LeBron James and Iman Shumpert (via Getty Images) LeBron James’ former teammate Iman Shumpert has made big claims about his NBA career and time with the Cleveland Cavaliers. The former shooting guard recently appeared on the “All In” podcast, where he revealed that he disliked his role while playing for both the New York Knicks and Cleveland Cavaliers. Shumpert also dropped truth bombs about the Cavs’ 2016 championship team that shocked the basketball world by beating the Golden State Warriors.
Iman Shumpert opens up on hating his role in Cleveland Cavaliers
Reckoning his time with Cleveland Cavaliers, Iman Shumpert said he felt boxed in as a 3-and-D player. Even though the team valued his defensive ability after trading for him in 2015, the 2016 NBA champion admitted that he never liked that label.“People don’t understand how bad I hated that three-and-D role. When I went to Sacramento, I was playing combo guard. Dave had me able to do my [stuff]. This is where I’m comfortable, and I’m guarding what I need to be guarding, so it’s like, I’m effective”, Shumpert said. The former player found freedom after being traded to the Sacramento Kings mid-season in 2018-19. He started in 40 of his 42 games for the Kings and averaged 8.9 points, 3.1 rebounds, and 2.2 assists. He shot 38.2% from the field and 36.6% from the three-point line.
Iman Shumpert makes bold claim about LeBron James’ leadership in 2016 for Cleveland Cavaliers
Iman Shumpert described the group as far from perfect. He noted that they had multiple issues which made the squad wonder the lengths they were ready to take to win. Shumpert said, “We won because of dysfunction. We had, like, a squad that was like, do we wanna win so bad that we got all types of issues coming up. Like, you knew Kyrie wanted to be Batman. …We had all types of random little problems.” Despite the tension, the Cleveland Cavaliers made history. LeBron James led the team to a 3-1 comeback in the NBA Finals against the 73-9 Warriors. Also Read: “Girl From The Concrete!” – NBA Legend LeBron James Shows Love While Vibing To Iman Shumpert’s Ex-Wife Teyana Taylor’s “Bed Of Roses”No team had ever done that before. James averaged 29.7 points, 11.3 rebounds, 8.9 assists, 2.6 steals, and 2.3 blocks. He was named Finals MVP. That win gave Cleveland its first NBA title and ended the city’s 52-year championship drought in major sports.