Game 6 of the 2013 NBA Finals between the Miami Heat and the San Antonio Spurs has gone down as a classic. The Heat snatched victory from the jaws of defeat that night to tie the series, but while LeBron James was thrilled after the game, he revealed on the Mind the Game podcast that he was pissed in the closing stages of regulation.
“I don’t know exactly the score but what pissed me off and I had a little bit of self-doubt and also it pissed me off at the same time is when the NBA personnel brought the yellow rope out on the court and the game wasn’t over yet,” James said. “There was a moment where I looked to their bench, and they were all like arms locked, getting ready to celebrate.
“And there was a moment I looked at NBA personnel, and they was bringing the ropes out on our home court, and it pissed me off,” James continued. “I was like, I don’t know how this is going to happen, but we about to make this happen. I thought I was going to be the one to make the shot, Ray Allen ended up doing it.”
With the Spurs leading 94-89 with under 30 seconds remaining, you could see security personnel in yellow shirts holding the yellow rope around the edges of the court. The NBA wasn’t intending to disrespect the Heat, as that was just an important security measure, but James was offended.
“My whole life, it’s like the game is not over until it’s zero’s on the clock, and it was just super disrespectful,” James stated.
That lit a fire under James, and he would hit a three-pointer to cut the lead to two points. Kawhi Leonard then made one of two free throws to set the stage for one of the most iconic shots in NBA history.
James, who had scored 16 points in the fourth quarter, missed a game-tying three-pointer, but Chris Bosh managed to secure the offensive rebound. Bosh passed it out to Ray Allen, who made no mistake from beyond the arc.
This was one of the greatest clutch shots in NBA history. You can see those security personnel in the clip as well in yellow shirts. According to Ethan Strauss, Allen had a message for them after hitting that shot.
“Get those motherf***ing ropes outta here,” Allen said.
The game would go to overtime, and the Heat would win 103-100 to ensure the Spurs wouldn’t get their hands on the Larry O’Brien trophy that night. James finished Game 6 with 32 points (11-26 FG), 10 rebounds, 11 assists, three steals, and one block.
The Heat would then go on to win Game 7, 95-88, to repeat as champions. James was named Finals MVP for averaging 25.3 points, 10.9 rebounds, 7.0 assists, 2.3 steals, and 0.9 blocks per game.
For all of James’ heroics in that series, though, his critics often claim that Allen saved his legacy with that shot. An NBA fan tried to debunk that notion, but it will never really go away. Allen stated that the shot changed the tide of a lot of careers, and it probably did.
The Heat and the Spurs would meet in the NBA Finals again in 2014. The Heat had their eyes on a historic three-peat, but were blown away. The Spurs would win in five games to get revenge for their painful defeat in 2013.
