LeBron James kicked Andre Iguodala in the groin

LeBron James, the 2016 NBA Finals MVP, kicked Andre Iguodala, the 2015 Finals MVP, in the groin in the final seconds of Game 3.

The Golden State Warriors have taken a 3-0 lead in the NBA Finals. It took everything they have, but they managed to come back against the Cleveland Cavaliers. They went on an 11-0 run to end the game and win.

Kevin Durant hit a huge three-pointer over LeBron James to put the Warriors up by one point. Kyrie Irving tried to take a stepback over Klay Thompson, but he missed. Golden State secured the rebound and Durant shot two free throws to make it a three point game.

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With the game on the line, the Cavaliers inbounded it to LeBron James in the corner. He tried to fire the three, but Andre Iguodala stripped him. James flailed as the ball bounced to the Warriors allowing Stephen Curry to ice the game with free throws.

Iguodala made a risky play. He has incredibly quick hands so he went for the swipe. He had to time that perfectly in order to strip the ball instead of fouling James and giving him the chance to tie the game.

However, what got lost in the excitement of the big defensive stop was James’ foot. The reply shows pretty clearly that he kicked his legs out after he lost the bal. That leg kick looks to have gotten Iguodala right in the groin.

A year after Draymond Green’s name was dragged through the mud, the world stayed silent on James’ late game leg hijinks. The course of NBA history was changed because of Green’s actions that landed him a controversial Game 5 suspension. The Cavaliers built momentum with Green out and eventually won the series.

Many–including Green’s own other, Mary Babers-Green–defended the All-Star forward. They argued that his leg kicks are a natural body motion. While the mainstream sentiment is that he goes out of his way to try to injure players, he seems to kick his legs rather wildly even when no one else is around him.

No amount of tape or reasoning would change some people’s minds. To them, Green is a groin-hunting monster who aims to injures players. That couldn’t be any farther from the truth.

Still, the Defensive Player of the Year candidate is one of the most scrutinized players in the league. Everything he does gets examined. The general NBA fan doesn’t seem to give him the benefit of the doubt.

Back to James, it’s hard to see a real difference between what he did and what Green did to Steven Adams in last year’s Western Conference Finals. Both stars took a shot and swung their leg up. Green did it after getting fouled and James wanted a call. They both caught their opponents in a sensitive area.

Now will LeBron James be attacked like Green? Will fans and experts call for his punishment? Will his reputation be tarnished?

Nothing is going to happen to him. It’s unlikely that he’ll even receive a flagrant foul for his action. In fact, it’s unlikely that anyone will even look at the play.

LeBron James does not have a history of being a dirty player. So it’s reasonable to assume that it was not intentional. It was *gasp* a natural body motion.

But intent doesn’t matter, right? At least, that’s what the argument was against Green. Any kind of kick to the groin should be punished.

People just don’t like Green. He locks up their favorite player and he wins. He’s expressive and passionate and that rubs people the wrong way.

By comparison, James is held to a different standard. When it come to how he gets officiated, he doesn’t receive flop fines or offensive fouls for lowering his shoulder and running someone over. And he won’t be questioned for kicking the 2015 Finals MVP after getting stripped at the end of a meltdown.

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If that’s Green, there’s a real conversation about what happened. But the King doesn’t get subjected to that kind of discussion, despite the fact that Andre Iguodala is also a father. Had that been James that was on the receiving end, no doubt that his fatherhood would have been front and center.

James can physically kick the Warriors in the groin, but Golden State is metaphorically doing it to him up 3-0.