The 5 Most Competitive Sweeps in NBA Playoff History

3. San Antonio Spurs over Cleveland Cavaliers, 2007

Avg. MOV: 6.0; Net Rating: 7.2

For LeBron James, the 2007 postseason was full of playoff firsts. It was the first time he ever made it past the second round, the first time he won the Eastern Conference Finals and the first time he reached the NBA Finals. But, at the tender age of 22, it was also the first time he was subjected to the postseason greatness of coach Gregg Popovich and the San Antonio Spurs.

Outside of James, this iteration of the Cleveland Cavaliers weren't all that great. (You want proof? Drew Gooden was probably the next-best player on the squad. Yikes.) Going up against the well-seasoned trio of Tim Duncan, Manu Ginobili and Tony Parker, a Finals defeat was inevitable for the Cavs.

Nevertheless, James put the team on his back and -- on two different occasions -- nearly forced a fifth game. The Spurs took Games 1 and 2 by 9 and 11 points, respectively. James spit out a dozen turnovers and managed only 39 total points, while Duncan racked up two-game totals of 47 points, 22 rebounds and 9 assists.

When the series turned to Cleveland, things got better for the underdog. Although Cleveland dropped Game 3 by a score of 75-72, they outscored San Antonio in two of the four quarters and held the dynamic duo of Parker and Duncan to 31 combined points. James scored 25, dished out 7 assists and grabbed 8 rebounds.

This prideful effort bled into a do-or-die Game 4, a game in which James put up 24 points, 10 assists and 6 rebounds. Thing is, the other nine Cavs who played combined for just 58 points. On the other side of the floor, Duncan accounted for 12 points and 15 rebounds, Parker managed 24 points and 7 boards, and Ginobili put up 27 points, 5 rebounds, and 3 assists.