[Highlight] 10 years ago on this date, the Cleveland Cavaliers come back down 3-1 to win their first NBA Championship
What did you say Klay said?
“I guess he just got his feelings hurt.”
Insert scary scoff here
“It’s so hard to take the high road”
“I’ve been doing it for 13 years and it’s so hard to continue to do it and I’m going to do it again.”
*Klay Thompson feels a chill in the air, and chuckles*
“I’m in danger.”
*Maniacal giggle* It’s so hard to take the high road
I’ve been doing it for 13 years and I’m going to continue to do it.
not shown: Kevin Love’s amazing defense on Curry after Kyrie’s 3 pointer
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XC-mTgXRfm8
Yeah, how do you not include The Stop in this comp?
Pretty beautiful and poetic the Big 3 all had a play to secure the chip.
So many legendary moments from this finals lol the storylines don’t hit like this anymore
Damn the way his legs were moving was crazy. He wasn’t thinking. He was straight up reacting crazy fast. Great defense.
The Block, The Shot, and The Stop!
Draymond still insists to this day that they lost because he didn’t play in game 5.
Completely ignoring that he played in both game 6 and game 7
Well Draymond is an idiot
Dray was right. Steph and klay were both carrying injuries which progressively got worse (I think Steph had surgery immediately after the season).
GSW had all the momentum, they would’ve won game 5.
Aww that’s too bad, they blew a 3-1 lead
Cuz Draymond was out. Congratulations
Was he out game 6 and game 7?
No but he was game 5. That’s like if kyrie doesn’t play game 7. U think yall winning? 🤦♂️ ppl be slow af
Didn’t Kevin Love miss a game due to a concussion?
And wasn’t Kyrie also playing though multiple foot/ankle issues?
Everyone is injured to some degree in the finals lmao. I’m pretty sure Draymond and Love both missing a game “cancels” each other out.
Bet this dude won’t accept that the Cavs would’ve won in 2015 if Kyrie and Love didn’t go down
Fuk no. Kevin love averaged 8 points lol. Draymond was the best defender on the planet at the time. And they’re best playmaker.
okay, then the Cavs won the 2015 Finals bc Love & Kyrie were out right … right?? guys??
What?
maybe he shouldn’t have got himself suspended
But there were so many dicks to kick with “basketball moves”
Injuries are a part of many finals runs.
The Thunder was able to win their championship in a large part because Halliburton got injured in Game 7.
The Bucks beat the Nets in 2021 largely due to injuries with both Harden and Kyrie.
The Raptors were able to win their championship in a large part because KD and Klay got injured.
The Warriors were able to win the 2015 championship in a large part becuase Kyrie and KLove were injured.
Giannis coming back like he did after what happend to his knee against the Hawks still blows me away
Woulda coulda shoulda, worst collapse in finals history
Found Draymond’s burner account
He was the second best player on the team. He not lying.
He was the best player on the court in G7 too lol put up a crazy stat line
But he missed game 5 entirely. Thats was the series.
Because he couldn’t stop hitting players in the testacles lol
Still doesn’t change the reality of what is saying. But that’s is funny af 😂
Lmao. One game, still up 3-2, but the excuses keep rolling in ten years later. At least you aren’t pretending steph was hurt too
Wym one game? It’s the close out game and you lost your second best player. And they’re best defender on the planet. And he’s their offensive engine with Steph. Yall don’t want to admit the try
are you really lost?
nobody is saying it didn’t impact the series, but when you have two more games after the suspension, and you only need to win one more game, it’s kinda silly to point to game 5 as “why they lost the series”
What do you mean that was the series? They were still up and had 2 more chances to close it out, just didn’t manage to do it.
They’re not losing that game either Draymond out there. Them losing gave Cavs momentum. And still was a kyrie missed 3 of losing anyway
Momentum is just a convenient excuse. You can stop the momentum. Again, they had all the chances to win Game 6 and 7, just didn’t manage to do it. They weren’t these guaranteed losses that you’re making them out to be, they just choked.
And still was a kyrie missed 3 of losing anyway
Right so why couldn’t they win then? Seems like the cavs were barely hanging on according to you, should be an easy win then.
The warriors lost their second best player in game 5. That’s it. It’s 3-1 comeback with an asterisk
And then had him back for Games 6 and 7 and couldn’t win them. Repeating the same stupid shit over and over isn’t gonna make it make sense
Accept that you’re wrong instead of commenting 50 times. You’re obviously dense and should just stop wasting your time bro.
