2016 NBA Finals

2016 NBA Finals

Team Coach Wins Cleveland Cavaliers Tyronn Lue 4 Golden State Warriors Steve Kerr 3
Dates:	June 2–19
MVP:	LeBron James (Cleveland Cavaliers)
Eastern Finals: Cavaliers defeated Raptors, 4–2 Western Finals: Warriors defeated Thunder, 4–3
NBA Finals
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The 2016 NBA Finals was the championship series of the 2015–16 season of the National Basketball Association (NBA) and the conclusion of the season's 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 fourth team to win the championship after losing the first two games, after the 1969 Boston Celtics, 1977 Portland Trail Blazers, and 2006 Miami Heat. It was the 14th rematch of the previous NBA Finals in history, the first Finals since 2008 in which the number one seed in each conference met, and the first since 2013 in which the number one seed in the East as well as the first since then in which an Eastern Conference team won. It was the second straight rematch in back-to-back years, as the Miami Heat and San Antonio Spurs played each other in 2013 and 2014. The series was played from June 2 to 19. LeBron James won the Finals MVP Award (for the third time in his career) unanimously, receiving all 11 Finals MVP votes, and was also the first player in NBA history to lead all players in a playoff series in points, rebounds, assists, steals, and blocks. His stellar performance in the series, which included a clutch block in Game 7 on Andre Iguodala, helped it become known as one of the greatest NBA Finals of all time.

Golden State, which earned home-court advantage with setting the NBA regular-season wins record (73–9), jumped to a 2–0 lead in the series while recording the largest combined margin of victory (48) through two games in NBA Finals history. Cleveland returned home and responded with a 120–90 win in Game 3, but the Warriors won Game 4 to take a 3–1 series lead. The Cavaliers won the next three games to win their first championship in franchise history and end the Cleveland sports curse. They are also the first team in Finals history to overcome a 3–1 deficit and the fourth team in NBA history to win the series after losing the first two games. It marked the first time since 1978 that Game 7 was won by the road team and the first time in NBA history where a 3-1 deficit was overcome by the team without homecourt advantage. The Cavs also became the first team since the Detroit Pistons against the Los Angeles Lakers in 1989 to win all four series on the road. Because of Cleveland's comeback, these Finals are widely regarded as among the greatest in NBA history.

For the first time since 2004, a new scheduling format was instituted for the Finals. In previous years, the Finals were played in a Thursday–Sunday–Tuesday scheme. However, the league changed its scheduling to ensure an extra day off for both teams, which have to travel from one city to another during the series. This, along with the designated travel day, took place after Games 2, 4, 5, and 6. Coincidentally, the National Hockey League adopted this similar practice during that year's Stanley Cup Finals; however, the NBA chose to schedule an extra day off between Games 1 and 2 so as to avoid competing with Game 3 of the Stanley Cup Finals (which normally takes place on the first Saturday of June).

The win by the Cavaliers was the first major professional sports championship won by a team based in Cleveland since 1964 (when the Cleveland Browns defeated the Baltimore Colts in the 1964 NFL Championship Game), and the first-ever championship won by the Cavaliers franchise.

As of 2022, this was the last time that there was a Game 7 in the NBA Finals.

In previous years, the Finals were played on a Tuesday–Thursday–Sunday scheme. However, the league changed its scheduling to ensure an extra day off for both teams.

Background

Cleveland Cavaliers

This was Cleveland's second consecutive trip to the NBA Finals, and third overall, seeking to win their first ever NBA championship. This would also be the sixth consecutive NBA Finals appearance (and seventh overall) for LeBron James, the most for any player not part of the 1960s Boston Celtics, and the fifth for James Jones (who technically qualified for the 2011 NBA Finals along with James, but did not play). James and Jones are also the first two players (the other being Andre Iguodala) to do it with two different teams.

