The 2016 NBA Finals was an intense, hard-fought series. Featuring LeBron James, Kyrie Irving, and Kevin Love against a Curry-led Warriors team that had won 73 regular-season games, it was the matchup fans had waited all year to see.
By the time it was over, the series was being dubbed as one of the all-time best, thanks to Cleveland pulling off a miraculous upset to come back and beat the 73-win Warriors from down 3-1.
By far, one of the most legendary and memorable moments came from LeBron James, who made a game-changing block towards the end of Game 7.
It was a turning point of the game and may have been the moment that secured the title for Cleveland.
Looking back, Andre Iguodala (who put up that shot during the play) was asked his feelings on it, and he provided a rather interesting answer:
“We take a lot away from Kyrie Irving,” said Iguodala. “Kyrie Irving is one of the most different human beings I’ve ever seen play basketball. What he did that entire series, it’s like, yo, don’t take away from what he did.”
Iguodala is referring to the shot which followed that block, an insane, fadeaway three-pointer that gave Cleveland a three-point lead. Despite it getting less recognition, that shot was arguably even more important than LeBron’s block.
Andre Iguodala may sound like a grumpy old man when he talks about that block, be it’s hard to ignore his point about taking away what Kyrie did to the Warriors back then.
Through 7 games, he averaged 27.1 points, 3.9 rebounds, and 3.9 assists with performances that included a 41 point explosion in Game 6 and a 26-point masterpiece in Game 7.
So, while James deserves much credit and praise for his amazing defensive play, we can’t forget what Kyrie did out there as well. In fact, it’s more than unlikely that Cleveland would not have been able to win without him.
