of LeBron James' scoring prowess against the Bulls

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Yes, we know: LeBron James is a crybaby, he’ll never be Michael Jordan, he’s 3-5 in the NBA Finals and you hate him. All of that is true as long as you believe it, no matter how silly it sounds. Got that out of your system? Great. Because King James is about to become the 7th player in NBA history to reach 30,000 career points. He’s seven away, and seeing as he’s scored in double figures in 836 straight games, we’re fairly confident he’ll reach it tonight against the Spurs.

And wouldn’t you know it? James has done his most scoring damage against the Chicago Bulls. In fact, of his 29,993 points, 1,534 have come against the Bulls. That’s one more than he’s scored against the Bucks (1,533), and just ahead of the damage he’s done against the Pacers (1,452), Hawks (1,431) and Celtics (1,411).

And you’re right: James has played the Bulls 54 times, the same number of times he’s played the Bucks, the most of any opponent. But that scoring average of 28.4 points per game against the Bulls is fourth most against any opponent. Only the Sonics/Thunder (28.5), Jazz (29.4) and Celtics (29.4) have been hurt worse on a per-game average than the Bulls.

That being said, the likes of Luol Deng and Jimmy Butler have held James relatively in check when it comes to scoring explosions. James’ career-high against the Bulls is 41 points (done twice), and only the Rockets, Cavaliers and Clippers have held James below that figure.

Here’s a few tidbits about James against the Bulls:

  • James’ best shooting season against the Bulls came in 2012-13, his MVP season with the Heat. James shot 63.8 percent from the field in four games. His worst shooting performance was 8-for-14 (57.1%).
  • James’ highest scoring season (average) was in 2007-08, when he averaged 35.7 points in four contests. His worst point total was 33, joining other game totals of 34, 37 and 39 points. Ironically he went 1-3 against the Bulls that season. The following year he won his first MVP.
  • James has never relied on his 3-point shot, especially against the Bulls. In fact, the most 3-pointers he’s ever made in a season against the Bulls is the current year (8-for-15) and he still has a game left against Chicago in March. This current season is also the best James has shot from the charity stripe against the Bulls, going 15-for-17 (88 percent).
  • James’ worst scoring season against the Bulls was in 2013-14, his final season in Miami. James scored 17, 21 and 17 points in three games, an average of 18.3 points. That year was the last time James has averaged 27 points per game in a season.
  • But that year wasn’t the worst shooting season James had. That would have been his rookie season, when James shot 38 percent in four games against the Bulls. James shot 41.7 percent from the field that season, the only time in his career he’s ever made less than 47 percent of his shots.

And here are the biggest highlights in James’ scoring career against the Bulls during his 15 regular seasons. Again, this includes nothing from the postseason, where James has also done plenty of damage.

Dec. 20, 2003: James wasted no time putting it on the Bulls. In his debut against Chicago, he scored 32 points on 11 of 22 shooting. Though he missed all five of his 3-point attempts he went 10-for-12 from the free throw line and scored the Cavaliers’ last 14 points in the final 5:07. The Cavs dominated the fourth quarter in a 95-87 win. Ironically James didn’t top 18 points in his other three meetings against the Bulls.

March 5, 2006: James finished off a dominant season against the Bulls in which he averaged 34.8 points. It was one of just two seasons in which he scored 30 or more points in each meeting against the Bulls. On this night he brushed aside a small first half by scoring 27 of his 37 points in the second half. In fact, he scored more than half of Cleveland’s 51 points after halftime as the Cavs outscored the Bulls by 21 points.

Nov. 5, 2008: It’s remarkable to think that James only topped 40 points against the Bulls in two of his 54 meetings, and they both came in the same season. Early in the year he was a force at home, scoring 41 points on 57 percent shooting and making 15 of 16 from the free throw line. He scored 41 while failing to make a 3-pointer (0-for-2) as the Cavs led the entire way. James led the game in scoring in both the first (10), second (8) and third quarters (14), and capped it off with nine in the final frame.

Jan. 2, 2009: A few months later James had his lowest scoring game against the Bulls. He managed just 16 points in 37 minutes, though he took only eight shots and deferred to his teammates. The Cavs shot 51 percent as a team and James had 11 assists.

March 14, 2012: James’ best regular-season scoring performance with the Heat against the Bulls came in January 2012. He scored 35 points in 41 minutes, shooting 12-for-23 and getting to the free throw line 15 times. His most memorable play came late in the first quarter when James took an alley-oop from Dwayne Wade and jumped over John Lucas III for a dunk. James scored nine points in a back-and-forth fourth quarter that saw the Heat prevail, 97-93.

Oct. 31, 2014: James made his triumphant return to the Cavaliers in 2014, but the Bulls remembered him as just as good as he was in a Heat uniform. James scored 36 points in the overtime win, saving his best for the final period: he scored eight points, including the first six that pushed the Cavaliers out to a lead they didn’t surrender.

April 9, 2016: If we’re talking scoring, James’ best true shooting performance came on this day. He was as efficient as ever, scoring 33 points on 13-for-17 shooting, making 4 of 5 3-pointers and hitting 3 of 4 freebies. The 33 points on 17 shots gave him a true shooting percentage of 88.0, the best of his career against the Bulls. Chicago, however, won the game and kept its slim playoff hopes alive. The Cavaliers clinched home court advantage in the Eastern Conference playoffs two days later against the Hawks.

Dec. 21, 2017: James’ most recent game against the Bulls that pushed his total ahead of the Bucks by a lone point. He scored eight points in the final 140 seconds to seal the win for the Cavaliers, finishing with a game-high 23 points on 12-for-23 shooting. He also made all eight free throw attempts and hit a pair of triples. James’ next shot at improving on his Bulls total is on St. Patrick’s Day in Chicago.

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