In the glorious century of basketball, NBA fans have been lucky to witness the greatness of numerous legends. LeBron James is one such active player who cemented his legacy during the 2016 NBA championship run against Golden State Warriors. A source of joy for several supporters remains to date a haunting experience for a Warriors superstar.

The NBA star went on to win three more rings with his franchise since his loss to LeBron and Co. But, recently, he publicly accepted that he still has not gotten over the defeat.

Who does LeBron James haunt to date?

In an episode of Podcast P with Paul George, Klay Thompson opened up about their NBA finals loss to LeBron’s Cleveland Cavaliers in 2016. After taking a 3-1 lead in the series, the defending champions, Golden State Warriors, were expected to go back-to-back. But an unforgettable run of games turned the fortune around for both teams.

“Losses stink way more,” he stated while reflecting on that defeat. What hurt him more was watching one of his former Warriors teammates celebrate as he mentioned, “First thing I see when the buzzer sound is Richard Jefferson with his hand up”. He attempted to describe what he was going through at that moment, but could not.

“It’s a feeling you can’t really describe,” the four-time NBA champion said before admitting, “It still hurts”. A defeat at home in a series that no one expected them to lose. That was just one of the four occasions these two teams met in the finals in the last decade as it gave birth to an era-defining rivalry.

Will Klay ever recover?

Throughout the podcast, he highlighted how he tried to enjoy the game more and more in recent times. Despite that loss in 2016, the Warriors won two consecutive NBA finals over the Cavs. They won another one as recently as in 2022.

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So, what the Splash Brother was trying to imply was more than just winning the rings. It was about the way the Cavs team played under the guidance of LeBron and Kyrie Irving. That duo was unstoppable during the last three games of the series.

The NBA would probably never witness a comeback like that ever again. What haunts Klay was the fact he was on the receiving end of it. He now has to live with it till his last breath. A period of his career that can not be erased by championship wins.

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