The Cleveland Cavaliers and Golden State Warriors provided an incredible rivalry in the 2010s.
When LeBron James returned to his hometown team, the very team that selected “the chosen one” No. 1 overall in the 2003 NBA Draft, he was set to deliver on his promise to the city. He was going to deliver a championship.
At the same time, a dynasty had just begun in the Bay Area as Stephen Curry, Klay Thompson and Draymond Green took the league by storm with the Warriors. The homegrown team, with three stars drafted and developed within the franchise, quickly became one of the best in the league.
The Warriors and Cavaliers met in the NBA Finals on four straight occasions, with Golden State being victorious on three of those occasions (though adding Kevin Durant to a dynasty team was a tad unfair). The lone Cleveland victory was quite legendary, though, and will remain one of the most notable NBA Finals series in league history.
In 2016, the Warriors won 73 regular season games — topping the Chicago Bulls’ 72-win season amid their dynasty in the 1990s. They erased a 3-1 deficit in the Western Conference Finals, taking down the Oklahoma City Thunder.
When the Finals rolled around, Golden State got off to a 3-1 lead over James and the Cavaliers. The series felt like it was 48 minutes from ending, but arguably the best player of all time wasn’t going to let that happen.
According to ex-Cavaliers forward and NBA champion Iman Shumpert, James re-assured the team they would win Game 5 and keep the series alive while on “The Big Podcast” with Shaquille O’Neal.
“LeBron basically was like, ‘We’re going to go here, we’re going to win at home, after we win at home, that was going to put pressure on them. But they kind of don’t even want to win it. …We’re going to win this game. I’m going to guarantee y’all, we’re going to win this game. I don’t care what we gotta do, we’re winning.’”
The Cavaliers did just that — they won the game. Then the series. The absence of Draymond Green, who was suspended, helped Cleveland capture momentum which helped them achieve the historic feat and hoist the championship. James delivered on his promise to the city.
In Game 7, there were plenty of iconic moments. Both James and Kyrie Irving were phenomenal for the Cavaliers. Many remember the step-back 3-pointer from Irving over Curry late in the game. James’ block over Andre Iguodala late in the game is one of the most iconic plays in the league history, however. It sits on a different pedestal for a reason.
Recently, Iguodala opened up on the moment during an appearance on the “Come and Talk 2 Me” podcast.
“I always say I give a lot of love to J.R. Smith for the block, cause J.R. set the stage for it,” Iguodala said. “When I went up to lay it up, it really sounded like an M80, like fireworks. It was like, BOOM! And I felt him block it, not on my body, but just the vibration of the backboard. I was like, ‘Oh, sh**, what was that?’ I didn’t even see him block it, I just heard boom.”
The block felt like the end of the series. It felt like James was making a statement. He was going to do whatever it took to win the game. That play seemingly sealed the deal for the Cavaliers.
After losing three of the four NBA Finals appearances against the Warriors, James left the club for the Los Angeles Lakers in 2018, where he has played since and won a championship in 2020.
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