NBA Finals: 5 most disrespectful moments from Game 1

Game 1 of the NBA Finals was the beginning of the next chapter of a heated rivalry, and no punches were held back by the Warriors in their big win.

This year’s NBA Finals has been hyped to be one of, if not the best of all-time. Between the endless matchup possibilities between some of the league’s best, the trolling storylines and the overall history being made by a third-straight series between two teams in the Finals, there’s plenty to talk about.

Game 1 proved to be just as explosive as everyone had hoped, with massive dunks and huge moments filling the league’s biggest stage. The addition of Kevin Durant to the Warriors roster played the big role that everyone expected it to, Steph Curry returned to his usual form, and LeBron James bounced back pretty well just a day removed from his home in Los Angeles being vandalized with a racial slur.

The whole game, along with this entire series, is living up to expectations, and even the trolling made its way into Game 1. There were plenty of notable moments in the series opener, many coming from the Warriors side during the win. It makes sense for Golden State to get the laughs in Game 1, given the big lead they ended with, along with the revenge factor from all the trolling the Cavaliers pulled after coming back from down 3-1 last year.

To put it all together in one spot, here are some of the best moments where the Warriors showed a bit of a lack of respect to the defending NBA Champion Cavaliers.

5. Steph Curry’s endless 34-footers

These are an everyday occurrence in any Warriors game, but given the stage, it was a requirement to put them on the list.

Steph Curry is notorious for pulling up from literally anywhere he wants on the court, with some serious potential that he’ll drain the bucket with the same ease as if he was going in for a layup. However, in Game 1, it seemed like the two-time MVP was looking to send a message that he was back in his best form, following a disappointing last appearance in Golden State’s seven-game loss to the Cavaliers last year.

Curry went 6-for-11 from deep, and finished with 28 points overall on 11 made field goals on the night, showing he had really returned. Some of the shots ended up a little more celebrated than others (which we’ll get into in a little bit), but overall, it showed that Curry is very ready to take back what he feels is his: another NBA title.

The difference this year, which may be adding to his confidence, is the addition of Kevin Durant to the lineup, which surely gives him an added boost and alleviates some of the pressure that he felt from last year. In the end, it had to play a factor with his ability to get hot from deep early.

Curry surely gets fired up by his hometown crowd, but he was definitely feeling it throughout the game. Whether it was the debut of his actually-not-bad Curry 4’s in the game or the fact that he drilled his usual tunnel shot routine on just the second attempt, Curry will have to keep up the pace to make sure his team doesn’t blow another series lead in this year’s Finals.

4. Kevin Durant breaks LeBron’s ankles and throws down emphatic slam

Game 1, for some odd reason, had the equivalent of an All-Star Weekend Dunk Contest in the first quarter to open up the NBA Finals in the biggest way possible, and Kevin Durant was a huge piece of the whole highlight reel.

The two teams, both obviously well rested, from nine and six days off for the Warriors and Cavaliers respectively, came out firing with some huge slams. At one point, it seemed like LeBron James and Durant were ready to just see who could break a backboard first with their dunks, as they went back-and-forth with an emphatic slam after emphatic slam.

However, outside of LeBron’s posterization of JaVale McGee in the first quarter, no other dunk was more popular than Durant breaking The King’s ankles with a fake, and driving to the hoop for a wide-open bucket.

The move definitely got the hometown crowd up and excited early, and presumably gave the Warriors some huge momentum. While Durant didn’t do anything “wrong” to LeBron in the process, it’s the equivalent of Allen Iverson faking out Michael Jordan back in the day. Sure, it’s a part of the game, but you just unknowingly (or knowingly) disrespected one of the league’s best, and made him look completely foolish.

There’s no doubt that the moment will sting for LeBron throughout the series, and he’ll surely be looking for some revenge from it all at some point soon if he gets matched up with Durant more often. Until then, let’s just enjoy all the memes that will come from LeBron sliding into the bench as Durant takes off.

