Cavs Flashback: LeBron James Goes For 56 In Historic ’05 Eruption vs. Raptors

August 20, 2024

A young LeBron James got off to a slow start, but by the end of the first quarter, he had 16 points. It was James’ second NBA season and his Cleveland Cavaliers were visiting the Toronto Raptors.

The date was March 20, 2005, and the Cavs were coached by Paul Silas. Along with James, the starting lineup consisted of point guard Eric Snow, wing Ira Newble, power forward Drew Gooden and center Zydrunas Ilgauskas.

The Raptors, coached by current Sirius XM NBA commentator Sam Mitchell, featured the likes of Chris Bosh, Morris Peterson, Jalen Rose, Rafer Alston and future Cav Donyell Marshall.

So, why do we care about this game? Well, because James erupted for 56 points in a 105-98 loss. Everyone knew James was a superstar going into this game — but it was the first time that he showed he could place an entire team on his back and just kee[p putting up points when the need arose. Before that, he was known as a guy who could score a lot, but was equally willing to defer and make sure his teammates stayed involved.

Interestingly, on the day before the game, a report from the Akron Beacon Journal cited anonymous teammates saying that they felt James spent too much time dribbling. On this day, he spent a lot of time firing.

Yes, it’s true — James scored a whopping 56 of the Cavaliers’ 98 points, finishing 18-of-36 from the field and 6-of-12 on 3-pointers. He also went 14-of-15 from the free-throw line, grabbed 10 rebounds and passed for five assists.

Gooden finished with 24 points, but no one else scored more than 10. Cleveland also received a measly one point from the bench (Jiri Welsch). In fact, Welsch went 0-of-1 from the field, Lucious Harris went 0-of-3, and no one else from the bench even attempted a single shot.

The loss dropped the Cavaliers to 34-30 — and Silas was fired before the next game, replaced by assistant and interim man Brendan Malone (the late father of Denver Nuggets coach Michael Malone).

James and the Cavs went on to finish 42-40, just missing the playoffs. That would never happen again in either James era, and two years later, they were in the NBA Finals (swept by the San Antonio Spurs).

So while the Cavs lost this game, it really was perhaps the first that showed what was soon to come. James, who was just 20 years old at the time, proved to be more than just a team player. He was sometimes the entire team.

For the record, James’ 56 points set a franchise record and made him the youngest player in NBA history to record at least 50 points.