In a year with numerous contenders, LeBron James emerged as the 2016 NBA Finals MVP to win the honor for the third time in his career Sunday, as the Cleveland Cavaliers defeated the Golden State Warriors 93-89 in Game 7.The decision was unanimous:James finished with 27 points, 11 assists and 11 rebounds on the night, joining Jerry West and James Worthy as the only players to notch a triple-double in Game 7 of an NBA finals, per ESPN.James was dominant as he powered his team to a comeback victory in the series. Take a look at his statistics during the Finals:Cleveland became the first team in NBA history to come back from a 3-1 series deficit to win the NBA title.James was deadly in isolation throughout the playoffs, as his numbers indicated heading into Game 7:While James was sensational on the offensive end of the floor, the defining play of his series-clinching performance may have been his late block on last year's Finals MVP, Andre Iguodala.The play kept the game tied and swung the momentum toward Cleveland. Golden State, who led the league in points this season, did not score again in the game.ESPN's Bill Plaschke noted the block may have its own documentary one day:Per ESPN Stats & Info, James made even more history by becoming the Finals MVP:James also won the award twice with Miami, while Kareem Abdul-Jabbar won with the Lakers and Bucks.NFL all-time leading rusher Emmitt Smith and comedian Kevin Hart congratulated James:Stephen Curry may be the two-time reigning regular-season MVP, but Tim Reynolds of the Associated Pressnoted James is still the top basketball player in the world:Winning this series was likely the greatest achievement in James' storied career. He was ostracized from his hometown after leaving for Miami, only to come back and bring Cleveland its first professional sports title since 1964.He undoubtedly deserved the honor after cementing his place among the greatest basketball players of all time.Statistics are courtesy ofESPN.comandNBA.com.
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