Former NBA guard Mo Williams recently opened up about one of the most difficult stretches of his career, revealing how he struggled emotionally after losing his role when Kyrie Irving returned from injury during the Cleveland Cavaliers’ 2015-16 championship season.
Speaking during a recent appearance on FanDuel’s Run It Back, Williams reflected on the abrupt transition from starting point guard to being completely removed from the rotation after Irving returned on Christmas Day.
“Obviosuly, if you remember 2016, Kyrie was still hurt and we went through maybe up until Christmas. I started, you know, playing 35-36 minutes a game… so I started, I’m averaging 14, 15 [points], 6, 7 assists – solid. We number 1 in the east. Kyrie comes back on Christmas. From Christmas until the playoffs, I don’t play.”
Irving missed the start of the 2015-16 season while recovering from the fractured kneecap he suffered during the 2015 NBA Finals against the Golden State Warriors. During his absence, Williams became a key contributor for Cleveland and helped the team maintain the top spot in the Eastern Conference.
Williams admitted he initially struggled to understand the coaching decision made by then-head coach Tyronn Lue, whom he described as one of his closest friends in basketball.
“At the time, I didn’t understand but now as I’m older and as a coach, I understand it now. But I go from starting and T-Lue is the coach and that’s my dawg. Me and T-Lue go back outside of this basketball stuff and I tell people all the time… T-Lue never came to me and said, ‘Mo, you not going to play no more.’ So, on Christmas that was the first game I didn’t play… I’m doing my normal warmup, okay I started and Kyrie is back so obviously Kyrie is starting and I’m backing him up. It’s simple, simple math.”
Mo Williams says he did not handle Kyrie Irving returning to the 2016 Cavs well 😳
"From Christmas to the playoffs, I didn't play."
But, Mo knew Cleveland would need him in their NBA Championship run 💯@mowilliams | @MichelleDBeadle | @ChandlerParsons | @TeamLou23 pic.twitter.com/p0IivwhEpx
— Run It Back (@RunItBackFDTV) May 14, 2026
Mo Williams says coaching perspective changed how he viewed Kyrie Irving’s return
AP
Williams, who is currently an assistant men’s basketball coach at University of Kentucky, said the experience ultimately helped him mature and shaped the perspective he now carries as a coach.
“I got to a point where I started to mature. I started to really like lock in and I started to really talk to myself in a way where they going to need you. I used to say that type of stuff.”
Cleveland eventually reached the NBA Finals, where the Cavaliers fell behind 3-1 against the 73-win Warriors before mounting the first comeback from a 3-1 deficit in Finals history. Williams explained that despite not playing through the first four games of the series, he stayed mentally prepared for an opportunity.
“We go through the whole second half of the season, we go through the playoffs, first round, second round, Eastern Conference Finals. Now we’re in the Finals. I don’t play Game 1, 2, 3, or 4. We down 3-1. Now mind you, T-Lue still ain’t came to me and said nothing.”
Williams stayed ready before key role in Cavaliers’ historic 3-1 Finals comeback vs. Warriors
Williams said he finally heard his name called during Game 5 and immediately responded.
“So, I’m still preparing like i want to prepare. At this time, I’m already coaching, I don’t sit on the bench. I’m all the way at the end on one knee because I gotta stand up and down the whole game because I’m coaching… Kyrie, he’s either coming out with three minutes to go in the first or start of the second, he played the whole first quarter. And all I heard was Game 5, ‘Mo!’, man I sprinted so fast to check in.”
Williams appeared in Games 5, 6 and 7 of the Finals as Cleveland completed the historic comeback to capture the franchise’s first NBA championship. He finished by explaining why the experience still resonates with him years later.
“I played in Game 5, 6, and 7 those backup minutes and I use this story to tell kids that you gotta always stay ready. Everything ain’t gonna go in your favor, but you gotta stay ready. Don’t mess your life up feeling sorry for yourself, nobody else will. You gotta stay down and stay ready so that’s a memory that I have from that championship season.”