LeBron James: “This is probably the best I’ve been”

This has been one of the weirdest seasons of LeBron James’ career. All the hype surrounding his return to Cleveland initially seemed to be headed for disappointment, but after a two-week break in January, he looked as good as he ever has. Now, he’s led an injured, shorthanded Cavaliers team back to the Finals after a ridiculous performance in the Eastern Conference Finals. He nearly averaged a triple-double in Cleveland’s four-game sweep of Atlanta, putting up 30.1 points, 11 rebounds and 9.3 assists per game in the series. Going into the Finals matchup with the Warriors, James says he’s playing as well as he ever has.

From ESPN.com’s Dave McMenamin:

“I think if you put it all together, yeah,” James said. “If you put everything together as far as my mind, my body, my game. If you put everything in one bottle, this is probably the best I’ve been.”

When you look at the way he’s been able to bring it so consistently, shouldering this big a responsibility with Kevin Love out and Kyrie Irving’s health in question, there’s certainly a case to be made that this season is up there with James’ best. I’d still give that title to either his 2008-09 campaign with the Cavs or his 2011-12 and 2012-13 seasons with the Heat. But if he leads this Cavs team to a championship against this Warriors team, this season might take the crown.