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What If · The Finals that never happened
Kobe vs LeBron
Everyone wanted it, and for three straight years it should have happened. Kobe's Lakers won the 2009 and 2010 titles while LeBron's team, with the better record both times, lost in the East. In 2011 the Heat made it and Dallas had already swept the Lakers. So what if they'd met?
Simulation result · 10,000 series
Lakers
??%
vs
LeBron's team
??%
Sealed until the episode drops
The Lab has already played it out. The result, and the tool to run it yourself, unlock when the episode goes live. Until then, here's what goes in. Make your call.
What goes in
| Lakers | LeBron's team | |
|---|---|---|
| 2008-09 | 65–17 · +8.1 | 66–16 · +10.0 |
| 2009-10 | 57–25 · +5.1 | 61–21 · +7.1 |
| 2010-11 (Heat) | 57–25 · +6.7 | 58–24 · +8.2 |
What you'll get to play with
- Pick the year: 2009, 2010 or 2011 with the Heat.
- Rate each team three ways, from team net rating to how the players played in the playoffs.
- Give home court to either team, or play it on a neutral floor.
- Open any one of the 10,000 series, game by game.
Your call
Who takes the series?
SIMULATION RESULT · LAB IT Series Simulator · not a Lab Result and not a Lab Score. Sims are a What If, never a verdict on who was better.
Photo credits
- Kobe Bryant: Keith Allison, CC BY-SA 2.0, Wikimedia Commons
- Pau Gasol: Dabryna, CC BY-SA 4.0, Wikimedia Commons
- LeBron James: Erik Drost, CC BY 2.0, Wikimedia Commons
- Dwyane Wade: Flickr user Keith Allison, CC BY-SA 2.0, Wikimedia Commons