Top Moments: Cavaliers, Warriors battle 4 years straight in Finals
The Warriors clinically ended their 40-year championship drought in 2015.
Top Moments: 1940s & 50s | 1960s | 1970s | 1980s | 1990s | 2000s | 2010s
NBA.com takes a look back at the top moments that define the history of the NBA.
In 2014, when LeBron James decided to return to Cleveland from Miami, the San Antonio Spurs, Oklahoma City Thunder, and LA Clippers were the dominant teams in the Western Conference. All of them were seen as potential opponents for the Cavaliers in The Finals, should Cleveland reach it with James back on their team.
Despite initial predictions, what experts and supporters expected never came to pass.
James’ Cavs never struggled to reach the championship series, representing the Eastern Conference in the NBA Finals for four straight seasons. In contrast, the referenced Western Conference teams never made it to the court in June due to the domination of the Golden State Warriors.
Under the leadership of first-year coach Steve Kerr and guard Stephen Curry, who enjoyed a Kia MVP season, the Warriors ascended the Western hierarchy and secured their first Finals appearance since 1975.
As their 50-year drought was coming to a close, a new classic rivalry was taking shape. Cleveland and Golden State faced off on June 4, 2015, initiating a Finals face-off that would persist through the following four postseasons.
The matchup began in an electrifying manner. The first game of the 2015 Finals saw 13 shifts in lead, 11 draws and even went into overtime. However, during this extra period, Kyrie Irving, the All-Star point guard for the Cavaliers, broke his left kneecap and was ruled out for the rest of the series. Kevin Love, a player the Cavs had obtained from Minnesota in the offseason by trading their No. 1 draft pick Andrew Wiggins, was already out due to a dislocated shoulder he incurred in the first round.
Injuries to Cleveland and the impressive talent of Golden State created an overwhelming challenge for the Cavaliers’ first-year coach, David Blatt. Even though the Cavaliers won Games 2 and 3, they were defeated in the following three games due to strategic changes implemented by Kerr’s team, leading to a 4-2 series victory. The decision to include forward Andre Iguodala in the starting lineup proved successful, as his defensive work against James alongside his offensive contribution earned him the Finals MVP.
The Warriors ended their long title-drought, something Cleveland would do the following season. The Cavaliers fired Blatt midway through the 2015-16 season despite possessing the No. 1 seed in the East. Assistant coach Tyronn Lue took over and, on the day he was promoted, Kerr returned to coach the Warriors after missing 43 games because of back pain. He went on to earn Coach of the Year honors. Stephen Curry became the first player to ever win the NBA MVP by a unanimous vote, and the Warriors posted a historic 73-9 record.
In an epic Game 7 thriller in the 2016 Finals, the Cavs triumph over the Warriors.
Despite the accolades, the 2016 Finals were a different story. The Warriors, leading the series 3-1, were on the verge of retaining the championship. However, All-Star forward Draymond Green was handed a suspension in Game 5 after hitting James’ groin in Game 4, a move that ultimately shifted the momentum of the series. Capitalizing on Green’s absence, the Cavaliers, with standout performances from James and Irving scoring 41 points each, took the game.
Green made a comeback in Game 6, however, Cleveland emerged victorious and pushed the series to a thrilling Game 7 in Oakland. Towards the end of the fourth quarter, three pivotal moments were forever imprinted in Cleveland’s history: the block, the shot, and the stop. James sprinted down the court to block Iguodala, Irving scored a crucial 3-pointer over Stephen Curry, and Love kept pace with Curry to prevent a 3-pointer that would have tied the game. The 52-year wait for a championship in Northeast Ohio came to an end.
Cleveland made history by being the first team to overcome a 3-1 deficit in The Finals.
The Bay Area was soon to transform their grief into elation. Not long after The Finals, Golden State recruited another top-tier player, Kevin Durant, through free agency. This addition fortified an already powerful team that boasted three All-Stars, instantly making them the predicted winners for the 2017 Finals. Cleveland, led by James, once again dominated the East, but fell to the Warriors in their third consecutive Finals clash, with a scoreline of 4-1. Durant was crowned the Finals MVP.
In the following summer, Golden State again outperformed every other team in the West, leading to James’ eighth consecutive appearance in the Finals. However, his supporting cast was different from the previous three years, as Irving had been traded to the Boston Celtics before the start of the season. Despite being severely outmatched, the Cavaliers almost snatched a victory in Game 1, which was an away game.
In the 2018 NBA Finals, the Warriors triumphed over the Cavs, securing their 3rd championship in 4 seasons.
The game was tied at 107 with just 4.7 seconds left on the clock when George Hill, the point guard for the Cavs, missed a critical free throw. The situation worsened when J.R. Smith, after retrieving the rebound, dribbled out the remaining time mistakenly believing that the Cavs were ahead. The Cavs ended up losing in overtime, which overshadowed James’ playoff-career record of 51 points.
Durant secured his second consecutive Finals MVP as the Warriors completed a 4-0 sweep against the Cavaliers.
One month later, James switched sides to the Los Angeles Lakers in free agency. This concluded an extraordinary chapter in the NBA’s history. The Akron native accomplished his dream of “delivering a trophy back to Northeast Ohio” in a flawless manner. However, Golden State eventually prevailed in this rivalry with a 3-1 lead.