Despite holding the best record in the Eastern Conference at 30–11 midway through the season on January 22, 2016, the Cavaliers fired head coach David Blatt. Associate head coach Tyronn Lue was then promoted to replace Blatt. General manager David Griffin cited "a lack of fit with our personnel and our vision" as the reason for Blatt's firing.

Cleveland finished the regular season with a 57–25 record, capturing the Central Division title and the top playoff seed in the Eastern Conference. They then advanced to the Finals after sweeping both the Detroit Pistons in the first round and the Atlanta Hawks (the team the the Cavs swept in the Conference Finals the previous year) in the second round, and defeating the Toronto Raptors in the Eastern Conference Finals in six games. The Cavaliers were the first team in history to go to two consecutive NBA Finals with rookie head coaches.

Golden State Warriors

This was the defending NBA champion Golden State Warriors' second consecutive trip to the NBA Finals and eighth overall. The Warriors broke the record set by the 1995–96 Chicago Bulls by finishing the regular season with a 73–9 record. In addition, the Warriors broke numerous other NBA records, including most road wins (34), best start to a season (24–0) and longest regular-season home win streak (54 dating back to the 2014–15 season). They also became the first team to make over 1,000 three-pointers in the regular-season with 1,077, eclipsing the previous record of 933 set by the 2014–15 Houston Rockets.

The Warriors were led by Stephen Curry, who was named the NBA Most Valuable Player (MVP) for the second straight season. The Splash Brothers twosome of Curry and Klay Thompson were the highest scoring duo in the league, combining to average 52.2 points per game. Head coach Steve Kerr missed the first 43 regular season games because of a back injury. Assistant coach Luke Walton served as interim head coach during Kerr's absence and he led the Warriors to a 39–4 start.

In the playoffs, the Warriors defeated the Houston Rockets in the first round and the Portland Trail Blazers in the Conference Semifinals in five games each. Curry missed six games in the first two rounds due to injuries. He missed two games after tweaking his right ankle in Game 1 against the Rockets. In his first game back in Game 4, he sprained his right knee and was sidelined for two weeks, missing four games. In Game 7 of the Western Conference Finals, the Warriors defeated the Oklahoma City Thunder, 96–88, becoming only the 10th team in NBA history to overcome a 3–1 series deficit, and advancing to a second straight NBA Finals for the first time since 1947 and 1948 when the franchise was in Philadelphia.

Road to the Finals

Main article: 2016 NBA Playoffs

Golden State Warriors (Western Conference Champion)			Cleveland Cavaliers (Eastern Conference Champion)
73–9 (.890) 1st Pacific, 1st West, 1st Overall	Regular season		57–25 (.695) 1st Central, 1st East, 3rd Overall
Defeated the (8) Houston Rockets, 4–1	First Round		Defeated the (8) Detroit Pistons, 4–0
Defeated the (5) Portland Trail Blazers, 4–1	Conference Semifinals		Defeated the (4) Atlanta Hawks, 4–0
Defeated the (3) Oklahoma City Thunder, 4–3	Conference Finals		Defeated the (2) Toronto Raptors, 4–2

Regular season series

The Warriors won the regular season series 2–0.

December 25, 2015		Cleveland Cavaliers 83, Golden State Warriors 89				Oracle Arena, Oakland, California Attendance: 19,596 Referees: Courtney Kirkland, Scott Foster, Matt Boland
		Scoring by quarter: 19-28, 23-17, 17-19, 24-25
		Pts: LeBron James 25 Rebs: Kevin Love 18 Asts: Kevin Love 4		Pts: Draymond Green 22 Rebs: Draymond Green 15 Asts: Green, Curry 7 each

January 18, 2016		Golden State Warriors 132, Cleveland Cavaliers 98				Quicken Loans Arena, Cleveland, Ohio Attendance: 20,562 Referees: Kane Fitzgerald, Ken Mauer, Tre Maddox
		Scoring by quarter: 34-21, 36-23, 34-23, 28-31
		Pts: Stephen Curry 35 Rebs: Draymond Green 7 Asts: Draymond Green 10		Pts: LeBron James 16 Rebs: Kevin Love 6 Asts: Matthew Dellavedova 6

