LeBron James and the Cleveland Cavaliers of the mid and late 2010s were one of the best teams in the NBA. Unfortunately, they had to face an even better team, the Golden State Warriors, several times in the Finals.
Some think that without Kevin Durant, the Cavaliers would’ve won more championships, and Andre Iguodala agrees with that.
“Yeah, to have KD. I’m taking KD all day every day. I’ve had a lot of success playing with Kevin Durant. The 2010 World Championship was his coming out party and then two NBA championships came out of that. And then I played with him in the Olympics 2012. I’m pretty much undefeated with KD,” Iggy told Shannon Sharpe on his Club Shay Shay show.
Shannon made the case that the Cavaliers had so much confidence coming into the 2016-17 NBA season after winning an incredible Finals the prior year, and if it wasn’t for the addition of Kevin Durant, they would have beaten the Warriors again in 2017 and 2018.
Iggy said that just like the Cavs, the Warriors showed a lot of heart against the Oklahoma City Thunder in 2016, and they also came back from a 3-1 deficit. He ended up admitting that the Warriors were great with KD, but they could also compete and win without him.
Could LeBron James Win More Championships Against The Original Warriors’ Big 3?
This is a big question that many have asked over the years. And Draymond Green even dared to answer it.
LeBron and the Cavaliers had something good going at the then-called Quicken Loans Arena, and after losing the first of two Finals against the KD-led Warriors, things fell apart for them. Kyrie Irving requested a trade from the team, ending his tenure with LeBron.
LeBron was so great that he averaged 33.6 points, 12.0 rebounds, and 10.0 assists in 5 games during the 2017 NBA Finals, shooting 56.4% from the field and 38.7% from beyond the arc.
The next year, he carried the Cavaliers to the Finals, and once he was there, he posted monster numbers. The King gave his everything for the Cavaliers, recording 34.0 points, 10.0 assists, and 8.5 rebounds in four games, shooting 52.7% from the field and 33.3% from deep.
Perhaps without the presence of KD, Kyrie would have gotten his second NBA championship and remained happy playing alongside LeBron James. Then, they would have become a dynasty instead of the Warriors after winning their third straight ring.
Unfortunately, things didn’t work that way for him, and the point guard called it with the Cavs.
That Durant move changed a lot of teams around the league, and we could be talking about a totally different scenario right now, with LeBron having a positive record in the Finals if it wasn’t for that infamous move in the summer of 2016.
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