The 2016–17 season saw many changes. For one, Kevin Durant had the biggest move of the decade by joining the Golden State Warriors. An already stacked team received the best scoring forward. LeBron James saw his championship-winning team get slightly better, although the final push was too much for him to handle.
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That year, just like the season gone by, the Eastern Conference was dominated by the Cavaliers and Bron. Despite winning 51 games, the Cavaliers could only manage to get to second place. Despite losing to eventual conference finalists the Celtics, the Cavs were designed not only for the regular season but also for the postseason.
Bron was at his imperious best for that run of four straight finals, and despite turning 32 during the season, he played like he was only five years into the league. So when John Wall said that the Cavaliers were afraid of them, that is poppycock.
The Wizards were good, no doubt. Finishing fourth with one game under 50 wins, John Wall and Bradley Beal had a great tandem. They played off each other quite well, and it was the last injury-free season for Wall. Their teams clashed against each other three times, and they lost their series 2-1.
John Wall claims that the 2016-17 Wizards team was the best team he played on
The Wizards were not always a tanking team. They had good players until John Wall became more brittle than plastic in the sun. Wall-Beal was a duo that was always seen hanging out with the big boys. And they were close, but never enough. They lost steam in the playoffs because of their lack of depth.
Depth that Wall claimed was better than the Cavaliers but did not show in the playoffs. Only two men against five rarely work, unless your name is Shaquille O’Neal and the other is Kobe Bryant. The Wizards were one or two moves away from greatness, but not when LeBron James owned the conference.
His nickname that year was LeBronto; he terrorized an entire country with the way he played basketball. There was no way this duo from Washington was going to stop him.
Could the Wizards have beaten LeBron James and the Cleveland Cavaliers in a 7 game series?
Taking a small sample size of their series that year, the Cavaliers already had a 2-1 lead. The games they played were also one-sided that year. LeBron James was two assists shy of a triple-double in the only game he lost that series. The Cavaliers were no doubt a much better unit, despite the Wizards on paper having better players.
That is what made that Ohio-based team click. The chemistry was unmatched. The two best teams of those four years all relied on the best chemistry and the brilliance of their main stars. Nobody frightened LeBron James more than Stephen Curry and the Warriors. and maybe JR Smith for not knowing the time on the clock.
