Last night's Cavs opener showed us another heavenly performance from Our Lord and Savior LeBron James. Whatever negatives the new season may have brought that require my brother and me to rant/spew venom (ahem, Ronnie Duncan) will have to wait for another day, for today it's all about The King.

It wasn't one of his patented triple-double-type ensembles; rather, a shooting clinic--the likes of which we have rarely, if ever, seen from LeBron. Was it his most efficient shooting performance yet? Let's check.

I'll use a stat called True Shooting Percentage (TS%) which reflects the added value of a three-pointer and also considers free throws. As a reference, LeBron's 2005 TS% was .554 while the 2005 league average was .529. Here are the top five single-game shooting performances of LeBron's career:

  Date     Opp.   FGM-A  3PM-A  FTM-A  Pts   TS%
03/15/05  at UTA  11-15   2-5   12-16   36  .817
11/02/05  vs NOK   9-16   6-7    7-8    31  .794
11/24/04  at DET  15-22   2-3   11-12   43  .788
01/26/05  at MEM  10-16   4-6    3-4    27  .760
01/08/05  at NYK  10-14   0-0    2-2    22  .739

So there you have it. Last night, LeBron shot the second-most efficiently he's ever shot. (And to think it came against the legendary Oklahoma City defense.) This was an exciting way to open the season. Next up, however: the competition gets slightly tougher, as the Cavs go from hosting the possible worst team to visiting the probable best team. Bring on the Spurs!