The Rare Double Turn

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Game 6 of the NBA Finals will be remembered for the type of poor officiating you'd see in Pro Wrestling, but also for the rare double turn. Steph Curry has been both a literal and figurative babyface while LeBron James has been the most trolled talent for years now. Yet, in one game, heel Curry emerged and face LeBron was born. Now, heel and face turns are fairly common, but two competitors changing roles in the same match is much more rare. 

The most famous double turn occurred on wrestling's biggest stage at WrestleMania 13. Bret "Hitman" Hart faced Stone Cold Steve Austin in a submission match. Hart entered the match a face but left a heel when he put Austin in a submission hold until Austin passed out from the pain and loss of blood and the match was called. Hart lost his cool and continued to attack Austin leading to fans flip-flopping their allegiance from Hart to Austin and recognizing the gutsy performance Austin put on. 

Curry lost his cool tonight while LeBron put on a clinic. 

Curry's turn occurred with 4:22 remaining in the game when Curry was slapped with his 6th foul of the game and he wasn't happy about it at all. 

Curry tossed his mouth piece into the stands, hitting a fan sitting court side, and earned himself a technical foul and an automatic ejection.

Supporting the heel turn was Ayesha Curry, Steph's wife. Ayesha ripped the refs and accused the NBA of being rigged in a now deleted tweet. 

While this was happening, LeBron turned face by putting up 41 points and aggressively rejecting a Curry shot. 

Get your popcorn ready for Game 7. 

Random Gems

Cleveland took the floor at Game 6 to The Undertaker's theme song. 

LeBron James wore an Undertaker shirt at practice before Game 5. 

Clean Finishes Are My Jam

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The 2016 NBA Slam Dunk Contest provided one of the rarest forms of competition you will ever see, a clean match with a clean finish. 

So much of the narrative of competitions, in sports and sports entertainment, takes the typical face vs. heel dynamic. Two faces going up against each other with no animosity towards each other and obeying the rules is clean. A victor emerging without either sides turning heel and without outside factors or interference is the cleanest it will ever get. Throw in nearly flawless execution into the mix and it is possibly one of the rarest things you will ever see. Not even Kevin Hart commentary or the appearance of a Hoverboard could ruin it. 

Zach LaVine successfully defended his title his 2015 Slam Dunk Contest Championship against Aaron Gordon in Toronto on Saturday in a battle that took a double overtime to decide. LaVine received a perfect score of 200, edging out Gordon's 197. 


What determines a great match is its staying power. The All-Star Game is the main event the skills competitions are in support of. And rather than still talking about the Kobe send off or Paul George coming close to breaking the record for the most points scored in an All-Star Game, reports are still coming in about the dunks. 

One is the report that Zack LaVine had more left in the tank. 

Another is ESPN Sport Science dissecting the physics of the jams. 

This budding feud has made the Slam Dunk Contest a must see again and the 2017 contest can't come soon enough. Anything can happen between now and then. But this feud is dying for a payoff. If it's just as clean it will be transcendental.