Tag: 2016 NBA Finals

Celtics legend Robert Parish says Dubs’ Draymond Green a ‘fingernail away’ from letting his teammates down with his antics

A suspension by Green under similar circumstances might have cost his team the 2016 title by Green’s own admission.

In a month full of old school vs. new school NBA culture wars, Ye Olde Argument on Physicality reared its familiar head into the discourse of the 2022 NBA Finals series unfolding between the Boston Celtics and Golden State Warriors as a result of Dubs star forward Draymond Green’s envelope-pushing antics.

Namely, Green’s hyper-aggressive on-court play coupled with his open admission of his awareness of how he is officiated evoked a response from Celtics alumnus and broadcaster Cedric Maxwell regarding what was called a ‘corrective altercation‘ by some euphemistically that he might have encountered in the 1980s.

That in turn was answered by former Maxwell teammate and fellow Celtics champion Robert Parish, whose sage message is likely betting less attention than his recounting of a frustrating moment with Detroit Pistons enforcer Bill Laimbeer.

Warriors Rewind: Klay Thompson explodes for career-high 60 points vs. Pacers in 2016

With no hoops until Dec. 22, Warriors Wire is rewinding through Golden State’s history for memorable matchups and standout performances.

With no hoops on the calendar until Dec. 22, Warriors Wire is rewinding the tape through Golden State’s history for memorable matchups, standout performances and everything else in between. 

Over his eight-year career with Golden State, Klay Thompson has built a long list of notable performances. Game six of the Western Conference Finals against the Oklahoma City Thunder, 37-points in one quarter against the Sacramento Kings and 14 triples against the Chicago Bulls are just some of Thompson’s epic achievements while wearing Golden State’s No. 11 jersey.

While each is impressive for their own reasons, his effort against the Indiana Pacers in 2016 should be near the top of Thompson’s resume.

Dec. 5, 2016

With Paul George, Monta Ellis and the Pacers in town, it didn’t take Thompson long to catch fire. The five-time NBA All-Star notched 17 points on 8-of-12 shooting from the field in the first quarter of the contest.

In the second quarter, Thompson matched the entire Indiana squad with 23 total points. After only making one 3-pointer in the first 12 minutes, the Splash Brother drilled 4-of-7 long-distance jumpers in the second quarter.

Heading into halftime with Oracle Arena rocking, Thompson tallied a game-high 40 points on 15-of-22 shooting from the field with five triples. Despite a 30-point Golden State lead, the Washington State product wasn’t done.

In the third quarter, Thompson added another 20 points on 6-of-11 shooting from the field to give himself a new career-high 60 points. To the dismay of fans in the Bay Area, Steve Kerr opted to keep Thompson on the bench for the fourth quarter.

During Golden State’s 142-106 win, Thompson finished the game with an NBA season-high 60 points on 21-of-33 shooting from the field with eight triples, two rebounds and an assist in only 29 minutes. Adding to the lore of Thompson’s career-high performance, the three-time champion only dribbled the basketball 11 times during his 60 point effort.

Thompson joined Rick Barry, Wilt Chamberlain and Joe Fulks as just the fourth player in Golden State history to score 60 points.

Watch highlights from Thompson’s night against Indiana via YouTube:

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George Floyd’s nephew recalls joy from uncle after LeBron’s 3-1 comeback

George Floyd’s nephew told a story about how happy his uncle was moved by LeBron’s 2016 championship against the Golden State Warriors.

While protests continue around the country into Thursday evening, it was also the day of George Floyd’s funeral in Minneapolis. And during the various eulogies that were spoken on Thursday night was one from his nephew, who shared that LeBron’s championship win in 2016 with the Cleveland Cavaliers, when they came back from a 3-1 series deficit, was one of the things that brought Floyd the most joy.

LeBron’s 2016 Championship, coming back from a 3-1 deficit against the Golden State Warriors, may forever go down as the greatest NBA Finals performance ever. With all due respect to Michael Jordan, there was never a singular performance that he had that matched LeBron’s.

Nevertheless, it’s heartening to see that as LeBron James carries on Floyd’s memory and uses his platform to ask for a change in Floyd’s name. Even though he probably didn’t know Floyd was that happy about the championship, it’s another reminder of the impact sports, and in particular, LeBron James can have.

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49ers Nick Bosa’s favorite sports moment of decade hurt the Warriors

If you’re a Bay Area sports fan, Nick Bosa may be pulling your heart in different directions, after stating his favorite sports moment of the decade.

Bay Area sports fans have been spoiled with championships over the past decade. The San Francisco Giants and Golden State Warriors have registered multiple championship titles across the past 10 seasons in the Bay Area.

Both the Giants and the Warriors are going through transition periods in 2019. Yet, another Bay Area sports franchise is taking the championship torch and running with it.

On Sunday, the San Francisco 49ers beat the Seattle Seahawks in week 17 of the NFL season to seal their first NFC West division title in years. The 49ers now own the number one overall seed in the NFC playoff bracket and will have home-field advantage through the tournament.

A large part of the 49ers’ success has been due to their tenacious defense, and in the middle of it all is their rookie first-round pick, Nick Bosa. Bosa’s added nine sacks in the regular season, and became a fan favorite with the “49ers’ faithful.”

While Bosa may help people forget about the Warriors’ 2019 struggles, his basketball takes might make Bay Area sports fans look the other way.

Bosa did an interview with NBC Sports Bay Area’s Ian Williams, and was asked what his favorite sports moment of the decade was— his answer wasn’t pretty for Warriors’ fans.

“Gotta go with Kyrie’s three against the Warriors,” Bosa answered.

A crippling shot that ended the historic, 73-9 season for the Warriors in loss, but it wasn’t just the game that made that night special, it was HBO’s “Game of Thrones,” as well.

“That was a good night too—that was the ‘Game of Thrones’ Battle of the Bastards episode—so, that was just a great night of television.”

Bosa, originally from Florida, attended Ohio State University for college and was a freshman when the Cavaliers knocked off the Warriors in game seven of the 2016 finals.

Digging back into Bosa’s twitter, it looks like he predicted the Cavaliers extending the 2016 Finals with the Warriors to seven games after Cleveland’s win in game three.

After Bosa stated Irving’s shot was his favorite sports moment of the decade, the rookie sack specialist admitted he knew he was going to be in hot water in the Bay Area.

“But yeah, I’m probably going to get in trouble for that—I’m no basketball fan, but that was fun to watch,” Bosa told NBC Sports Bay Area.

If Bosa can lead the 49ers to their first Super Bowl appearance since 2012, it could mend the gap between his favorite sports moment of the decade, that came at the expense of the Bay Area’s basketball team.