The 2016 NBA Finals is in the conversation for the best Finals ever. It pitted the 73-win Golden State Warriors against LeBron James and the Cleveland Cavaliers, and despite the fact that the Dubs had a 3-1 lead and looked like they were going to waltz to a title, the Cavs fought back and won the whole thing in seven games.
Watching Cleveland come back over games five, six, and seven was legitimately thrilling, and even now, it’s kind of incredible that the Cavaliers were able to win a ring. That Golden State squad is among the best ever, but James, Kyrie Irving, and company were able to get the job done.
To Klay Thompson, that comeback win was rather surprising, because he thought for sure that championship was the Warriors’ to lose. Thompson was asked by Rohan Nadkarni of Sports Illustrated about what motivates him, and after citing his desire to be mentioned among the best teams ever, he made it a point to say that he believes nothing is guaranteed in the league.
“I thought 2016, that year was guaranteed to hang another banner but obviously we didn’t,” Thompson said. “With injuries or free agency, you never know how long one team is going to stay together. Obviously with our current team now we have at least a couple more years together. Hopefully it’s forever, but you just want to take advantage now and get as many as you can while you can. You never know what’s guaranteed.”
The Warriors did fall victim to some bad luck — Draymond Green got suspended for Game 5 of that Finals, and has even expressed his belief that his suspension cost the team a ring. Plus James was historically great down the stretch, throwing down three rather unprecedented performances to help carry the Cavs to a ring.
Still, it’s fascinating that some members of the Warriors still seem to be motivated to some extent by how 2016 went down to this day, and Thompson’s comments may give a glimpse into why.
(Via Sports Illustrated)
