Who Won the NBA Finals in 2016?

The Cleveland Cavaliers won the NBA Finals in 2016.

The Teams

The NBA Finals in 2016 was a battle between the Golden State Warriors and the Cleveland Cavaliers. The Warriors were the defending champions and had a record-breaking regular season. The Cavaliers were led by LeBron James, who was looking to bring a championship back to Cleveland.

The Golden State Warriors

The Golden State Warriors won the 2016 NBA Finals, becoming the first team in league history to win back-to-back titles while also setting a new record for regular season wins in a single season. The Warriors defeated the Cleveland Cavaliers in seven games, with superstar point guard Stephen Curry named Finals MVP for the second year in a row.

The Cleveland Cavaliers

The Cleveland Cavaliers, also known as the Cavs, are an American professional basketball team based in Cleveland, Ohio. The Cavs compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the league’s Eastern Conference Central Division. The team began play in 1970 as an expansion team. Their 46-year history has been marked by frequent periods of futility and disappointment, but also by hope, success and, most recently, championships. The Cavaliers have appeared in four NBA Finals, winning their first title in 2016.

The Players

Stephen Curry

Stephen Curry is an American professional basketball player for the Golden State Warriors of the National Basketball Association (NBA). A 6’3″ point guard, Curry is considered by some to be the greatest shooter in NBA history. He is a two-time NBA Most Valuable Player (MVP), and was named the NBA Finals MVP in 2015, when he helped the Warriors win their first championship since 1975. The following year, he became the first player in NBA history to be elected MVP by a unanimous vote and to lead the league in scoring while shooting above 50–40–90. That same year, the Warriors broke the record for the most wins in an NBA season. Curry helped the Warriors return to the NBA Finals for a third consecutive year in 2017, where he won his second NBA championship, was named Finals MVP for a second time, and became one of nine players to have won multiple MVP awards and an NBA championship.

LeBron James

LeBron Raymone James is an American professional basketball player for the Cleveland Cavaliers of the National Basketball Association. James has won three NBA championships, four NBA Most Valuable Player Awards, three NBA Finals MVP Awards, and two Olympic gold medals.

The Coaches

Steve Kerr

Steve Kerr (born September 27, 1965) is an American former professional basketball player and the current head coach of the Golden State Warriors. Kerr is also a former television announcer, and he has been a general manager in the National Basketball Association (NBA). He played college basketball for the University of Arizona, and thereafter, he spent much of his playing career in the NBA with several teams, winning five championships.

As a rookie head coach in 2014–15, Kerr led the Warriors to the NBA Finals, where they lost in six games to the Cleveland Cavaliers. In 2015–16, Kerr became only the second rookie head coach after Doc Rivers in 2003–04 to win a championship as his Warriors defeated LeBron James’ Cavaliers in seven games after being down 3–1 in the series. The Warriors broke a then-record by winning 73 games during the regular season en route to their second straight Finals appearance; they ultimately fell short to James’ Cavaliers again in seven games. In 2016–17, Kerr led his team to their third straight Finals appearance and clinched their second title in three years after defeating James’ Cavaliers in five games.

Tyronn Lue

Head coach Tyronn Lue took over mid-season for the struggling Cavaliers and helped lead them to their first NBA championship in franchise history. Lue played 11 seasons in the NBA before retiring in 2009. He began his coaching career as an assistant coach for the Boston Celtics in 2009. He joined the Cavs as an assistant coach in 2014.

The Finals

The NBA Finals is the championship series of the National Basketball Association (NBA). The Eastern and Western conference champions play a best-of-seven game series to determine the league champion. The Warriors won the 2016 NBA Finals, which was their second championship in three years.

Game 1

On June 2, 2016, the Golden State Warriors defeated the Cleveland Cavaliers 104–89 in Game 1 of the 2016 NBA Finals. Draymond Green led the Warriors to victory with 28 points, while LeBron James was the leading scorer for the Cavaliers with 24 points.

Game 2

The Finals was the championship series of the National Basketball Association (NBA)’s 2015–16 season and conclusion of the 2016 playoffs. The Eastern Conference champion Cleveland Cavaliers defeated the defending NBA champion and Western Conference champion Golden State Warriors 4–3 in a rematch of the previous year’s Finals. The Cavaliers became the first team in NBA Finals history to overcome a 3–1 deficit to win the championship. The Warriors, meanwhile, became just the 10th team ever to lose an NBA Finals after having held a 3–1 lead at one point; they also became the first team since the 1963 Boston Celtics to blow a 3–1 lead in the NBA Finals.[2][3]

Cleveland’s LeBron James, who averaged 29.7 points, 11.3 rebounds, and 8.9 assists per game, was named NBA Finals MVP for a record-tying fourth time. James previously won consecutive Finals MVPs in 2012 and 2013.[4] With his sixth Final appearance (also a record) and fourth title overall, James became only second player after Kareem Abdul-Jabbar to achieve those feats ( Abdul-Jabbar did so on six occasions). It was also James’ first NBA championship since he departed from the Miami Heat in 2014.[5][6]

On June 16, 2016, minutes after defeating the Warriors 112–97 in Game 6 to become champions for a second consecutive year, Cavaliers’ forward LeBron James said that he would not speculate about his future plans beyond opting out of his contract with his current team: “I have no idea at this point,” he said. “The one thing that I’ve always done is consider my family.”[7][8]

Game 3

The Warriors took control of the series in Game 3 with a 120–111 victory at Quicken Loans Arena. Stephen Curry scored 32 points and became the sixth player in NBA Finals history to make at least seven three-pointers in consecutive games. Draymond Green posted his second consecutive triple double with 16 points, 11 rebounds and 10 assists, while also adding five steals and three blocks. LeBron James was once again his team’s leading scorer with 36 points, but the Cavaliers never led in the second half and allowed the Warriors to open up a 3–0 series lead.

Game 4

On June 10, 2016, the Golden State Warriors won their fourth NBA Finals in nineteen years, defeating the Cleveland Cavaliers 105–97 in Game 4 to win the series four games to two. The Cavaliers had made history the previous season by becoming the first team to come back from a 3–1 deficit to win the NBA Finals, and they became the first team ever to lose an NBA Finals after leading 3–1.

Game 5

On June 13, 2016, the Golden State Warriors defeated the Cleveland Cavaliers in Game 5 of the NBA Finals to win their second championship in franchise history. Led by Finals MVP LeBron James, the Cavaliers had come back from a 3-1 deficit to force a Game 7, but were unable to complete the comeback as the Warriors won 108-97.

Game 6

On June 19, 2016, the Cleveland Cavaliers defeated the Golden State Warriors in Game 7 of the NBA Finals. The Cavaliers won the series 4–3, becoming the first team in NBA Finals history to win a championship after trailing 3–1 in the series. LeBron James was named Finals MVP for the second consecutive year.

Game 7

The Golden State Warriors won the NBA Finals in 2016 after defeating the Cleveland Cavaliers in Game 7. The Warriors came back from a 3-1 deficit to win the series, becoming the first team in NBA history to do so.