LeBron James’ block on Andre Iguodala in the 2016 Finals was one of the most defining moments of his career. If that block hadn’t been timed to perfection, the Warriors would’ve won back-to-back titles, James would’ve slid to a dismal 2-5 record in the Finals, and many would’ve written him out of the GOAT conversation. But James’ timing on the block was (luckily if you’re a fan) perfect, and the course of history was changed forever.
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Nat Butler, one of the NBA’s most legendary photographers, is responsible for shots like Bill Russell’s iconic 11-ring photoshoot. He also snapped an image of James’ block on Iggy, albeit a little prematurely. See, he had the camera set up behind the backboard perfectly, but as he explained to WSC Sports’ David Gavant, Iggy’s decision to delay his release a little bit caused the photo to be snapped earlier than he would’ve liked, and hence he didn’t get James‘ hand pinning the ball to the backboard.
“That was so, like, time and place was so important, right?” Butler explained while talking about the image. “It still bothers me a little. We’re talking about milliseconds of the moment, you know, on that play. I’ve seen the video a million times, Mike Breen’s call. If you notice, Andre Iguodala does bobble the ball a little bit.”
The call, made by the legendary Mike Breen, still brings warm smiles to Cavs fans even today. The shock and awe in his voice when he yelled, “Oh! Blocked by James!” into the mic will probably be hard for even him to recreate, but it gave rise to one of the most legendary Finals moments ever.
“In my shot, like LeBron’s hand is up, but I wanted him, like pinning the ball on the backboard. With that millisecond of Andre bobbling the ball, I take the shot,” he revealed. “Because if you’re looking through the camera and you see it, you’re already too late. You have to have the anticipation. So I knew you could see it, but literally, probably, a thousandth of a second or something. But without him bobbling the ball, it would’ve been a nice pin on the backboard.”
Butler, even with his annoyance at the image not being picture-perfect, managed to capture an all-time great photo. His tone when talking about it is clear, and it’s a sure sign of what a dedicated professional he is.
