Golden State Warriors swingman Andre Iguodala etched his name into NBA lore when he secured an out-of-nowhere Finals MVP award in 2015, but he became a part of league history for a different reason last June when LeBron James denied his efforts at the rim with a chase-down block to help secure a Game 7 victory for the Cleveland Cavaliers.
Speaking to ESPN.com's Chris Haynes, Iguodala broke down James' block and gave a pair of Cavaliers props for making the play possible.
In addition to James—who pinned the ball against the glass and kept the score knotted at 89 with 1:51 remaining in regulation—Iguodala credited J.R. Smith for making a play that forced him to take a wider path to the bucket.
"But you know who made the play? J.R. made the play," he said. "Because I came in thinking dunk and then I took off and he swiped [at the ball] and I had to move the ball. If you look, I moved the ball [to my right]. I just tried to finish the play."
Iguodala was also candid in his assessment of James' play and how he dealt with the feeling of being turned away with a shot to give his team the lead:
I'm like, 'Man, that s--t was so dope to me, too.' I was a fan. That s--t was amazing. When he blocked it, I was like, 'Damn, somebody got shot.' I thought it was funny. Somebody just made a good play. What you want me to do? If you enjoy the game of basketball, you should just be like, 'Dude made a great play. F--k it.'
And while Iguodala admitted he could have possibly changed the outcome if he had approached the rim from a different angle, he conceded that James likely would have blocked his shot regardless of which side he took off from.
"I even thought I could have went off to the other side [of the rim], but [LeBron] was so high over the rim, he would have had both sides covered," he said. "I mean, I wouldn't have changed anything about it. If somebody just makes a great play, you just give them respect for making a great play."
Based on the way things played out for the Warriors, Iguodala's ability to take things in stride is rather commendable.
And with Golden State's collapse a thing of the past, all Iguodala and the Warriors can do at this point is gear up for a shot to exact revenge against James and the Cavaliers if the two sides meet in the Finals for a third straight season.
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