Series summary

Legend: OT denotes a game decided in overtime

Game	Date	Road Team	Result	Home Team
Game 1	June 2	Cleveland	89–104 (0–1)	Golden State
Game 2	June 5	Cleveland	77–110 (0–2)	Golden State
Game 3	June 8	Golden State	90–120 (2–1)	Cleveland
Game 4	June 10	Golden State	108–97 (3–1)	Cleveland
Game 5	June 13	Cleveland	112–97 (2–3)	Golden State
Game 6	June 16	Golden State	101–115 (3–3)	Cleveland
Game 7	June 19	Cleveland	93–89 (4–3)	Golden State

Game summaries

All times are in Eastern Daylight Time (UTC−4)

Game 1

Game 1	1st	2nd	3rd	4th	Total
Cavaliers	24	19	25	21	89
Warriors	28	24	22	30	104

June 2 9:00 PM	Boxscore	Cleveland Cavaliers 89, Golden State Warriors 104				Oracle Arena, Oakland, California Attendance: 19,596 Referees: Ken Mauer, Marc Davis, Ed Malloy	ABC
		Scoring by quarter: 24–28, 19–24, 25–22, 21–30
		Pts: Kyrie Irving 26 Rebs: Kevin Love 13 Asts: LeBron James 9		Pts: Shaun Livingston 20 Rebs: Draymond Green 11 Asts: Draymond Green 7
		Golden State leads series, 1–0

The Warriors defeated the Cavaliers 104–89 in Game 1 to take a 1–0 series lead. The Cavaliers led 68–67 before the Warriors broke the game open with a 29–9 run spanning the third and fourth quarters to take a 96–76 lead. Cleveland got the deficit within eleven points at 98–87 after an 11–2 run, but Stephen Curry and Klay Thompson nailed back-to-back three-pointers to essentially seal the victory for Golden State. While Curry and Thompson had a rough night combining for 20 points, the Warriors got a lift from its bench, outscoring the Cavaliers' bench 45–10. Shaun Livingston scored his playoff-career high 20 points to lead Golden State, while Kyrie Irving led all scorers with 26 points. LeBron James fell one assist shy of a triple-double (23 points, 12 rebounds, 9 assists).

Game 2

Game 1	1st	2nd	3rd	4th	Total
Cavaliers	21	23	18	15	77
Warriors	19	33	30	28	110

June 5 8:00 PM	Boxscore	Cleveland Cavaliers 77, Golden State Warriors 110				Oracle Arena, Oakland, California Attendance: 19,596 Referees: Scott Foster, Tony Brothers, James Capers	ABC
		Scoring by quarter: 21–19, 23–33, 18–30, 15–28
		Pts: LeBron James 19 Rebs: LeBron James 8 Asts: LeBron James 9		Pts: Draymond Green 28 Rebs: Stephen Curry 9 Asts: Green, Livingston, Thompson 5 each
		Golden State leads series, 2–0

The Warriors defeated the Cavaliers 110–77 in Game 2 to take a 2–0 series lead and won seven straight games against Cleveland dating back to Game 4 of last year's Finals. Cleveland took a 28–22 lead about two minutes into the second quarter, but Golden State answered with a 20–2 run while outscoring the Cavs 30–16 the rest of the period. During the run, Forward Kevin Love suffered a head injury after taking an elbow to the back of the head from Harrison Barnes while attempting to grab a defensive rebound. Love stayed throughout the remainder of the period, but did not play the second half. The Warriors continued to dominate Cleveland from there, outscoring the Cavaliers 58–33 in the final two quarters. Draymond Green led all scorers with 28 points, including 5-of-8 from three-point range. Stephen Curry and Klay Thompson added 18 and 17 points, respectively, while drilling four threes each.

