Many fans dubbed them “the wonder twins” after their zealous Game 5 performance at Oracle Arena. To some extent, LeBron James had been in this position before: facing an elimination game with questions about his legacy on the line. However, his co-star Kyrie Irving , only 24 years old at the time was effectively met with a new experience after passing a quarter in the NBA Finals. Yet, that’s what floored LeBron the most about the “very special” Irving.
"You've got a guy like this who is very special," James said , per ESPN’s Dave McMenamin. "It's probably one of the greatest performances I've ever seen live."
When No. 23 was asked if he remembers witnessing a performance like Kyrie’s 41 points, his simple response was: “Nobody has.” Even 8 years later, the Cavs duo remains one-of-one. No pair of teammates have ever combined for 82 points in an NBA Finals game until the evening of June 13, 2016. With James’ four 3-pointers and Irving’s five, Cleveland asserted their dominance over the game in the second-half. With their season on the line, the veteran and the youngster looked each other in the eye and understood what was on the line: save the season or die trying.
Igniting a huge performance
Leading up to Game 5, Irving wasn’t exactly spectacular . But in hindsight, we can conclude that he was scheming to set up a performance for the record books. Although his counting stats were elite through four games — 25.0 points, 4.3 assists, and 3.5 rebounds, Irving had a clunker in Game 2 with just 10 points. However, the cerebral 24-year-old realized that he was a couple of correct decisions away from taking completely over.
"I just tried a few shots [that] I forced in the fourth quarter, that I felt like I had to," he said. "I think it was a seven-point game, and I got the opportunity to hit a floater that I missed that I was really, really pissed off about.
"But those opportunities, they all come from just being aggressive, and I just have to stay in that mindset."
Cut from that “ Kobe Bryant cloth,” the young guard approached the game like his mentor. He reflected on his every move like his mentor. Learning from Bryant forced the former Duke superstar to see the game through a particular lens that perhaps even his four-time MVP teammate didn’t. But it was this unorthodox approach that fueled one of the game’s most dazzling scorers on the biggest stage, and his team knew it was something that brought the best out of him.
"He can't listen to the outside noise," Cavs coach Tyronn Lue said after Game 5. "He has to do what we ask. We want him to be aggressive, we want him to attack the basket and we want him to score the basketball. That's what he does. You can't take away his game. You're going to get assists by being aggressive and that's what he does.
"Every single time they switch and we have a mismatch, he's one guy that can take advantage of it off the dribble. We need him to do that to be productive in this series."
Paying tribute to his predecessor
As much that was said about James and Irving’s relationship off the court when they were teammates good and bad it’s clear No. 2 embraced Bryant more than James. For a while, it didn’t appear that his affinity to the Lakers legend would cause a rift between the two Cavs superstars. At least from the outside, No. 23 didn’t seem bothered by the impact Kobe had on his teammate. After all, James viewed his former rival similarly and paid him respect as one of the most decorated athletes ever.
After the Finals, one of the first things Irving did was reach the recently retired guard to celebrate his biggest victory.
“I actually FaceTimed Kobe after the game as soon as I got in the locker room,” the Cavs guard said in an interview with ThePostGame. “Other than seeing my dad and my sister right after we won, FaceTiming him was just a great thing, knowing how he has won five and I just won my first. Then realizing how hard it is just to win one, my respect for him is already high, but it went to another level knowing that he's got five of them. I'm trying to get a second one.”
Related: "I'm so f*****g mad that I am not his running mate anymore..." - LeBron James expresses his sadness about not playing with Kyrie Irving anymore
Most Popular
Comments / 0