2016 NBA Finals Preview: 8 Keys to Success in Order for Cavs to Reign Supreme

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2. Reign Supreme, King James

LeBron James and Kyle Lowry

In a conference call with ESPN’s Jeff Van Gundy on Tuesday, the former head coach said to me that LeBron James should have unanimously been voted NBA Finals MVP last year instead of Warriors forward Andre Iguodala after he was thrust into a starting role.

“James will never have a finer moment than what he put forth in that final series,” Van Gundy said. “To me, he was clearly the MVP of that series. I thought it should have been unanimous. I can’t even imagine somebody voting for someone other than James after watching that.”

Frankly, I couldn’t agree more with him on the matter. Iguodala was great both offensively and defensively, there’s no doubt about that, but James simply had a series for the ages.

Stepping up for two fallen teammates in Love and Irving, the 12-time NBA All-Star put forth an out-of-this-world effort and eye-popping numbers in the 2015 finals with 35.8 points, 11.2 rebounds and 8.8 assists per game over six contests.

This postseason, “King James” has scored 24.6 points, nabbed 8.6 rebounds, dished out seven assists and racked up 2.2 steals per game in 14 contests.

Next: Kyrie Irving vs. Stephen Curry


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Andrew Salmi is a recent graduate of California State University, Fullerton after he previously attended Arizona State University. He is proud to be a staff writer for Cavaliers Nation. You can follow him on Twitter @andrewsalmi.