The 2016 NBA Finals were one of the most historic finals in NBA history. Primarily because LeBron James with the help of Kyrie Irving, Kevin Love, and company managed to bring Cleveland its first NBA Championship.
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The Cavs came back from 3-1 down to defeat the Golden State Warriors in seven games. Game 7 in particular, had two defining moments that tipped the scales in Cleveland’s favor.
King James’ insane block and Kyrie’s amazing three-pointer. A shot that head coach Tyronn Lue had no idea was coming.
Tyronn Lue did not expect Kyrie Irving to shoot the three during Game 7 of the 2016 NBA Finals
Kyrie Irving practically won the 2016 NBA Finals for the Cavs when he hit his crucial three in Game 7. Irving took the ball onto the right wing and then hit the three right in front of Steph Curry.
It was a huge moment for Kyrie, LeBron, the Cavs, and their head coach Tyronn Lue. It was a play that Ty Lue had planned going into the timeout beforehand. However, he wasn’t expecting Irving to go with the step-back three!
“So we went into the timeout and I was like, “Listen, Kyrie I know you want the ball!”, and he was like, “If I can get on the right wing…”, so we ran the pick and roll with JR cause he had Steph guarding him to get the switch and then we ran a twist action to get Kyrie going back to his right hand and he had it on the right wing and he danced and made a step back…I didn’t know he was gonna take a three. I thought he was going to the rack or get to pull up his mid-range. But, he took a step back three and he made it and that’s who Kyrie is. He loved the big moments. He loves the big shots.”
Kyrie Irving recently lost his $11 million paying Nike shoe deal
Nike recently made the decision to drop Kyrie Irving as one of their athletes. The decision came after the controversy surrounding Irving’s antisemitic comments. It was a huge deal, but one that Kyrie seems happy to leave behind.
Kyrie was making around $11 million per annum with Nike. But he is now “free”, and it will be interesting to see who makes a move for him in the sneaker business.