With their victory, the Warriors posted the highest-winning margin in the first two Finals games with a 48-point differential. They also became the first team to take a 2-0 lead in the Finals since the Los Angeles Lakers against the Orlando Magic in 2009. LeBron James led the Cavs with 19 points, 8 rebounds, 9 assists, and 4 steals, surpassing John Stockton for fourth on the all-time playoff steals list. However, he also committed 7 turnovers in the loss.

Game 3

Game 1	1st	2nd	3rd	4th	Total
Warriors	16	27	26	21	90
Cavaliers	33	18	38	31	120

June 8 9:00 PM	Boxscore	Golden State Warriors 90, Cleveland Cavaliers 120				Quicken Loans Arena, Cleveland, Ohio Attendance: 20,562 Referees: Monty McCutchen, Derrick Stafford, Zach Zarba	ABC
		Scoring by quarter: 16–33, 27–18, 26–38, 21–31
		Pts: Stephen Curry 19 Rebs: Harrison Barnes 8 Asts: Draymond Green 7		Pts: LeBron James 32 Rebs: Tristan Thompson 13 Asts: Kyrie Irving 8
		Golden State leads series, 2–1

The Cavaliers avenged their lopsided defeat to Golden State by routing the Warriors 120–90 in Game 3 to cut the series deficit to 2–1 and defeating the Warriors for the first time since Game 3 of last year's Finals and also scored at least 100 points against the Warriors since Game 1's overtime loss in that year's Finals. The Cavaliers scored the game's first nine points en route to outscoring the Warriors 33–16 after one quarter. Golden State rallied to trim Cleveland's lead as low as seven points on a couple of occasions before the Cavs settled for a 51–43 halftime lead. In the second half, Cleveland continued to extend their lead and outscored Golden State 69–47. Kevin Love did not play due to a concussion. LeBron James led all scorers with 32 points. Kyrie Irving added 30 points for the Cavs. Stephen Curry led the Warriors with 19 points, while drilling four threes. Harrison Barnes also contributed 18 points in 33 minutes of play.

Game 4

Game 1	1st	2nd	3rd	4th	Total
Warriors	29	21	29	29	108
Cavaliers	28	27	22	20	97

June 10 9:00 PM	Boxscore	Golden State Warriors 108, Cleveland Cavaliers 97				Quicken Loans Arena, Cleveland, Ohio Attendance: 20,562 Referees: Dan Crawford, Mike Callahan, Jason Phillips	ABC
		Scoring by quarter: 29–28, 21–27, 29–22, 29–20
		Pts: Stephen Curry 38 Rebs: Draymond Green 12 Asts: Andre Iguodala 7		Pts: Kyrie Irving 34 Rebs: LeBron James 13 Asts: LeBron James 9
		Golden State leads series, 3–1

The Warriors defeated the Cavaliers 108–97 in Game 4 to take a 3–1 series lead. After averaging just 16 points in the first three games of the series, Stephen Curry scored 38 and was 7 of 13 on three-pointers. The Warriors made 17 three-pointers, then an NBA record for a single Finals game. They made only 16 two-point field goals, the first time in Finals history that a team made more shots from three-point range. Klay Thompson added 25 points and four three-pointers for Golden State. It was the Warriors' 88th win of the season, which broke the 1995–96 Chicago Bulls record of 87 for most wins in an NBA season (regular-season and postseason combined).

Draymond Green and LeBron James had to be separated in the closing minutes of the game, when Green fell to the ground and James stepped over him. Feeling disrespected, Green swung his arm and appeared to make contact with James' groin.

