When people argue over the greatest plays ever, the debate frequently centers on two criteria: How impressive was the play in a vacuum, and what kind of significance did it have? Significance can often be explosions of a player into the public consciousness, like Odell Beckham’s instantly legendary one-handed catch, but the ones that really last forever are the ones that display singular athletic achievement with the highest-stakes moments.
Willie Mays’ back-to-home-plate catch in the World Series. The Catch. Few plays in sports history have combined those two factors, and perhaps none did so more than LeBron James’ chasedown block of Andre Iguodala in Game 7 of the Finals.
If Iggy had successfully completed that fast break layup, Kyrie Irving probably never gets the chance to hit his signature go-ahead 3-pointer. But more than that shot, the block was a jaw-dropping display of the athleticism that LeBron has been known for his whole career, the type some thought we may never see again at such a level. No wonder LeBron told Business Insider it was the greatest play of his career:
I would have to say, just coming off the top of my mind, that would definitely rank number one. Just because of the magnitude of the game, what was going on at that point in the game, and I had to run through a couple guys, get around a couple guys to get to that position.
For me, I think a lot of people would base a game winning jump shot or a dunk or something that happened offensively. For a staple play for my legacy to be a block, something defensively to help us win, that’s the ultimate for me.
Though LeBron wasn’t asked the broader point — where it ranks in all-time history, not just LeBron history — we’ll take this one for him. It might very well be the greatest play NBA history, with a highlight that would stand out in the regular season just for its brilliance taking place in the dying seconds of a Finals Game 7. Once you factor in the narratives of the 73-win Warriors and the Cleveland curse that surround its memory, there simply hasn’t ever been anything like it.
(Via Business Insider)
