"And they had completely butchered that mold... Cuz I didn't think to do that as a kid" - Former NBA champion opens up on his hate for Golden State Warriors' style of basketball

Iman Shumpert played for the Cleveland Cavaliers alongside LeBron James and Kyrie Irving in three straight NBA Finals against the mighty Golden State Warriors. They only managed to win one title, overcoming a 1-3 deficit to stun Steph Curry and the Warriors for the 2016 championship.

Appearing on Vlad TV, Shumpert gave a full recount of why he hated going up against Curry, Klay Thompson and later Kevin Durant:

"They was a different version of basketball... It was different. How we all learned is how it's like that traditional way of life. Why not go and get the easy points at the rim and as you start heating up and getting more of a feel, then you shoot your deep shot.”

Shumpert continued:

"And they had completely butchered that mold, like, 'When the jump ball goes off, we hot from three'. That pissed me off. Cuz I didn't think to do that as a kid, so it was a bit of that. Why didn't I think to do that?"

With Splash Bros. in the lineup, the Warriors were at or near the top with three-point shooting accuracy from 2014-15 to 2018-19. The only time they didn't lead the league in long-range efficiency in that span was during the 2016-17 and 2018-19 seasons when they finished third.

The three-straight NBA Finals series in which Iman Shumpert was a part underlined the disparity in three-point shooting attempts and efficiency. In 2015, where Kyrie Irving played only one game, the Warriors hit 36% compared to 29.3% long-range shots by the Cavs.

In 2016, when the Cleveland Cavaliers staged the biggest comeback in NBA Finals history, the Golden State Warriors were still significantly better from beyond the arc. The Bay Area team averaged 37.3% while Cleveland finished with 32.9%

2017 was Kevin Durant’s first season with the Golden State Warriors. Amazingly enough, they didn’t do much better than the Cleveland Cavaliers in three-point shooting. Both teams tallied 38.2% from rainbow distance in the NBA Finals.

Iman Shumpert, who was one of KD’s primary defenders, was hardly ineffective as the Finals MVP averaged 47.4% of his threes. Durant was also sizzling all over the floor, making 55.6% of his shots.

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Iman Shumpert cheered for the Cleveland Cavaliers in their fourth NBA Finals meeting with the Golden State Warriors

Iman Shumpert was with the Sacramento Kings when the Golden State Warriors annihilated the Cleveland Cavaliers in the 2018 NBA Finals. [Photo: Bleacher Report]

Iman Shumpert was traded to the Sacramento Kings before the Cleveland Cavaliers had another date with the Warriors for the 2018 title. Golden State’s 37.5% three-point shooting in that series was too much for Cleveland, who struggled with 29.5%.

George Hill, who was the Cavs’ best three-point shooter, finished with 43.8%, hitting 7-16 long-range bombs. Steph Curry, second behind Klay Thompson in three-point efficiency, shot 41.5% but took 53 three-point attempts, double Thompson and Kevin Durant’s total shots (50).

Needless to say, had Iman Shumpert been with the Cavs in 2018, he still would have hated how the Warriors sniped at his team to oblivion.