Game 5

Game 1	1st	2nd	3rd	4th	Total
Cavaliers	29	32	32	19	112
Warriors	32	29	23	13	97

June 13 9:00 PM	Boxscore	Cleveland Cavaliers 112, Golden State Warriors 97				Oracle Arena, Oakland, California Attendance: 19,596 Referees: Monty McCutchen, Marc Davis and Derrick Stafford	ABC
		Scoring by quarter: 29–32, 32–29, 32–23, 19–13
		Pts: Irving, James 41 each Rebs: LeBron James 16 Asts: LeBron James 7		Pts: Klay Thompson 37 Rebs: Andre Iguodala 11 Asts: Andre Iguodala 6
		Golden State leads series, 3–2

The Cavaliers defeated the Warriors 112–97 in Game 5 to narrow the Warriors' series lead to 3–2. LeBron James and Kyrie Irving each scored 41 points to become the first teammates in Finals history to score 40 or more in the same game. James also added 16 rebounds, 7 assists, 3 steals, and 3 blocks, whilst Irving had 6 assists of his own. After Game 4, Draymond Green was assessed a Flagrant Foul 1 for his contact with James that was ruled "unnecessary" and "retaliatory", and James was given a technical foul for taunting. Having accumulated his fourth flagrant foul point in the playoffs, Green was suspended for Game 5, becoming the first player to be suspended from playing in a Finals game since Jerry Stackhouse of the Dallas Mavericks in 2006 against the Miami Heat. Green watched the game from a luxury box in the nearby Oakland Alameda Coliseum, where the Oakland Athletics were also playing a game at the same time, hosting the Texas Rangers.

Warriors Center Andrew Bogut suffered a season-ending injury to his left knee in the second half when he jumped to block a layup attempt by Cavs guard J.R. Smith and came down awkwardly on Smith.

Game 6

Game 1	1st	2nd	3rd	4th	Total
Warriors	11	31	28	30	101
Cavaliers	31	28	21	35	115

June 16 9:00 PM	Boxscore	Golden State Warriors 101, Cleveland Cavaliers 115				Quicken Loans Arena, Cleveland, Ohio Attendance: 20,562 Referees: Scott Foster, Ken Mauer and Jason Phillips	ABC
		Scoring by quarter: 11–31, 32–28, 28–21, 30–35
		Pts: Stephen Curry 30 Rebs: Draymond Green 10 Asts: Draymond Green 6		Pts: LeBron James 41 Rebs: Tristan Thompson 16 Asts: LeBron James 11
		Series tied, 3–3

The Cavaliers defeated the Warriors 115–101 in Game 6 to even the series 3–3. The Cavaliers scored the game's first eight points en route to outscoring the Warriors 31–11 after one quarter. Golden State rallied to trim Cleveland's lead as low as eight points on a couple of occasions before the Cavs settled for a 59–43 halftime lead, with Tristan Thompson having his best performance of the series, registering a double-double in the first half alone. In the second half, Cleveland continued to extend their lead and tied the series. LeBron James led the Cavs with a historic performance of 41 points, 8 rebounds, 11 assists, 4 steals, and 3 blocks whilst only committing 1 turnover. Kyrie Irving added 23 points, while Thompson had 16 rebounds for the Cavaliers. Stephen Curry led the Warriors with 30 points, drilling six threes, and Klay Thompson added 25 points. Back from suspension, Draymond Green was held to just eight points on 3–7 shooting.

James scored 18 straight points for Cleveland from the end of the third quarter to the 7:00 mark of the fourth. Late in the game with the Cavaliers up by 13, he blocked a Curry shot from behind, and afterward had some words for him. With 4:22 left, Curry received his sixth foul and fouled out of the game. He then threw his mouthpiece into the stands in frustration, resulting in a technical foul and his ejection from the game. Curry was the first MVP to foul out of an NBA Finals game since Shaquille O'Neal in 2000. The Cavaliers became the third team to fall behind 3–1 and force Game 7 (and the first in 50 years). James was the first player to have consecutive 40-point games in the Finals since, coincidentally, O'Neal in the 2000 Finals. Following the game, Curry and Warriors head coach Steve Kerr were fined $25,000 each for their actions and public officiating criticism.