Accept you have no bball iq and stop commenting cuz u bias af.
Momentum is not real
lol
He was thebest player on his team for game 7, he had more points than both Klay and Steph COMBINED
U agreeing with me? And that game 7 was crazy it’s super underrated
Game 5 without Draymond allowed LeBron and Kyrie to both go off.
Game 6 in Cleveland was a home game, Cavs protected home court
Game 7 one game toss up with anything that can happen
I think Warriors would’ve wrapped it up in 5. No Draymond game Cavs momentum that they rode all the way
Ok and if Irving and Love don’t get injured in 2015 then the Cavs win in 6, if we’re doing hypotheticals
I would say both scenarios are very possible
I think its a very interesting what if, If the results of 2015 and 2016 were flipped. We probably have a very different rest of the 2010s, since KD most likely does not go to the team that just won the title.
Maybe Draymond got his feelings hurt and committed too many technical fouls
Not to mention Draymond played an unreal game 7
Probably a good lesson not to punch people in the nuts.
Warriors fans insist this too, it’s the biggest thing they say to cope.
Which is crazy because they’ve won 3 more rings since that choke
Do you think the 2016 Cavs were better than the 2016 Warriors?
Who won the finals?
So we agree
No dipshit, the 2016 Cavaliers were by definition better.
“If draymond didn’t blah blah”. Yeah and if my aunt was my uncle. He hit someone in the nuts. A better team wouldn’t do that kind of bullshit. Look at the Cavs, they weren’t assaulting genitals.
Fucking smooth brains in this sub. Are you 13? Or younger?
Historic shot making and only a few plays were the deciding factor. He’s not wrong to think that as well bogut being hurt. If you look at their starting lineups alot of they’re players were hurt actually
LeBron scored 41 points without Draymond playing in Game 5, and then he scored 41 again with him on the floor for Game 6.
literally any player in the world would believe that
He’s completely right though? That series was a way bigger blowout than 14-15 until the ejection. That was also specifically what got LeBron into rhythm, Draymond was doing him like 2013 Danny Green in transition. Totally changed the momentum of the series.
Two things can be true. Lebron/Kyrie accomplished a phenomenal goal + Draymond can be right (Bogut injury/Iggy back) Game 5 up 3-1 was always the decider and most critical. The team up 3-1 with home court loses Game 5 then the other team gets belief that they can bring into game 6. In g7 it’s a level playing field, doesn’t matter who is better on paper, it’s nerves, it’s refs, it’s everything…that’s just my opinion anyway.
I mean, we will never know but he probably not wrong. I’m not convinced they win 3 in a row vs a full strength warriors. But it doesn’t really matter because that’s not what happened
Draymond is still correct to this date in that case.
You’re completely ignoring momentum in sports, as well as an injury to Bogut in a game Dray missed.
Dubs close it out game 5 with Dray playing.
Even if you believe in that, you’re ignoring that Draymond missed the game because of his own actions. He stomped on another player and got suspended. You can’t act like it was just so unlucky when it was his own damn fault.
I do agree that it was because of his own actions, Draymond has through his career had issues with controlling his emotions. As a sidenote, Lebron was stepping over him, and Green stood up and swatted at him.
I just feel like that a suspension should not impact the outcome of the NBA finals. Like I’d be fine with them suspending Green for like 10 games in the 2016⁄17 seasons or giving him a huge fine, but suspending him for a pivotal home game in the NBA finals is not it to be honest.
They even seemed to have learned from 2016, just look at how they refused to call 2 separate flagrant fouls on Wemby in order to not have him suspended.
I think that’s nonsense. If a suspension-worthy play happens, then the suspension should occur regardless of if it’s the NBA finals or a random Tuesday in February. It’s on the player to not get himself suspended.
He was pulling that bullshit all playoffs. If properly punished he gets suspended or ejected in the OKC series and they dont even make the finals.
This is classic Warriors cope. “Oh it’s the finals we should let bum ass behavior slide”
Fuck outta here with that nonsense.
They lost because adam silver only let one team play defense
We got the shot, the block, and the stop. Peak hoops this game.
fr, and also, as time moves, it’s INSANE LeBron went to 8 straight Finals. Regardless of record, it’s clinically insane.
Then took a year break to go to a super young Lakers, got hurt, and then returned to win the finals after a 1 year absence. So technically went 9 of 10 years.
that injury on the Lakers really fucked him up. I think he could have made the final alot more if that dirty play didn’t happen
Fuck Solomon Hill
after 2018, the Warriors made it again in 2019
since then, not a single team has made it to the finals in back to back years
we’ll probably never see the league move through one player like that ever again. an entire decade of dominance
And they were done by the three members of the Cavaliers’ Big Three as well.
