- It happened on June 19, 2016, in Game 7 of the NBA Finals, with the score tied 89-89 and under two minutes to play.
- Andre Iguodala of the Golden State Warriors went up for a layup on a fast break. LeBron James ran him down from behind and pinned the ball against the backboard.
- Cleveland won 93-89. It was the Cavaliers' first championship and the city's first major title in 52 years.
- No team had ever come back from 3 games to 1 down in the Finals before.
Most famous plays in basketball are shots. This one is a shot that never reached the basket.
Fans simply call it The Block. It took about six seconds, and it came at the exact moment a championship was up for grabs.
Down 3-1 to the best team ever
The 2016 Golden State Warriors won 73 games in the regular season and lost 9. No team in NBA history has won more.
In the Finals they led the Cleveland Cavaliers three games to one. A team in that position needs to win three in a row, and in the Finals nobody had ever done it.
Cleveland won Game 5. Then it won Game 6. That set up a seventh and deciding game on Golden State's home floor in Oakland, California.
Tied at 89
Game 7 was close the whole way. With under two minutes left the score was 89-89, and neither team could make a basket. Every possession felt like it might decide the title.
Then Cleveland's Kyrie Irving missed a short shot. Iguodala grabbed the ball for Golden State and took off the other way.
The chase
The Warriors had a two-on-one. Iguodala and Stephen Curry were running at a single defender, J.R. Smith, who was backpedaling.
Iguodala passed to Curry and got the ball straight back. He took two steps and jumped for a layup that would have put Golden State ahead. Smith reached at the ball and made him adjust in the air.
James had started the play in the far corner, behind everyone. He sprinted the length of the floor, jumped from behind Iguodala and slammed the ball against the glass. There was 1:50 on the clock.
He started the play behind everyone. He finished it above the rim.
"I had to go chase it down," James said afterward.
Why it was legal
A defender is not allowed to touch a shot once it is on its way down, or after it has bounced off the backboard. That is goaltending, and the basket counts. It is one of the calls in our guide to fouls and violations.
James got his hand on the ball an instant before it reached the glass, so it was a clean block. A fraction of a second later and the Warriors would have had two points and the lead.
What happened next
The score was still 89-89. With 53 seconds left, Irving dribbled in front of Curry, stepped back and made a three-pointer. Cleveland led by three.
Curry missed a three at the other end. James was fouled on a dunk attempt, hurt his wrist in the fall, and still made one of his two free throws. The final score was 93-89.
James in Game 7
| Stat | Number |
|---|---|
| Points | 27 |
| Rebounds | 11 |
| Assists | 11 |
| Blocks | 3 |
| Steals | 2 |
| Minutes played | 47 of 48 |
That is a triple-double in the biggest game of his life. He made the block in his 45th minute on the floor.
Why it mattered so much
It was the first time a team had come back from 3-1 down to win the Finals. Over the seven games, James led both teams in points, rebounds, assists, steals and blocks. No other player has done that in a Finals series.
It also ended a long wait. Cleveland had not won a championship in any major sport since 1964. James grew up in Akron, less than an hour away. He had left the Cavaliers in 2010, won two titles in Miami, and come back in 2014 saying he wanted to win one at home.
Two years later he did, and the play people remember is not a basket. It is the one he took away.
For another Game 7 decided at the very end, read about Kawhi Leonard's shot that bounced four times.