Every basketball fan will likely never forget the heroic performance of LeBron James in the 2016 NBA Finals, helping the Cleveland Cavaliers become the first team to come back from a 3-1 Finals deficit to win a championship over the 73-9 Golden State Warriors, the greatest regular season team of all-time. But according to one member of that team, LeBron’s motivational skills were just as important to getting the Cavs over that historic hump.
During an interview with Raw Take, Mozgov said that while LeBron performed an elite level that the way he motivated the Cavs was crucial to their memorable championship.
“If Lebron only played like he played and didn’t do his locker room speeches, we wouldn’t have won. As good as he was on the court, if he didn’t motivate the team as he did, we wouldn’t have won. He motivated us and made sure that we had the right attitude.”
“When we were trailing 3-1 not one player on the team thought we’d lose, thanks to him.”
Mozgov was a crucial player on the 2015 Finals team for the Cavaliers, helping LeBron James pushed a short-handed group to a six-game loss to the eventual champion Warriors. He parlayed his role on that team and the 2016 title team into a monster contract from the Los Angeles Lakers later that summer. He’s now a member of the Orlando Magic.
