Stephen Curry was AFRAID of Kyrie Irving, Iman Shumpert reveals real reason behind superstar’s worst loss in NBA

Iman Shumpert breaks down their win against the Golden State Warriors in 2015-16.

Stephen Curry was AFRAID of Kyrie Irving, Iman Shumpert reveals real reason behind superstar’s worst loss in NBA

Stephen Curry, Kyrie Irving and Iman Shumpert (Via Getty Images)

Iman Shumpert, who was part of the ring-winning Cleveland Cavaliers squad back in 2015-16, recently opened up about their secret to winning the championship. That year, they became the first NBA team to win the championship after being down in the 3-1 finals. On the “All The Smoke” podcast, Shumpert talked about their winning run and revealed how they were able to cruise past the greatness of Stephen Curry during that time.

That year Golden State Warriors had the greatest regular season record any team has ever had in the history of the NBA, 73-9. And much credit for the same can be given to Curry. After cruising through to the finals, they were 3-1 up the Cavaliers in the finals and everyone had written the Cavaliers off. There was no hope as the feat had never been achieved before by any NBA team.

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After realizing this, Iman Shrumpte revealed that Curry was scared to guard Kyrie Irving, and the team started to sled him, “We realized Steph wasn’t trying to match up with Kyrie. All we took it as, “Oh, you scared of this dude? You scared of buddy?” So, we just fed him.” Now, why they did this is easy to decipher. 

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The secret behind Kyrie Irving’s clutch shot over Steph Curry: Iman Shumpert explains

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Iman Shumpert (Via Twitter)

Continuing the conversation, Shrumpte revealed they were setting screens wherever possible to ensure that Curry guards Irving.“If Steph came and guarded me, if they tried to do a triple switch. Whatever they tried to do. If I go down here and set this screen, Steph would try and go on me, while I’m in the corner. I would bring my screen up too. Now you got a double screen, but you finna have to guard Kyrie” Shrumpte said.

By forcing Curry to guard Irving, they exposed him to his fear, which proved good for the Cavaliers. As great as Curry is from downtown, there is one thing that he struggled with during that match: defense. The unbeatable LeBron James and Kyrie Irving duo dropped 41 points each on Curry and Co. just when they could win the game. 

The most iconic shot from that series was when Irving hit the 3-pointer against Curry in the last minute of the finals. Multiple legacies, including James himself, were on the line, and Irving hitting the shot at that moment spoke volumes of his character and grit. As the NBA season is fast approaching, he will look to bring back the same magic, albeit with a different partner this time- Luka Doncic. 

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