In a league that many consider to have grown soft over the past decade or so, the growing feud between the Golden State Warriors and Cleveland Cavaliers is good for the NBA. More specifically, the ‘beef’ between LeBron James and Draymond Green who are actually close friends off the court.
Meeting in the NBA Finals for three straight years is sure to add animosity between two clubs and this is no exception. Ever since Golden State blew a 3-1 lead in the 2016 NBA Finals, the jokes have been rampant and James and the Cavs have not been shy about sending multiple shots at the Warriors.
One of the most talked about and open jabs at the Dubs was the Halloween party LeBron hosted last year that featured multiple references to the 3-1 lead the Warriors squandered. Now that the Warriors have avenged their Finals loss from 2016, Draymond Green said LeBron’s party was a huge part of what made the series personal. Following from Sam Amick of USAToday Sports:
There was Green admitting that the Warriors never forgot about the Cavs’ many antics, including James’ Halloween party last October that had all sorts of not-so-subtle shots at the Warriors.
“You remember,” he said. “It’s not that it’s bothering you to the point where you’re defeated or anything like that, but you’re definitely going to remember it. And we remembered it. That’s why this whole thing was personal.”
The party James held only added fuel to the fire but LeBron knew this at the time he hosted the event. It was likely then that the two would meet again in the Finals and that’s exactly what ended up transpiring. There’s always going to be added motivation when a side sends blatant shots like LeBron and the Cavs did and there’s no doubt that it affected the outcome of this most recent Finals series.
The two have continued to trade jabs in recent days and with a fourth rematch looking likely next season, don’t expect things to settle down anytime soon.
