Anderson Varejao — 2016 Cleveland Cavaliers
It’s true that Anderson Varejao was probably more responsible for the 2016 Cleveland Cavaliers winning the title than Iman Shumpert was. Unfortunately, it’s also true that Varejao was playing for the other team in the Finals. Cleveland traded the lifelong Cav midseason in a move to clear needed cap space, and Varejao was waived by his new team and signed by the Golden State Warriors amidst the greatest regular season in NBA history at 73–9.
Steve Kerr went to Varejao too often against his old team in the Finals, and Varejao’s poor defense across 23 minutes over the final three games cost his team greatly and helped the Cavs win the title — and Varejao a ring, as a member of the team earlier that season. Varejao played 14 games with the Warriors the following season and got a championship share that season too.