The shot or The Shot?
I’m sure you’d get some arguments for the latter
10 years ago plus a few hours, Golden State cried in the parking lot, called Durant, and ruined the NBA for a few years
didn’t realize LeBron talked about “the hardest road” in his postgame “CLEVELAND THIS IS FOR YOU” moment. KD was watching taking notes.
Didn’t ruin it for me!!!!
warriors still win in both 2017 and 2018 without durant lol
Rockets win in 2018 pretty sure
Insane to me that people say this after watching how LeBron was playing in 2018. Look at G1 WITH Durant. Rockets maybe.
Those Warriors were not getting revenge on LeBron without help IMO
Pretty sure this story is made up. LeBron was also the one who started the whole Super Teams idea through free agency
Edit: I know this post is going to be a Cavs Dick Sucking fest but I specifically mentioned Through Free Agency You Morons
Paul Pierce, KG, Ray Allen and the big three Celtics were the start of the super teams ya bum.
Your stupid they had to trade to get those peices and there was no guarantee they would win anything ya bum. No one talks about the 2024 Boston celtics today because they did it ethically
Techinally the Heat traded for LeBron, so now what.
Technically true, but a major rewrite of Nba history. LeBron was an unrestricted free agent when he had already picked Miami on live TV; the sign and-trade was just a back-end salary cap formality executed after he had already made his decision. It only happened because it let LeBron maximize his contract’s length and raises, while ensuring Cleveland got a few draft picks instead of losing him for absolutely nothing and paving the way for him to eventually come back. Cleveland also had zero say in the matter. if they had refused the deal, LeBron would have simply signed directly into Miami’s open cap space anyway. Framing it as a regular trade implies it was anything other than the most advantageous decision LeBron could make, which is completely dishonest.
Saying LeBron and Miami created super teams is completely dishonest. Even if you’re going to ignore the 2008 Celtics (which you shouldn’t) there’s the 2012 Lakers, the 2003 Lakers, the 1996 Rockets, and many more examples for super stars teaming up to try and win it all. Just because so many failed doesn’t mean they haven’t tried to do it before.
I am simply saying LeBron is at least as bad as an offender as Durant considering he ushered it into the modern era. Also considering his first Super Team Ring was against Durant Probably had some influence on him as well
Even that is such a false equivalency you dunce. KD joined the greatest team of all time, and the warriors had just came back from down 3-1 against KD’s Thunder. The Heat that LeBron joined were not even close to the level of the warriors team that KD joined. KD is a fuckin bitch ass loser for that.
Now a more accurate comparison would be if LeBron had joined the super team Celtics instead of the Heat.
Your stupid
Ironic
2024 Boston Celtics were arguably just as dominant in terms of the rest of league as GSW was. They Maximized their assets to best of their ability and could have won multiple chips
Nobody talks about them today because the pieces weren’t really considered game changers in the same way. They were players coming from low points. Porzingus was always questionable due to health concerns and Jrue was coming off some really bad years on the Bucks.
Who gives af if it’s trade or free agency? They all wanted it and were THE start of the super team era, doesn’t matter if it’s trade or not. LeBron didn’t start super teams, he reacted to one being created by creating another one.
And your point about no guarantees about winning anything could literally be said about every NBA team ever created you fuckin moron. The Heatles also weren’t guaranteed to win.
And and, the 2024 Celtics weren’t a super team. That’s why no one gives a shit about them.
Lol the idea that LeBron Started the Miami Super Team because of Boston is complete fking lie. The Heat were also definitely much surefire gaurentee due to their unrestricted cap space and they’re future first round picks. The idea that LeBron started the Miami superteam as a direct reaction to Boston is a complete lie, especially since the 2008 Celtics weren’t even considered a true, surefire guarantee in the same way. Boston’s roster was constructed through front-office trades, whereas the Heat explicitly manipulated free agency by leveraging massive cap space and future first-round picks to guarantee their own landing spot. Furthermore, people didn’t universally crown the Celtics as a dominant superteam until after they actually won their championship. This Matters and People Care because LeBron has and Will continue to have a massive influence on the next generation of players like Durant for example
You’re actually a moron if you believe half the shit you just spewed from your mouth about people not expecting the Celtics to go far and compete for a chip.