Game 7

Game 1	1st	2nd	3rd	4th	Total
Cavaliers	23	19	33	18	93
Warriors	22	27	27	13	89

June 19 8:00 PM	Boxscore	Cleveland Cavaliers 93, Golden State Warriors 89				Oracle Arena, Oakland, California Attendance: 19,596 Referees: Dan Crawford, Mike Callahan, Monty McCutchen	ABC
		Scoring by quarter: 23–22, 19–27, 33–27, 18–13
		Pts: LeBron James 27 Rebs: Kevin Love 14 Asts: LeBron James 11		Pts: Draymond Green 32 Rebs: Draymond Green 15 Asts: Draymond Green 9
		Cleveland wins NBA Finals, 4–3

This season's Finals marked the first time in NBA history in which both teams entered Game 7 with the same total points scored through six games (610 points each). The Cavaliers defeated the Warriors 93–89 in Game 7 to win the series 4–3. Game 7 was close, with 20 lead changes and 11 ties. This was the only game in the series to have a final margin of fewer than 10 points. At halftime, the Warriors were ahead 49–42. In the second half, the Cavaliers outscored the Warriors 51–40 as the Warriors failed to score a basket during the last 4:39 of the game. In the closing minutes of the 4th quarter, LeBron James delivered what became known as "The Block" on a layup attempt by Andre Iguodala with the score tied at 89 and 1:50 remaining in the game. Kyrie Irving made a go-ahead 3-point field goal over Stephen Curry to give Cleveland a 92–89 lead with 0:53 remaining in the game. Before Irving's 3-point field goal, both teams were tied at 699 points scored apiece in this series. Immediately after Irving's 3-pointer, Golden State brought the ball up-court, opting not to call a timeout, and although Golden State got a preferred switch and matchup of Curry on Kevin Love, Love made arguably "the biggest defensive stop of the entire NBA season", and forced Curry into a contested 3-pointer, which he missed. After James hurt his right wrist on a dunk attempt in which he was fouled by Draymond Green, he virtually clinched the title for the Cavaliers by making one of two free throws, putting them 4 points ahead with only 10.6 seconds left in the game. The Cavaliers fouled Green with 6.5 seconds remaining. Curry received the ensuing inbounds pass, pump faked, and shot a three-pointer over Cavaliers Guard Iman Shumpert. The attempt missed, and was rebounded by Marreese Speights of the Warriors who then missed a three-point attempt as time expired.

Green put up his best performance of the Finals, leading all scorers with 32 points, including 6-of-8 from three-point range to go along with 15 rebounds and 9 assists. Curry and Klay Thompson added 17 and 14 points, respectively. James led all Cavaliers with 27 points and became only the third player ever in NBA history to record a triple-double in an NBA Finals Game 7 by adding 11 assists and 11 rebounds. Irving added 26 points for Cleveland, including the clutch three.

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 first NBA champion to clinch all their playoff series on the road since the 1999 San Antonio Spurs, as well as the first road team to win a Finals Game 7 since the 1978 Washington Bullets. The Cavaliers won their first championship in franchise history, ending a 52-year pro sports championship drought for the city of Cleveland (whose previous victory was when the 1964 Cleveland Browns defeated the Baltimore Colts in the History of the NFL championship game), as well as 26-year drought for the State of Ohio (whose previous championship was when the 1990 Cincinnati Reds defeated the Oakland Athletics in the World Series). LeBron James was named the unanimous Finals MVP, becoming only the fifth player in NBA history to earn the award three times or more, joining Michael Jordan, Magic Johnson, Shaquille O'Neal, and Tim Duncan. He also was the overall leader in points, rebounds, assists, steals, and blocks during the series, a feat that had never been accomplished in an NBA playoff series. Tyronn Lue became the 14th coach to win an NBA championship as a head coach and player.

This also marked the first time an NBA Finals went to a Game 7 under the 2-2-1-1-1 format since it was reinstated in 2014.

