4 Reasons Stephen Curry and LeBron James' Game 5 Performances Were Legendary

LeBron James: Rare Air

Search for all games (playoffs or regular season) on Basketball-Reference since 1985 that have a stat line of 40 points, 14 rebounds and 11 assists and you come up with three games -- two from Larry Bird and one from LeBron James.

You could argue that Larry Bird had better games than James based on their shooting percentages, but to have to include the regular season (since 1985) to come up with additional games for James' Game 5 stat line shows how exclusive this list is.

Even if we pick a stat line of 40 points, 10 rebounds and 10 assists, a triple double with 40 or more points is still rare. Only 18 occurrences have happened in the last 30 years, and they've been accomplished by 9 different people. Only Bird, James, Jordan and Westbrook have accomplished this multiple times.

The only other playoff game since 1985 to hold a candle to LeBron James is Charles Barkley's Game 5 performance in the 1993 Western Conference Finals. Barkley ended with three more points, one more rebound and one fewer assist.

No matter how you dice it, James' second triple-double of the series was a special one. The Warriors may have moved that much closer to the NBA title by winning Game 5, but we are watching history in the making with LeBron James.