The NBA Finals are every basketball fan’s favorite time of the season, and it’s where the most exciting stuff transpires. Back in 2016, the Cleveland Cavaliers gave us one of the greatest runs of all-time with a 3-1 comeback against the 73-win Golden State Warriors. To this day, it stands as the only championship in franchise history.
While there’s no one singular “turning point” of the series, one moment ahead of Game 5 sticks out in the mind of former Cavaliers guard Iman Shumpert. In a recent appearance on the Richard Jefferson Show, he detailed LeBron’s locker-room speech and how it instilled confidence in his teammates.
“When you’re in one of those positions, you’re just like we’re just going to come out here for Game 5 to fight on pride alone,” said Shumpert. “Roll the dice. But when Bron broke it down, he was like, ‘Nah, because when we do that, they’re not gonna wanna win. Game 6, that’s gon’ be way too much pressure on them. Now, when we go back to Game 7, and that pressure up here.’ He starts explaining, and I was like I don’t want to be the guy on the other side with the pressure up here. We started thinking about it, we don’t have any pressure on us.”
No team in NBA history had come back from down 1-3 in the Finals. For the Cavs that year, it seemed impossible to win, especially against a team that won 73 games in the regular season. Nevertheless, the stars aligned for them to pull off one of the greatest comebacks in playoff history, and it was led by James, who averaged 29.7 points, 11.3 rebounds, 8.9 assists, 2.6 steals, and 2.3 blocks per game on 49.4% shooting from the field.
As much as his individual greatness, LeBron’s leadership was especially important. As the leader and tone-setter for the group, he did not let his team lose faith, even against impossible odds. In fact, he saw the path to victory before anyone else, predicting that the pressure would prove too much in Game 6. That’s not to mention the inspiring coaching from Tyronn Lue, who literally hid money in the ceiling tiles so his team could come back later to collect.
As LeBron explained back then, the Cavs were able to play loose and free without the pressure to win. In fact, with the series mostly considered over, the Cleveland Cavaliers had nothing left to play for but pride at that point. Even so, it was enough to pull away when it mattered, resulting in, arguably, the greatest moment of LeBron’s career.
To this day, James recognizes the victory as one of his crowning achievements and the feat that made him the GOAT. It also gave the Cleveland Cavaliers their first championship in history, cementing his legacy as the franchise’s greatest hero. For Shumpert, LeBron’s impact extended beyond the court; it was also evident in the locker room and played a huge role in keeping team morale and confidence intact in the face of overwhelming odds.
This summer, at 41, his leadership is more important than ever. Whether he stays with the Lakers, returns to the Cavaliers, or heads for retirement, LeBron’s value cannot be denied, and his legacy will forever remain as one of the greatest leaders this game has ever seen.