Also the Heat did all that shit to get LeBron to come to South Beach because the Celtics were the dominate team in the East. If the big three Celtics were never a thing and LeBron was given even an announce of help by the Cavs front office he wouldn’t have gone to the Heat. The fact is that the Big Three Celtics were the leagues first super team.
There is adding superstars through free agency to make super teams, then there is adding a MVP player to a roster that just went 73-9
So what team is turning down KD?
There was a cap spike and Golden State Took Advantage with Stephs contract being the most undervalued in NBA History. LeBron literally went back to the Cavs only after they received 2 number one picks two years in a row. I’m not a GSW Fan but LeBron literally paved the way for the Super Team era, While Curry is the embodiment of Team Loyalty. LeBron’s consistently done this, he only joined the Lakers after they had already had all of they’re lottery picks drafted and decided they were going to trade them for better players
If you think that’s comparable there’s no point in discussing with you
Yeah, Boston didnt got KG some years before, it was Lebron who created the Super Teams idea…
Through Free Agency, Yes
You just started watching ball three years ago if you think LeBron invented super teams
I was and still am a professional Draymond hater so this made me happy
Cosign this profession. I’ll even be an unpaid intern.
The hate for Daymond still flows. I can’t stand they have him on inside the NBA.
Knowing what happened in this Finals, it’s surprising that Draymond is one of the biggest LeBron glazers in the NBA.
10 years ago, our fanbase had a successful hate watch, only for history to repeat itself 10 years later, and reward our fanbase with another successful hate watch. Bittersweet.
There will be plenty more bud
You talking about Spurs v Thunder right?
The amount of shit some thunder flairs have been talking lately you’d think their team won the finals, not even just the series against the spurs lol
I mean their team won the 2025 finals so
Fair enough, just talking about how your fanbase was “rewarded” this year after getting beat in conference finals doesn’t make sense to me haha
Success isn’t binary. They had two key players injured. Thunder fans should be sad they didn’t repeat but that doesn’t mean we have to act like they’re bums
Spurs also had key players injured during that series. I get what they’re trying to do, but it just reads as cope honestly
Who was injured? The spurs were as healthy going into the finals as they could
Fox and harper were key and both injured during the okc series, not talking about the finals
BLOCKED BY JAMES
How is he still doin it 10 years later lmao I thought he was pretty old in 2016 already
He’s gonna be dunking with his walker in his offhand 20 years from now. Just settle in.
beside the point, but those cavs jerseys are heinous
You think so? They’re not my favorite but I definitely fuck with them
I’m witcha brotha I hated those jerseys lol
And yet, as always is the case - because they won the title in those jerseys, every damn person in Cleveland bought one almost immediately after.
Winning cures everything.
They are iconic simply because we won the title in them
Pretty trash but are now highly coveted in the jersey community
It doesn’t really matter, but like…imagine if LeBron made that dunk over Draymond at the end
Greatest game in basketball history
Those last few minutes were so tense. No one was making anything until Kyrie made his 3. It felt so important because shots were at such a premium.
Also Bron barely missing the most insane poster on Draymond was wild. If he made that dunk, internet might have exploded.
USA vs Serbia in the Olympics since we were legit going to lose that game before the Big 3 + Embiid/Booker put the entire country on their backs
lol nahh
🙂↔️
Fucking 10 years ago, we’re getting older folks
This was at the height of my coke and alcohol consumption, it was an incredible series.
Impressive, once in a lifetime run.
LeBron and his son Kyrie put on a show for the ages.
Plus sliding tackles and broken bones.
That Kyrie shot was ice cold. Step away 3 from an angle. That’s mad sorcery.
You said 10 years ago??
Also read that Run The Jewels’ “Nobody Speak” is 10 , and that fucked me up
Greatest moment of my basketball watching life. (You can remove basketball watching from that sentence)
2019 for me but I have obvious heavy bias. Outside of that, no series tops 2016 and I’ve been watching since the mid 90s.
Greatest championship win in NBA history, without a doubt.
Why didn’t Curry shake hands with the Cavs?
I saw an excellent breakdown of LBJs block one time. Earlier in the game Iguodala went up for a similar layup on the inside and made a move to go around like here. LeBron knew that and angled his block to exactly stop the adjusted shot. Insane.
link pls
When you watch too Bron said he had his left hand ready in case Iggy tried to reverse it
So 10 years later the series clinching game was a 4 point win, with a one point difference
93-89 Final score G7, 2016
94-90 Final score G5, 2026
Seminal moment. LeBron was super human this series, but especially game 7. He was already an all time great, but this game pushed him even higher.
