“I might get kicked out”: LeBron James says he was ready to berate refs if they called goaltend on 2016 Finals block
The latest episode of LeBron James and JJ Redick’s podcast “Mind The Game” dropped on Wednesday. Towards the end, James broke down one of his most famous plays: the chase-down block on Andre Iguodala in the 2016 NBA Finals. He recounted his memory of the incredible feat and also joked about what he would have done if the referee had called a goaltend.
During that particular play, James went up with two hands ready for the block. James has now revealed that he was already thinking about how the refs could potentially have denied him his moment.
“I was like if these f**king refs call a goaltend, I might get kicked out of the most important game of my life because you could not review back then,” James said. “I knew I got it clean and that’s all I was saying to myself. I said I am getting this s**t.”
As the world watched in awe, he did get his block and there was no goaltend call. James and the Cavs would go on to close out the game with Kyrie Irving’s dagger 3-pointer to pull off one of the greatest upsets in NBA Finals history.
LeBron James breaks down his iconic block on Andre Iguodala
James recounted the details of the play and laid out his mindset that led to the iconic moment. He vividly explained how both teams were struggling to score in the final moments of Game 7 and the game was tied at 89 a piece when the crucial block went down.
James went on to recount the play perfectly from memory. He remembered how the play started with the Cavs on offense and Kyrie Irving driving to the rim for a floater that missed. The Warriors secured the rebound and ran out on the fast break while James was in the corner.
“I am sitting in the corner by their bench and in my head I am thinking, if I am correct with the trajectory of the ball that I am seeing, I got to get my ass back,” James said.
James did just that of course, running down the ball as Iguodala sprinted down the floor with the ball. James recognized the disadvantage as most of the Cavs were behind the free-throw line.
The legend admitted that he was slow to react to the ball. According to him, most coaches tell players to get back on defense when the ball is released from the shot. However, James had a late start and did not start running back until Iguodala was already moving up the floor, thus leading to the chase down.
“I just hauled ass man,” James said. “All I am thinking is Swish (J.R. Smith) do not foul him.”
James told his teammates to never foul an opponent on a fast break if they saw him running down the floor attempting a chase-down block. The 39-year-old told his teammates to do enough to cause the offensive player to make a slight adjustment on the layup in the hope of him being there to block it. Smith did just that and set up James to come flying in for the famous swat!
What are your memories of that famous game? Sound off in the comments section below.