It turned out he responded just fine. After stealing the show singlehandedly in Game 6 last Thursday night at the TD Banknorth Garden in Boston, he went up against Kevin Garnett and company in the final game of the Eastern Conference finals.
Now Miami gets a chance to go for the title against the Oklahoma City Thunder.
This series could end up being the biggest test that any team James has ever played in with either Miami or back when he played with the Cleveland Cavaliers.
James is undoubtedly the biggest name in basketball. There's Garnett, there's Kobe Bryant, last year, Dirk Nowitski solidified his status among the NBA's elite, but now James is quickly getting himself to that point where he could be an NBA champion.
If he comes up short again, he will have an entire offseason to think about where it all went wrong-again.
Saturday night at the American Airlines Arena in Miami, James followed up his 45-point performance with 31 on Saturday.
Thirty-one points, 12 rebounds, a pair of assists, a steal and a block. There isn't anything he didn't do.
When the Heat play the bigger Thunder, he will be tested again.
Against the Celtics, James also got his first Game 7 victory, after trying unsuccessfully on two previous occasions.
He's no doubt got some confidence heading into his third appearance in the National Basketball Association finals. It's against the Thunder. Not the Spurs, the Mavericks, or the LA Lakers, but Oklahoma City.
Judging by the 101-88 final score in the Heat/Celtics Game 7, the Heat weren't tested a whole lot. They led by 13 points with under a minute to play in the game.
The Miami/Oklahoma City series was scheduled to get underway last night (Tuesday) in OKC. It won't be an easy series for whoever comes out of it still breathing but the Heat will no doubt need all of James, Dwyane Wade and Chris Bosh at their best.
This time last year, it was those three who couldn't get anything together as Nowitski's Mavericks won their first NBA title in six games.
In Game 7, Miami was down by seven points at the half but went on an 8-0 run and tied it at 59-59.
Brandon Bass, Ray Allen and Garnett totalled nearly 50 points in the loss for the Celtics, who enjoyed a fair bit of success in the latter half of the season. They were at .500 at the All-Star break and almost made the NBA finals.
"We had nothing left," claimed coach Doc Rivers after the final buzzer had sounded who added:"I don't know if I've ever had a group like this."
The Celtics are among the teams who know that next season could bring along some big changes, including the uncertainty of where Garnett may be next season.
"I don't know if we could have gotten any more from this group," adds Rivers.
If there's anything you'd like to see covered by Game 7, please forward your suggestions to the Yorkton This Week sportsdesk by phone (306) 782-2465, or email jeff@yorkton this week.com.
