LeBron claps back at haters who bring up Draymond’s suspension in 2016 Finals: ‘He was there for 6 and 7’

Los Angeles Lakers superstar LeBron James has won four titles in his NBA career, but his most impressive win came in the 2016 NBA Finals against the Golden State Warriors.

James was a member of the Cleveland Cavaliers – his hometown team – at the time, and Cleveland fell behind three games to one in the Finals against a Warriors team that set the regular-season wins record, going 73-9 in the 2015-16 campaign.

One of the key moments of the 2016 series, where Cleveland erased a major deficit, was when Draymond Green picked up a flagrant foul in Game 4 that ended up leading to him being suspended for Game 5.

James was right in the middle of that play, which was a major turning point in the series.

ESPN’s Dave McMenamin asked James about his decision to step over Green in Game 4 of the 2016 NBA Finals. He also asked the four-time champion if he knew where Green’s technical foul points total stood.

“Yeah, of course,” James said. “But that wasn’t the reason that I did that. I think I set a screen, he fell, I’m getting back into the play and I stepped over him to get back into the play. It wasn’t like I had scored and you know the way how guys step over their defender, like Allen Iverson. It was like, ‘I’m trying to get back into the play. Every possession matters.’

“I think he thought that I was doing that as disrespect, but it’s never been my forte. But of course, you know from watching the playoffs, everybody knows who the leader is in technicals. You watch the game, you know that. It worked in our favor, but it wasn’t like I was going into the game saying, ‘I know I can antagonize Draymond and get Draymond out of here so he won’t play in Game 5.’ …

“And he also was there for Game 6 and Game 7, too. He kicked our ass in Game 7. People need to stop saying, ‘Oh, well Draymond was out.’ He was there for 6 and 7.”

The Cavs ended up beating Golden State twice with Green back on the floor, including in Game 7 when the Warriors forward had one of the best games of his career.

Green scored 32 points and shot 6-for-8 from beyond the arc while chipping in 15 rebounds and nine assists. The performance wasn’t enough for Golden State to get the win, as the Cavs ended up winning 93-89.

Both James and guard Kyrie Irving made massive plays down the stretch to help Cleveland win Game 7. James had an insane chasedown block of Andre Iguodala in the fourth quarter that kept the game tied.

Then, Irving gave the Cavs the lead with a 3-pointer over Stephen Curry.

Cleveland’s comeback in the series was historic, and James clearly doesn’t want people thinking that Green’s suspension was the only reason the Cavs won. After all, the Warriors had two chances to beat James and company once Green returned from his one-game suspension.

This season, James is chasing a title with the Lakers, who currently have a 3-1 series lead against the Houston Rockets in the first round of the playoffs. James has played at a high level for L.A. with Austin Reaves and Luka Doncic both missing the start of the playoffs with injuries.

The four-time NBA Finals MVP could add to his already amazing legacy with a title this season, but the Lakers will have to go through the defending champion Oklahoma City Thunder in the second round to make that happen.