June 19, 2016, 10 years ago: This was the 2nd of 4 straight seasons in which the Golden State Warriors faced the Cleveland Cavaliers in the NBA Finals. It was also the season in which the Warriors set a new NBA record for wins in a season, going 73-9.
It was the 1 of the 4 Finals that the Warriors lost.
In 1967, the Philadelphia 76ers set a new record for wins in an NBA regular season: 68. In 1972, the Los Angeles Lakers broke it, with 69. In 1996, the Chicago Bulls broke that, with 72. And all 3 of them won the NBA Championship.
In 2016, the Warriors, defending NBA Champions, won 73. With Steve Kerr coaching Stephen Curry, Draymond Green, Andre Iguodala and Klay Thompson, all of them probably headed for the Basketball Hall of Fame, it seemed like no one could stop them.
Certainly not the Cleveland Cavaliers, whom they beat in the previous year's Finals. LeBron James had abandoned them -- or been chased out, depending on who you believe -- after the 2010 season, having played 7 seasons and led them to a single Finals, in 2007. With the Miami Heat, he played 4 seasons, reached the Finals every year, and won in 2012 and 2013.
For Cleveland, and for Northern Ohio, there had not been a World Championship in any sport since the Browns won the 1964 NFL Championship -- effectively, Super Bowl -II. The Browns had lost the NFL Championship Game in 1965, '68 and '69; and the AFC Championship Game in the seasons of 1986, '87 and '89.
The Indians (who became the Guardians in 2022) hadn't won a World Series since 1948, or a Pennant since 1954, or even been in a Pennant race since 1959, before winning the American League Pennant in 1995 and 1997, losing the World Series both times. They also reached the AL Championship Series in 1998 and 2007, but lost both times.
The Cavaliers reached the NBA Eastern Conference Finals in 1976 and 1992, before Akron, Ohio native LeBron arrived in 2003. He led them to the NBA Finals in 2007, but lost to the San Antonio Spurs. They never seemed to give him enough supporting players, and so he left, winning titles in Miami, before coming home to new Cavs ownership, to try again.
He got them to the Finals in 2015, but the Warriors won. And when the Warriors jumped out to a 3-1 lead in the 2016 Finals -- winning Game 1, 104-89; winning Game 2, 110-77; losing Game 3, 120-90; and winning Game 4, 108-97 -- it looked bad for LeBron.
But the Cavs won Game 5 in Oakland, 112-97. They won Game 6 in Cleveland, 115-101. It all came down to a Game 7 in Oakland. The host Warriors should have won.
The day before, The day before Game 7, Cavaliers coach Tyronn Lue took his players to the famous San Quentin Prison in Marin County, north of San Francisco. He showed them the now-retired electric chair, and Lue told them, "That's pressure, not a Game 7."
Game 7 was close, with 20 lead changes and 11 ties. It was the only game in the series to have a final margin of fewer than 10 points. At halftime, the Warriors led 49–42. But they failed to score a basket during the last 4:39 of the game.
With the score tied at 89, and 1:50 remaining in regulation, LeBron delivered what became known as "The Block," on a layup attempt by Andre Iguodala. Kyrie Irving made a 3-point field goal over Stephen Curry to give Cleveland a 92–89 lead with 53 seconds left.
Kevin Love forced Curry into a contested three-pointer, which he missed. LeBron made 1 of 2 free throws, putting them 4 points ahead with only 10.6 seconds left. The Cavaliers fouled Draymond Green with 6.5 seconds remaining. Curry and Marreese Speights each missed a 3, and time expired.
LeBron led all Cavaliers with 27 points and became only the 3rd player ever in NBA history to record a triple-double in an NBA Finals Game 7, with 27 points, 11 assists and 11 rebounds. Lue, a reserve guard on the 2000 and 2001 Lakers, became the 14th person to win an NBA Championship as a player and as a head coach.
(The other 2 players with a triple-double in an NBA Finals Game 7 were Lakers. In 1969, Jerry West lived up to his nickname, "Mr. Clutch": He had 42 points, 13 rebounds and 12 assists, but the Lakers lost to the Boston Celtics, anyway. In 1988, James Worthy lived up to his nickname, "Big Game James": He had 36 points 16 rebounds and 10 assists, and the Lakers beat the Detroit Pistons.)
The Cavaliers became the first team in NBA history to come back from a 3–1 series deficit to win the NBA Finals. They became the 1st NBA Champion to clinch all their playoff series on the road since the 1999 San Antonio Spurs, and the 1st road team to win a Finals Game 7 since the 1978 Washington Bullets.
The Cavaliers won their 1st championship in franchise history, in their 46th season. What's more, it ended a 52-year major league sports championship drought for Northern Ohio, since the Cleveland Browns won the 1964 NFL Championship. It was the 1st World Championship for any Ohio team since the Cincinnati Reds won the 1990 World Series, almost 36 years.
For Cleveland, and for Northern Ohio, all was forgiven with LeBron. "Believeland" had believed in him, and he had rewarded that belief. This remains the only NBA Finals in which a single player has led both teams in points, assists, steals, and blocks. A parade was held, ending in a ceremony at City Hall, attended by Jim Brown of the 1964 Browns.
Was there a carryover? Not really: The Warriors got up and beat the Cavs in the Finals in 2017 and '18. The Indians got to extra innings of Game 7 of the World Series in 2016, as they had in 1997 -- but, as in that season, they lost. And it took the Browns until 2020 to make the Playoffs again.
LeBron ended up going to 8 straight NBA Finals, 9 in 10 years, and 10 in 14. But it was a mixed record: He won with the Heat in 2012 and '13, with the Cavs in 2016, and with the Lakers in 2020; but he lost with the Cavs in 2007, '15, '17 and '18, and with the Heat in 2011 and '14. He went 4-6 in Finals. compare that to Bill Russell, 11-1; Wilt Chamberlain, 2-4; John Havlicek, 7-0; Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, 6-4; Magic Johnson, 5-4; Michael Jordan, 6-0; Shaquille O'Neal, 4-2; Kobe Bryant, 5-2; Tim Duncan, 5-1; and Curry, 4-2.
LeBron may be the NBA's all-time leading scorer. And, as the de facto (if not official) head coach and general manager of the Lakers, one of the most successful teams in any sport, he might be the most powerful single player in the history of North American sports.
But the "GOAT" -- Greatest Of All Time? Not by a long shot.
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