The 2015-16 Golden State Warriors were favorites and seemed on course to win their second consecutive NBA championship. After all, they managed an unprecedented 73-9 record in the regular season. But in the Finals, they ran into the Cleveland Cavaliers, who, against all odds, derailed the Golden State train.
Advertisement
Led by LeBron James and supported by the likes of Kevin Love and Kyrie Irving, the Cavs defeated the Warriors in seven games despite trailing 3-1 at one point. It’s the best moment in the careers of many at the Cavs, including Iman Shumpert, who looks back on the victory with pride, fondness, and certain bizarre memories.
Shumpert, who played a key role in defense that season, recently spoke about how the 2016 team was dysfunctional. It didn’t affect them, though.
The “issues” were what helped them win the championship against a team that was at the height of its powers and incredibly difficult to beat.
“We had, like, a squad that was like, do we wanna win so bad that we got all types of issues coming up. Like, you knew Kyrie wanted to be Batman; I didn’t wanna play two god no more. I don’t wanna share minutes with J.R. [Smith]. I actually like playing with J.R.,” Shumpert said on the All In podcast. “We had all types of random little problems.”
These problems plagued the regular season for the Cavaliers, despite what the standings show. They were No. 1 in the East, but had lost 25 games compared to the Warriors‘ nine. And there were reports of discontent within the locker room. The media picked them up, and articles appeared about how there were issues with chemistry within the Cavs.
These reports lit a fire within the Cavs, who then stepped things up a notch. “We dust through the whole Eastern Conference. By the time we get into the [Finals], we gotta play the Warriors, and we had just lost the year before to them,” Shumpert continued.
“We were down, I remember being on that bus, LeBron started breaking down what gonna happen. ‘We’re gonna win this game right here.’ Then we finna go home. They don’t even wanna play us over there… Then we [are] gonna come here, pressure on,'” recalled Shumpert, referring to the morale within the squad while they were 3-1 down.
But LeBron lifted them and carried the team over the line for a memorable championship win.
