LeBron James has given NBA fans unlimited memories with his presence on the hardwood. His 2016 NBA Finals “The Block” moment stands on the top considering that it co-related to his third NBA title. The chase-down artist swatted an Iguodala lay-up after a full-court spring with full help from JR Smith. Because it was Smith, who stalled the wide-open lay-up and set up the LBJ swat, Skip Bayless didn’t find the iconic block as impressive. For the FS1 veteran analyst, this block was “a bicycle built for 2. Iggy had to adjust and lay it in off the glass.”
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However, his co-host Paul Pierce begged to differ. When ‘The Block’ happened, The Truth was about to enter the last season of his 19-season-long career. Pierce revealed that he “was at this game” between the Warriors and the Cavaliers. While witnessing the low-scoring battle, he was perplexed that James had come up with a chase-down block out of nowhere. He thought that Iggy had an easy lay-up.
“I didn’t even see LeBron when the block occurred. I thought at the moment, wow, this is sure-fire two, a lay-up,” Pierce expressed his astonishment.
.@PaulPierce34 witnessed LeBron’s block on Iguodala in 2016 Finals live in person:
“I didn’t even see LeBron coming, it was a sure fire 2…This will go down as ‘The Block’.” pic.twitter.com/kereCNSXRq
— UNDISPUTED (@undisputed) April 11, 2024
Pierce argued that when NBA fans think about “The Shot”, their minds jump to the 1989 playoffs. It was when MJ buried a mid-range shot against Cleveland in the dying seconds of the game. For Pierce, “The Block” is clearly a reminder of the epic chase-down rejection by LBJ during the dying moments of 2016 Finals Game 7.
At any rate, the role of JR Smith can’t be stressed enough as Pierce also brought it up. Therefore, even the All-Time NBA Leading Scorer gave Swish his flowers.
JR Smith made “The Block” happen
On his recent Mind the Game pod episode, LeBron James credited Smith for his elite breakaway defense during the iconic swat. After an Irving miss, James was wary of the quick outlet towards Stephen Curry and Andre Iguodala. He knew one of those players would end up with an open look. Therefore, he wished that one of the Cavs went down there to stymie the break.
JR Smith did a great job of coming in between ball-handler Curry and receiver Iggy.
After Iggy received the ball, Smith stood in his way and made him improvise his attempt. The split-second improvisation gave enough room for King James to track it down. Therefore, James credited Smith for buying him time to execute the block. At the end of the day, two Cavs teammates combined to bring home one of the most memorable NBA titles in history.