On July 13, Game 7 of the 2016 NBA Finals received the 2016 ESPY Award for Best Game.

Rosters

Cleveland Cavaliers

2015–16 Cleveland Cavaliers roster

Players

Coaches

Pos. No. Name Height Weight DOB (YYYY-MM-DD) From G 8 Dellavedova, Matthew 6 ft 4 in (1.93 m) 198 lb (90 kg) 1990–09–08 Saint Mary's F/C 9 Frye, Channing 6 ft 11 in (2.11 m) 255 lb (116 kg) 1983–05–17 Arizona G 2 Irving, Kyrie (C) 6 ft 3 in (1.91 m) 193 lb (88 kg) 1992–03–23 Duke F 23 James, LeBron (C) 6 ft 8 in (2.03 m) 250 lb (113 kg) 1984–12–30 St. Vincent–St. Mary HS (OH) F 24 Jefferson, Richard 6 ft 7 in (2.01 m) 233 lb (106 kg) 1980–06–21 Arizona G/F 30 Jones, Dahntay 6 ft 6 in (1.98 m) 225 lb (102 kg) 1980–12–27 Duke G/F 1 Jones, James 6 ft 8 in (2.03 m) 218 lb (99 kg) 1980–10–04 Miami (FL) C 14 Kaun, Sasha 6 ft 11 in (2.11 m) 260 lb (118 kg) 1985–05–08 Kansas F/C 0 Love, Kevin (C) 6 ft 8 in (2.03 m) 251 lb (114 kg) 1988–09–07 UCLA G 12 McRae, Jordan 6 ft 5 in (1.96 m) 179 lb (81 kg) 1991–03–28 Tennessee C 20 Mozgov, Timofey 7 ft 1 in (2.16 m) 275 lb (125 kg) 1986–07–16 Russia G 4 Shumpert, Iman 6 ft 5 in (1.96 m) 220 lb (100 kg) 1990–06–26 Georgia Tech G/F 5 Smith, J. R. 6 ft 6 in (1.98 m) 225 lb (102 kg) 1985–09–09 St. Benedict's Prep (NJ) F/C 13 Thompson, Tristan 6 ft 9 in (2.06 m) 238 lb (108 kg) 1991–03–13 Texas G 52 Williams, Mo 6 ft 1 in (1.85 m) 198 lb (90 kg) 1982–12–19 Alabama

Head coach Tyronn Lue Assistant coach(es) Jim Boylan Bret Brielmaier Larry Drew Damon Jones Mike Longabardi James Posey Phil Handy (player development) Vitaly Potapenko (player development) Legend (C) Team captain (DP) Unsigned draft pick (FA) Free agent (S) Suspended (DL) On assignment to D-League affiliate Injured Roster Last transaction: 2016–04–13

Golden State Warriors

2015–16 Golden State Warriors roster

Players

Coaches

Pos. No. Name Height Weight DOB (YYYY-MM-DD) From G 19 Barbosa, Leandro 6 ft 3 in (1.91 m) 194 lb (88 kg) 1982–11–28 Brazil F 40 Barnes, Harrison 6 ft 8 in (2.03 m) 225 lb (102 kg) 1992–05–30 North Carolina C 12 Bogut, Andrew  7 ft 0 in (2.13 m) 260 lb (118 kg) 1984–11–28 Utah G 21 Clark, Ian 6 ft 3 in (1.91 m) 175 lb (79 kg) 1991–03–07 Belmont G 30 Curry, Stephen (C) 6 ft 3 in (1.91 m) 190 lb (86 kg) 1988–03–14 Davidson C 31 Ezeli, Festus 6 ft 11 in (2.11 m) 265 lb (120 kg) 1989–10–21 Vanderbilt F 23 Green, Draymond (C) 6 ft 7 in (2.01 m) 230 lb (104 kg) 1990–03–04 Michigan State G/F 9 Iguodala, Andre 6 ft 6 in (1.98 m) 215 lb (98 kg) 1984–01–28 Arizona G 34 Livingston, Shaun 6 ft 7 in (2.01 m) 192 lb (87 kg) 1985–09–11 Peoria Central HS (IL) F 36 Looney, Kevon  6 ft 9 in (2.06 m) 220 lb (100 kg) 1996–02–06 UCLA F 20 McAdoo, James Michael 6 ft 9 in (2.06 m) 240 lb (109 kg) 1993–01–04 North Carolina G/F 4 Rush, Brandon 6 ft 6 in (1.98 m) 220 lb (100 kg) 1985–07–07 Kansas F/C 5 Speights, Marreese 6 ft 10 in (2.08 m) 255 lb (116 kg) 1987–08–04 Florida G 11 Thompson, Klay 6 ft 7 in (2.01 m) 215 lb (98 kg) 1990–02–08 Washington State F/C 18 Varejao, Anderson 6 ft 11 in (2.11 m) 273 lb (124 kg) 1982–09–28 Brazil

