LeBron could become only 4th player to lose 5 Finals

If you believe Vegas oddsmakers or Stephen A. Smith, the Golden State Warriors will win the NBA title and render LeBron James a five-time bridesmaid in the sport's championship series.

Of course, that was supposed to happen last year, too.

But while there's little doubting the abilities of the game's best player on its biggest stage, a cold hard fact exists for LeBron: A series loss puts him in rare - and not ideal - company.

Should the Cavaliers come up short, James would become only the fourth player in history to lose five NBA Finals. Two of those names are in the Hall of Fame - longtime Lakers teammates Jerry West and Elgin Baylor. The other, Larry Foust, played for the Fort Wayne Pistons, Minneapolis Lakers, and St. Louis Hawks in the 1950s and 60s.

James enters this Finals 3-4 all-time in the title round - he won two rings with the Miami Heat in 2012 and 2013, and Cleveland's first major pro sports championship in 52 years last June. His four losses are split two apiece between the Cavs and the Heat - one came against the Warriors, two were to the San Antonio Spurs, and one was at the hands of the Dallas Mavericks.

Of course, however flawed the theory, that record is often held against him in comparisons to Michael Jordan - who was a perfect 6-0 in the NBA Finals.

But with four defeats now, James is in pretty elite company as it is: Magic Johnson, Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, and Wilt Chamberlain all lost four Finals over the course of their illustrious NBA careers (Magic won five, Kareem six, and Wilt two).