Greatest comeback ever. For my money, greatest basketball game ever.
Best playoff series of my watching basketball and I started in the early 90s
blocked by james will always be relevant
What are these Cavs jerseys that are basically just t-shirts!?
You must’ve not watched basketball during the sleeved jersey era of the mid-2010s.
The 2010s had some awesome finals (2011 Mavs, 2014 Spurs, 2016 Cavs).
It’s hard to believe that 10 years later, 3 out of 5 Cavs starters are still active, and 4 out of 5 Warriors starters are still active.
That block is always jarring to watch, I keep forgetting how fast he flies in the air like a literal superhero.
very inspiring to watch Kyrie and his father figure complete the comeback on Father’s day
I was so happy to watch this live and get to experience this. My favorite NBA live moment besides the Dwight Magic playoff run against the Cavs and Celtics.
This series was very exciting to watch 🔥
Guess Draymond is as unsportsmanlike being as Wemby too when it comes to shaking hands
https://www.instagram.com/reels/DZxNrrPua8_/
Draymond literally waited on the court to shake hands with Bron. You are an idiot.
I agree go Cavs
Damn. It’s been 10 years already???
Left out what would’ve possibly been the greatest dunk of all time
I’m not even a Cavs fan, but that was a top five sports moment for me in my life and I’m in my 40s
How did LeBron so smoothly put his champ shirt on over his head mid interview and not even graze his hat. True professional right there.
Where’s dpoy Love
Battle of the Bastards was on at the same time. What a night.
Biggest choke job ever
As a warriors fan this series haunted me for a while (as much as it could haunt a fan of course, I didn’t play any of the games). To forever be the team with the best reg season record but also the only team to blow a 3-1 lead in the finals really sucks, and you never hear the end of it from the warrior haters. Thankfully it lead to the KD years and a few more chips but it’ll never erase that kind of defeat. Huge respect to LeBron Kyrie and the rest of the Cavs cause they really balled out in a superhuman way.
It’s such a travesty that Fred McLeod (RIP) and Austin Carr’s commentating of Game 7 is lost to time. Not sure if I’ve ever heard from anyone who attended the watch party but I imagine it was electric. IT’S OVER!
I got to live through this and no one can take it away from me.
I watched this game with my father-in-law, a lifelong Cleveland fan.
He likes to be a tough guy who never shows any emotion. Woodworker/carpenter who always gives me shit when I need some of his help around our house. Essentially Ron Swanson.
The man fell to the ground and starting crying at the end of this game.
Was an awesome series
I’ve made my peace with this game
I have not…
Good.
LeBron and the Cavs winning this series made the Cavs vs Warriors rivalry look like a competitive rivalry that the Warriors ended up winning.
If the Warriors won all four Finals, people would view them the same way people view the 60s Celtics and 90s Bulls, and people would sympathize with LeBron more and not respect the Warriors as much.
Am I the only one who thinks that Iguodala’s layup was absolutely not going in regardless of the block??
Hindsight is 20⁄20, but the Warriors should have doubled Kyrie off that screen instead of switching. Lebron was in the corner with Iggy next to him and was out of the play. If they double, Kyrie either shoots immediately or he passes to JR, and you can live with JR Smith hitting an open shot. Giving Kyrie an iso on Curry was not a good idea.
Screwed up the 4-peat!
Low key shoutout to JR Swish for his run in the third quarter too
Is the whole offseason now just people karma farming LeBron highlights?
The greatest series ever played and greatest game of basketball ever played. Immortal.
JR Smith doesn’t get any credit for his part in the 2 biggest plays of that game.
The LeBron chase-down: Smith shows to Steph who passes to Iggy, Smith then recovers to pressure Iggy making Iggy avoid Smith giving LeBron the time needed to make the block.
The Kyrie 3: Smith sets a great screen on Klay to force the switch and doesn’t allow Klay to double allowing Kyrie to get a 1-on-1.
JR gets a ton of shit (deservedly so) for his terrible mistake in Game 1 of the ‘18 Finals, but he deserves some love for his part in the closing seconds of Game 7 in ‘16.
The greatest NBA Finals comeback of all time.
Goaltending …. Lebron hand hit the rim and net
Only goaltending if the ball is on rim and you touch it
I’ve always wondered… was Igoudala’s layup for “The Block” going in anyways? It looks like it was going to miss badly either way