Former NBA champion claims LeBron James, not Steph Curry 'ruined' NBA: "Two-pointer was gone"

LeBron James' former teammate Iman Shumpert gave his two cents on who ruined the modern-day NBA. During a recent episode of Shaquille O'Neal's podcast, the Big Diesel asked Shumpert if he thought Steph Curry was the reason why the league is the way it is today. The one-time champion disagreed and put the blame on LeBron instead. Shumpert said:

"Has Steph [Curry] ruined the game? Because I also was asked this and I said 'the person who ruined all of this was [LeBron James]." (Timestamp 22:37)

Without throwing shade, Shumpert thoroughly explained why he thought it was James' fault. He pointed out that it all started when the King took his talents to South Beach to play with Dwyane Wade and Chris Bosh. The superteam in Miami, known as The Heatles, went on a relentless assault and dominated the league for nearly half a decade.

Iman Shumpert then noted that when LeBron James went back to Cleveland to form another superteam with Kyrie Irving and Kevin Love, and then lost to the Golden State Warriors, there was no one else to blame but themselves for the birth of the three-point era in the NBA. Shumpert said:

"[LeBron James] went to Miami [Heat]. Now everybody thinking like it's cool, y'all could team up. Now you create the three-headed snake out of Steph Curry now. Once they beat us [Cleveland Cavaliers], the two-pointer was gone. If you really break it down... it's our fault. ... If we didn't lose that first championship, who's shooting threes?" (Timestamp 23:50)

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Looking back at the first LeBron James vs. Steph Curry NBA Finals matchup

Back in the 2014-15 NBA season, LeBron James came back home to Cleveland and promised to bring home a championship for his city. At this point in James' career, he notched a couple of championships with the Miami Heat. With all the championship-winning experience, he was ready to bring that culture to the Cleveland Cavaliers.

James teamed up with the Cavs' new star, Kyrie Irving. Then the organization brought in Kevin Love to form a big three. Looking at their roster, they were the clear favorites to win the title, especially with LeBron back on the roster. It's worth noting that the league wasn't fixated on consistently knocking down three-pointers then.

While the Cavs undoubtedly dominated the Eastern Conference, the Golden State Warriors took the Western Conference by storm as they shocked everyone with their long-distance shooting prowess. Steph Curry and Klay Thompson became the Splash Brothers due to their impeccable shooting from long range. Their brand of basketball took them all the way to the 2015 NBA Finals to face "King" James.

Looking at their matchup, it seemed like LeBron had all the tools to win the Finals matchup despite not having Kyrie Irving by his side due to injury. However, the Warriors' overwhelming 3-pointers were too much for the Cavs to handle, which resulted in Golden State's 4-2 series victory.

After witnessing how Curry and Thompson slayed the best basketball player at the time, the league slowly transitioned into taking more shots from outside.