The once-great Golden State Warriors have been reduced to bottom dwellers just months after their loss to the Toronto Raptors in the 2019 NBA Finals.
Los Angeles Lakers star LeBron James has zero sympathy when it comes to their meteoric fall from grace, however. The reason is because James once had to face the Warriors in the NBA Finals without his two best running mates back when he was a member of the Cleveland Cavaliers.
Lakers’ LeBron James on if it was weird facing Warriors without Steph Curry and Klay Thompson: “I played in the Finals without Kyrie and Kevin. So, no.”
— Sam Amico (@AmicoHoops) November 14, 2019
The series that James was referencing was the 2015 NBA Finals, the first of four straight that the two teams would face off in.
James was without Kevin Love for the entire series due to an injury he had suffered earlier in the postseason. Kyrie Irving also missed the final five games of the six-game series due to an injury in Game 1.
Even without the two stars, James managed to push the Warriors to a competitive six-game series. Fans and experts alike have often returned to that series to wonder what would have happened if James and the Cavs had been at full strength.
Now, the shoe is firmly on the other foot. James and the high-powered Lakers cruised to an easy win over the Warriors on Wednesday night.
While it’s impossible to predict the future in the NBA, it seems clear enough that James will not be facing the Warriors in this year’s postseason.
