CLEVELAND — The goal was to create a cold-blooded monster.
And now the Cleveland Cavaliers are NBA champions because of it.
Kyrie Irving dared to take and make that winning shot during Game 7 of the 2016 NBA Finals, acing the ultimate final exam in his "Mamba Mentality" graduate course. It was a class Tyronn Lue, upon becoming the Cavs head coach, had demanded Irving take.
"I told him, 'You want to have a Kobe mentality?'" Lue recalled to Bleacher Report. "'Kobe didn't give a f--k. He don't care. Whatever the outside is saying, he don't care. Kobe's going to be Kobe.'"
The transformation of Irving, from Kobe fan to Kobe facsimile, led to Irving's shot over Stephen Curry and brought the Cavaliers their first title in franchise history.
Now Lue has to deal with the consequences.
This season, Irving has license to shoot whenever and however he wants, Lue acknowledges. It's precisely the sort of independence young Kobe desperately sought after he won his first title.
Lue was there for Bryant's first…and his second the very next season. They wer ...
Read Full Article at Bleacher Report - NBA
Article written by Kevin Ding
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