Recently, former Cleveland Cavaliers guard Iman Shumpert made headlines after he claimed that his former teammate LeBron James worsened the NBA by influencing a superteam culture in the league.
James didn’t play on the first superteam of his pro career until his initial stint with the Cavaliers ended and he joined forces with Dwyane Wade and Chris Bosh on the Miami Heat.
On Wednesday, former Sixth Man of the Year Eddie Johnson had some strong words for Shumpert, who won a title alongside James.
No loyalty also is ripping the very guy that gave a spotlight to your career by carrying you and that 3.3 points a game during the title run in 2015-16 ! People forget don’t they. Podcast heaven https://t.co/b6WT79Vt9p
— Eddie A Johnson (@Jumpshot8) November 20, 2024
Iman Shumpert says LeBron James ruined today’s NBA by making it okay for star players to team up with one another
(🎥 @bigpodwithshaq / https://t.co/dzKwEg965r) pic.twitter.com/0QagOaMYQe
— NBACentral (@TheDunkCentral) November 19, 2024
Shumpert won the only championship of his NBA career back in the year 2016 with Cleveland, and he was a contributor to that title team but not quite indispensable. As Johnson referred to, he averaged just 3.3 points per game across 21 contests played with the Cavaliers during the 2016 NBA Playoffs.
Plus, he was particularly ineffective from a scoring standpoint when the lights were at their brightest. Against the Golden State Warriors in the NBA Finals, he shot just 30.4 percent from the field and 26.7 percent from 3-point range.
But in Shumpert’s defense, he wasn’t a consistent member of the Cavaliers’ playoff rotation because of his scoring chops. Shumpert hung his hat on the defensive end of the floor and was an irritant on that side of the ball.
The Cavaliers captured their first title in franchise history after they defeated the Warriors in seven games in the championship series, and James won the Finals MVP award for Cleveland. Shumpert made a few trips to the NBA Finals during his time with the Cavs, but the 2016 run was the only one that ended in glory. That championship will never be forgotten in NBA circles.
Shumpert’s time in Cleveland came to an end after he logged 14 appearances with the team in the 2017-18 season and was then part of a midseason trade. He last played in the NBA with the Brooklyn Nets back in the 2020-21 campaign.
