The 2016 NBA Finals will always be remembered for being one of the most historic upsets in league history after the Cleveland Cavaliers came back from 3-1 down to beat the 73-9 Warriors in 7 games.
Richard Jefferson was a rotational player on that squad and has said that LeBron James’ block on Andre Iguodala at the end of the game is the greatest play he’s ever seen.
“The greatest play that I’ve ever seen — it’s the block. It’s the block because that’s Game 7, he’s played every minute, it’s the last possible game, it’s the last possible minute, and he does an athletic feat of sprinting back. Split-second late and that’s goaltending, and it’s like, this dude led the series in points, rebounds, assists, steals, blocks — in EVERY category. At the last minute when he should be gassed. So the block is the most amazing, the most singular play, but when I look at plays of any human being that have ever been done and the moment they were done, I can’t think of a bigger play.”
"The greatest play that I've ever saw— it's the block. That's Game 7, he's played every minute, it's the last possible game, it's the last possible minute, and he does an athletic feat of sprinting back."
Richard Jefferson on LeBron James' iconic blockpic.twitter.com/ZTAWuIcWFX
— ClutchPoints (@ClutchPoints) April 7, 2023
LeBron James had one of the greatest series performances of all time in that win over the Warriors. That block didn’t end up being the only factor in the win, as Kyrie Irving needed to hit a 3 and Kevin Love needed to lock up Stephen Curry and prevent him from scoring through clutch time.
Even Andre Iguodala later said that the 2016 loss impacted them so much that they wouldn’t have beaten the Cavs if they met them again without Kevin Durant, who joined the team after their Finals collapse.
Is LeBron’s Block The Greatest Play Ever?
It’s hard to look through the NBA’s history and say one play is the defining best play of all time. Many people think Michael Jordan’s shot over Craig Ehlo may be the greatest play ever, while Giannis Antetokounmpo’s incredible title-sealing block in 2021 on Deandre Ayton is also cited in the conversation.
From Allen Iverson crossing Michael Jordan over to Kobe Bryant hitting a game-winner against the Suns in the playoffs, there are so many to choose from. Jefferson picked the one he saw in real-time which led to him becoming an NBA Champion, so he naturally chose the LeBron block.
We sincerely appreciate and respect you as a reader of our site. It would help us a lot if you follow us on Google News because of the latest update.
Thanks for following us. We really appreciate your support.
