Game Issued 2012 NBA Finals Basketball | LeBron James' First Championship

This ball was issued for the 2012 NBA Finals when the Miami Heat played the Oklahoma City Thunder and LeBron James won his first-ever championship. The 2012 Finals marked both a beginning and an end. It was the final chapter for the Oklahoma City Thunder’s original core of Kevin Durant, Russell Westbrook, and James Harden—three future MVPs still learning how to win together—and the first championship coronation for LeBron James after years of chasing greatness.

Miami defeated Oklahoma City 121-106 in Game 5 to win the series 4-1 and deliver the franchise’s second title. It was a moment of redemption for LeBron, who had famously fallen short the previous year against Dallas and faced growing scrutiny for leaving Cleveland and forming the Heat’s “Big Three.”

The 2012 Finals were less about a rivalry than a symbolic passing of the torch—from a younger Thunder team still on the rise to a Miami squad fully formed and focused. Durant opened the series with 36 points in a thrilling Game 1 win, but the Heat responded with four straight victories behind a locked-in LeBron, who averaged 28.6 points, 10.2 rebounds, and 7.4 assists on his way to his first Finals MVP.

Game 5 proved definitive. LeBron posted a 26-point triple-double, Chris Bosh and Dwyane Wade added 24 and 20, respectively, and Miami’s role players—most notably Mike Miller, who hit seven threes—helped blow the game wide open. OKC’s stars showed flashes, but their inexperience showed, and the weight of the moment tilted decisively toward Miami.

The series cemented LeBron's ascent and reshaped the NBA’s power structure for the decade to come. For the Thunder, it was a case of what might’ve been—just months later, Harden would be traded, and the trio that electrified the league would never return to the Finals together.