Iman Shumpert: I Believe LeBron James Had Back Surgery After 2015 NBA Finals

The Cleveland Cavaliers lost to the Golden State Warriors in the 2015 NBA Finals in six games. 

Kyrie Irving got hurt in Game 1 against the Warriors and Kevin Love missed the entire series after getting hurt versus the Boston Celtics in Round 1. 

LeBron James was unbelieve against the Warriors in the 2015 NBA Finals. He averaged 35.8 points, 13.3 rebounds, 8.8 assists, 1.3 steals and 0.5 blocks. 

Did James put up those gaudy numbers while playing through a back injury? 

“I can’t remember what LeBron’s issue was, but I believe he went and got some back operation after that before the next season,” Iman Shumpert said.

Well, this is interesting. There have been no reports about James having surgery during his historic career. If he was able to keep a back surgery quiet for this long, that’s pretty impressive. 

The leading scorer in NBA history, James played in 76 games in 2015-16. He averaged 25.3 points, 7.4 rebounds, 6.8 assists, 1.4 steals and 0.6 blocks. 

The Cavaliers faced the Warriors again in the 2016 NBA Finals. Behind James and Irving, Cleveland erased a 3-1 series deficit to win the title in seven thrilling games. 

James, who plays for the Los Angeles Lakers now, won the 2016 Finals MVP Award. He finished the seven-game series with averages of 29.7 points, 11.3 rebounds, 8.9 assists, 2.6 steals and 2.3 blocks. 

Irving hit the game-winning shot over Stephen Curry in Game 7. James has a monster chase-down block on Andre Iguodala and Love also had a huge spot on Curry. 

Arguably the best player of all time, James has played for the Cavaliers (twice), Miami Heat and Lakers. He has career averages of 27.0 points, 7.5 rebounds, 7.4 assists, 1.5 steals and 0.7 blocks.

James is the oldest (40) active player in the NBA. He averaged 24.4 points, 7.8 rebounds, 8.2 assists, 1.0 steals and 0.6 blocks for the Lakers this season in 70 games. 

A future Hall of Famer, James suffered a Grade 2 MCL sprain in the 2025 playoffs. He has fully recovered from the injury.