3. Kevin Durant staring down Rihanna

A big storyline of Game 1, outside of Kevin Durant’s stellar play offensively for the Warriors, was the presence of Rihanna courtside.

Rihanna, a notorious LeBron fan, was there to support the Cavaliers in Game 1, and presumably made some enemies along the way, specifically catching the stare of KD late in the game.

Earlier in Game 1, Rihanna reportedly yelled “Brick!” at Durant during a free throw attempt, and the Warriors forward apparently took exception to the not-so-kind words, and definitely didn’t forget about it.

Durant definitely got the last laugh, at least in the series’ first game with Rihanna there, as he drilled a 3 right near Rihanna’s seat, and gave her a staredown that could probably kill someone as he made his way back to the other side of the court.

Durant played a little dumb about the situation in his postgame presser, as he acted surprised when reporters said the moment went viral, and Durant replied: “Have fun with that.” While Durant didn’t “fall into the trap” that reporters tried to set with Rihanna questions, it definitely showed as one of the cockier moments from the opener for the NBA Finals.

Two lessons definitely came from the incident, with one going towards each party. First, don’t come at one of the league’s best players during an easy free throw and expect to survive without some shade thrown back. Second, don’t come at one of America’s pop sweethearts and expect to not get any questions about it immediately after the game is over.

2. Steph Curry’s high-step

Steph Curry hit plenty of huge 3’s in Game 1 like was mentioned earlier in this list, but none were more disrespectful than the now infamous “High Step”.

Curry finished with 28 points on the night, and definitely showed he’s bounced back from a lackluster performance in the team’s last NBA Finals appearance last season. He went 6-for-11 from downtown in Game 1 and was definitely feeling it, as was evident by his dance moves after his shots.

Curry drew the attention of pretty much everyone with the move, and one local Bay Area player took it as a sign of respect from the two-time NBA MVP. Oakland Raiders punter Marquette King, who’s notorious for his celebrations after a solid kick in the NFL, posted on his Instagram that the high-step looking familiar to his form on the football field, and it’s uncanny.

Either way, whether the celebration was a nod to the Warriors’ local NFL counterparts or just something Curry thought of on the spot, it was a real knife to the back for the Cavaliers and their dwindling confidence. Curry was hitting 3’s at will, and the Warriors had seemingly everything going in and going their way in Game 1, so they could afford to dance a little.

It doesn’t, however, take away its role as fuel to the fire in an already-heated rivalry that finds itself in another NBA Finals. All we need now is LeBron high-stepping his way back to play some defense after a monster slam in Game 2, and everything will be even.

1. Putting James Michael McAdoo on LeBron

Out of all the disrespect shown in Game 1, what the Warriors did defensively against LeBron James was without a doubt the biggest infraction.

The Warriors have plenty of depth at forward, with Kevin Durant, Draymond Green, and Andre Iguodala all serving as viable options to guard LeBron. It’s the NBA Finals, and they’re facing off against one of the greatest players of all-time. What do they do in this situation? They stick James Michael McAdoo on The King in the third quarter of the biggest series of the year. The 24-year old power forward held his own, but it goes to show just how little the Warriors were worried about LeBron taking over.

Next: Every NBA team's greatest playoff moment

In the end, it all worked out, as the Warriors won 113-91 in Game 1 and took control early in the third quarter. However, it’s a bold move to put a player averaging 3.0 points per game in his career, along with 1.7 rebounds and 0.3 assists per game, on a perennial MVP candidate. No matter how in hand the game already was for the Warriors, as they began to pull away from an eight-point lead at the half pretty early in the third, the confidence shown by putting in McAdoo may have been the final nail in the coffin.

The move was the top of a long list of disrespect shown in Game 1 of the NBA Finals, and if we continue at this rate throughout the series, we could be in for plenty of storylines throughout the next few weeks that find their way off the court.