The Cleveland Cavaliers and Golden State Warriors had some heated battles in the NBA Finals during LeBron James’ second stint with the franchise.
James, Iman Shumpert, J.R. Smith, Kevin Love, Tristan Thompson and Kyrie Irving all played huge roles for the Cavs when the team won a title in 2016. Shumpert revealed that those series got extremely heated. He also revealed that he got into it with both Klay Thompson and Stephen Curry.
“That’s why I love Klay Thompson to this day, bro ’cause that man was ready to swing on me,” Shumpert said. “I love him. I love that guy.
“Steph too, man. Steph was talking s— man, called me a b—- and everything, bro. That’s cool, bro. I’m glad you got that in you.”
Shumpert explained that he thought it would be easy to talk trash to Curry, but he was happy to see that Curry had a little fire in him as well.
The Warriors got the best of the Cavs in three of their four matchups in the NBA Finals from 2015 to 2018, but the Cavs erased a 3-1 deficit in 2016 to claim the title. It is one of the most impressive comebacks in NBA history.
While the Cavs have changed a lot since then, the Warriors are fresh off another NBA title in the 2021-22 season. Curry, Thompson and Draymond Green showed that the team’s dynasty is far from over by beating the Boston Celtics in six games in the Finals.
It’s always cool to see the Cavs and Warriors recount the battles they had in the NBA Finals, as it was such an important era in both franchises’ histories.
