So much can change over five years, particularly in basketball. Franchises are broken down and rebuilt for championship contention. Prospects are drafted into immediate stardom, making All-NBA Teams, earning All-Star nominations, and, in some cases, winning MVP awards at a moment's notice.

In LeBron James' case, so much has changed – often publically – while somehow staying the same.

With a 4-0 sweep of the Atlanta Hawks, James led the Cavaliers to the NBA Finals, marking his fifth-consecutive trip. In doing so, the four-time MVP became the first player since Bill Russell's Celtics in the 1960's to make five straight trips to the championship round. Put another way, he accomplished something even the likes of Michael Jordan, Magic Johnson and Larry Bird never did.

But for the Cavs to win this one, fans may see a very different LeBron from the one they've seen over his first four Finals.

During the first four appearances of his historic run, James was nothing short of remarkable. From 2011-14, the two-time Finals MVP appeared in 23 Finals games, averaging 24.7 points on 48.5 percent shooting, 9.1 rebounds, 6.4 assists, and 1.9 steals, winning two championships along the way. His three games of at least 20 points, 10 rebounds and five assists are more than Jordan, Johnson, and Kobe Bryant, while barely trailing Bird, Hakeem Olajuwon and Scottie Pippen. Adding to the accomplishments? James' four NBA Finals triple-doubles rank second all-time to only Johnson, who amassed eight.

Along the way, James' statistical prowess has been accompanied by an assortment of memories. Who could forget his game-winner in Game 7 of the 2013 NBA Finals, overcoming the same Spurs who swept him during his first NBA Finals in 2007? In 2012, against the Oklahoma City Thunder, James registered a triple-double in the series-clinching Game 5 that earned him his first ring. In those games combined, he shot 50 percent from the field, and made 57 percent of his shots in the 2014 Finals, when the Heat lost to the Spurs in five games.

This postseason, though, has been a new story for James, even if the Finals have become commonplace for him. Over 14 games this postseason, he's shooting 42.8 percent -- the second lowest mark of his career, regular season or playoffs. That's, of course, partially due to injuries suffered by Cavs stars Kyrie Irving and Kevin Love. With both stars missing action during this playoff run, James has taken on more responsibilities.

He's playing more point guard, not to mention total minutes (he's averaging 40.7 minutes during the playoffs, compared to 36.1 in the regular season), and attempted more shots (24.9 to 18.5). Although facilitating the offense and playing high minutes are typical for James, volume-scoring is not. During these playoffs, he's taken at least 25 shots six times in 14 games, compared to eight times in 69 games during the regular season. With Miami, he had only 18 such games in 381 total games.

But trading efficiency for volume isn't necessarily a bad thing, especially at this stage of the season, when only one team stands in James' way of a third ring. Granted, that team has won 79 total games this season, and features the NBA's Most Valuable Player, but volume-scoring has won a championship before. Recently.

In 2011, Dirk Nowitzki shot only 41.6 percent during the Finals, but he still led the Mavericks to their first-ever championship over the James-led Heat. Tim Duncan, on the way to one of his two Finals MVPs, made 41.9 percent of his shots in 2005, when the Spurs went seven games against the defending champion Pistons.

Even Michael Jordan had bouts of inefficiency. He shot 41.5 percent (1996) and 42.7 percent (1998) in two of his last three Finals runs, winning both and going 14-35 (42.9 percent) in his last Finals game.

Although his scoring efficiency has fallen off, the rest of his game's stepped in to compensate for it. His rebounding (10.4) and assist (8.3) numbers this postseason both mark career-bests.

If not for the hobbled Irving and the sidelined Love, the Cavaliers could look even more formidable heading into these Finals, but having James at the helm, evidently, has been the key to success for any Eastern Conference team with championship hopes.

Eight years ago, when he led the 2007 Cavaliers to their first-ever Finals, James' wasn't able to manipulate defenses the way he can today. During that series, he shot only 41.6 percent from the floor, and assisted on 37.4 percent of his team's baskets. While that assist rate is formidable in its own right, James' rate this postseason sits at 42.4 percent, the best of his career, including the regular season.

Now, after winning two championships, James appears to see the game a few steps ahead, taking subpar shooting nights and turning them into career performances for teammates. This postseason, when the two-time Finals MVP shoots below 42 percent, he's averaging 10.5 assists. The Cavaliers are 4-2 in such games. That was best displayed in Game 6 against the Chicago Bulls, when James assisted on three of Matthew Dellavadova's second half baskets, including a fourth quarter three-pointer that put Cleveland ahead by 20 points and punched their first ticket to the Conference Finals since 2009.

Leading the Cavaliers' one-year turnaround -- from drafting No. 1 overall to dueling for a title -- has granted an inexperienced supporting cast (Irving, Dellavadova, and Tristan Thompson among others) an opportunity to flex their muscles on the NBA's biggest stage. James, of course, will flex his when the time is right, as he's done all postseason, even on nights when he isn't his peak self.

The numbers may change, but his impact remains the same. That, more than anything, speaks volumes.

**Denotes winning NBA championship and Finals MVP

Number of games played in parenthesis

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