Golden State Warriors forward Andre Iguodala believes that the Warriors were one move away from defeating LeBron James and the Cleveland Cavaliers in the 2016 NBA Finals and winning four consecutive NBA championships.
Although Iguodala would refuse to reveal exactly what players he was referring to, the four-time NBA champion tells Shannon Sharpe on the Club Shay Shay podcast that had the Warriors made one substitution, Golden State would have still managed to come out on top in those Finals.
And that's even with Draymond Green missing Game 5, a factor that Iguodala has long said to be a major factor in the Warriors losing that Finals matchup to LeBron and Co.
When the Cavs defeated the Warriors in the infamous 3-1 comeback that gave them their first championship in franchise history, here were the players that Golden State had on the court:
Iguodala, point guard Stephen Curry, shooting guard Klay Thompson, power forward Draymond Green, and center Marreese Speights. Speights had subbed in for forward Harrison Barnes with 11.0 seconds left and the Warriors down, 93-89.
Following a 3-point miss from Curry with 2.0 seconds left on the clock, Speights grabbed the offensive board and missed his own 3-point jumper. However, despite the drama of those final seconds, Iguodala likely would look at a different moment in the game as when it could have been won for Golden State.
The Warriors led 85-83 with 6:16 remaining in the fourth quarter when Warriors head coach Steve Kerr subbed out Barnes for center Festus Ezeli. They only scored four points for the remainder of the game, losing by four points as the final buzzer sounded.
Although Iguodala didn't specify, he may be talking about Barnes, who is currently averaging 15.0 points per game for the Sacramento Kings. Neither Ezeli nor Speights have played in an NBA game since 2018.
Follow Us
Subscribe