The 2015 NBA Finals had a ton of twists and turns.
Kevin Love missed the entire series. Kyrie Irving got hurt in overtime of Game 1. The Warriors lost Game 3 and trailed 2-1 with Game 4 in Cleveland. Then Andre Iguodala was inserted into the starting lineup for Andrew Bogut and everything changed.
But, that series comes with a big 'What if.'
Stay in the game with the latest updates on your beloved Bay Area and California sports teams! Sign up here for our All Access Daily newsletter.
What if Love and Irving had been healthy for the entire series?
"I believe we would be in position to holding the Larry O'Brien [trophy]," Cavs center Tristant Thompson told Yahoo's Chris Haynes on the Posted Up podcast. "I think we should be in position to hold that trophy."
Love dislocated his left shoulder in the first round against Boston and never made it back during those playoffs. In overtime of Game 1 of the Finals, Irving crumpled to the ground on a drive. He had broken his left kneecap and would miss the rest of the series.
Despite all that, the Cavs split the first two games in Oakland and won Game 3. But that's when the Warriors turned to Iguodala. He clamped down on LeBron James and earned NBA Finals MVP for his efforts.
Golden State Warriors
Thompson wanted to win the series, but he admitted he was happy that Iguodala won the honor because of the symbolism it sent to other players around the league.
"At the end of the day, Iguodala played one hell of a series," Thompson said. "And I was actually happy for him too because ... I wasn't happy because I wanted to win, but I was happy for him because he made a sacrifice to go there and it paid off and he won a championship and he was Finals MVP. So it shows guys it's okay to step away from being 'the man' and want to be part of something special because it's always going to come back around. If you make sacrifices now, the reward will come later. So I was happy for him that he was able to shut up the naysayers and haters that were always questioning him and he was able to get a Finals MVP. Like, good for him."
Thompson later circled back around to the original question from Haynes, which was about whether the Cavs would have won the series if Love and Irving had played.
"Yeah, if we have Kyrie and Kev, I think the series might have gone to seven," Thompson said. "But at the same time, I still felt that team, even though we were down to those guys, had a chance to win that series."