The 2016 NBA Finals were the best we’ve ever seen in many ways. On one side, a juggernaut of a team built on movement and generalized playmaking across the roster had just set the record for most wins in a single season (73). On the other hand, there was a three-headed monster of stars, led by one of the two greatest players ever, looking to win a championship for the hometown team that drafted him.
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Seven games later, we had seen a comeback from a 3-1 deficit, four straight tight games, and one of the greatest playoff stretches in the history of basketball from LeBron James. However, the first one to believe in the Cleveland Cavaliers was not James — it was JR Smith.
Smith is an unusual player to consider in this situation. Considered immature out of high school, he ended up playing a meaningful role as a rookie for the New Orleans Hornets before he and Byron Scott began a personal vendetta. Smith was then traded to the Denver Nuggets, where he became a considerable threat off the bench, before being rerouted to first New York and then Cleveland.
While jokes are made at his expense, Smith still had an incredibly underrated career. He was never intimidated and regularly showed up in big moments. Certain games and choices have colored his career for sure, but he doesn’t get the credit he likely deserves.
That confidence in the face of adversity was felt by the entire Cavs locker room in 2016 against the Golden State Warriors. In Smith’s words, “We already felt like we should’ve won the year before, when Kyrie and Kev got hurt… When you go down 3-1 and you feel like you’re right there, where there’s certain little plays where the series could’ve shifted easily… you have confidence that you can flip it.”
Smith had a bad start to the series, leading to a mental block, but he had his moment in Game 7. People forget that he slowed down that two-on-one break and allowed LeBron the opportunity for the single greatest block in all of basketball history. The veteran shooting guard also added two threes of his own in the fourth.
Preparation was key, and the Cavs were certainly ready. “You already know what you gotta do,” remembered JR. “We’re done talking. I don’t want to hear no speech… we grew up when the Bulls were a thing. We knew what to do.”
As great as the Michael Jordan era of the Chicago Bulls was, they never faced a 3-1 deficit in the finals. Still, Jordan oozed confidence during every moment he played.
While the 3-1 comeback is one of the greatest, most shocking successes in NBA history and the pinnacle of the legacy of LeBron James, it also led to the Warriors signing Kevin Durant, dominating the league for the next three years.
Even now, whenever a team goes down 3-1, you’ll be sure to see photoshops of the 2016 Cleveland Cavaliers. That’s an incredible legacy, and it’s one built on self-belief, confidence, and the necessary skills to get it done.