Head coach Steve Kerr Assistant coach(es) Ron Adams Jarron Collins Luke Walton Bruce Fraser (player development) Legend (C) Team captain (DP) Unsigned draft pick (FA) Free agent (S) Suspended (DL) On assignment to D-League affiliate Injured Roster Last transaction: 2016–06–14

Player statistics

Legend

GP	Games played	GS	Games started	MPG	Minutes per game
FG%	Field-goal percentage	3P%	3-point field-goal percentage	FT%	Free-throw percentage
RPG	Rebounds per game	APG	Assists per game	SPG	Steals per game
BPG	Blocks per game	PPG	Points per game

Cleveland Cavaliers statistics

Player	GP	GS	MPG	FG%	3FG%	FT%	RPG	APG	SPG	BPG	PPG
Dellavedova, MatthewMatthew Dellavedova	6	0	7.6	.263	.167	.833	0.5	1.0	0.0	0.0	2.7
Frye, ChanningChanning Frye	4	0	8.3	.000	.000	1.000	0.8	0.0	0.0	0.5	0.5
Irving, KyrieKyrie Irving	7	7	39.0	.468	.405	.939	3.9	3.9	2.1	0.7	27.1
James, LeBronLeBron James	7	7	41.7	.494	.371	.721	11.3	8.9	2.6	2.3	29.7
Jefferson, RichardRichard Jefferson	7	2	24.0	.516	.167	.636	5.3	0.4	1.3	0.1	5.7
Jones, DahntayDahntay Jones	6	0	3.0	.500	.000	.800	0.3	0.0	0.0	0.2	1.3
Jones, JamesJames Jones	5	0	4.0	.000	.000	.250	0.4	0.4	0.0	0.0	0.2
Love, KevinKevin Love	6	5	26.3	.362	.263	.706	6.8	1.3	0.7	0.3	8.5
McRae, JordanJordan McRae	1	0	3.0	1.000	.000	.000	1.0	0.0	0.0	0.0	4.0
Mozgov, TimofeyTimofey Mozgov	5	0	5.0	.333	.000	.750	1.6	0.0	0.6	0.2	1.4
Shumpert, ImanIman Shumpert	7	0	18.3	.304	.267	1.000	1.6	0.1	0.1	0.3	3.0
Smith, J.R.J.R. Smith	7	7	37.3	.400	.356	.667	2.7	1.6	1.4	0.3	10.6
Thompson, TristanTristan Thompson	7	7	32.3	.636	.000	.533	10.1	0.7	0.3	0.9	10.3
Williams, MoMo Williams	6	0	4.8	.333	.200	.000	0.5	0.2	0.5	0.0	1.5

Golden State Warriors statistics

Player	GP	GS	MPG	FG%	3FG%	FT%	RPG	APG	SPG	BPG	PPG
Barbosa, LeandroLeandro Barbosa	6	0	13.1	.643	.500	.727	1.0	0.8	0.5	0.2	8.2
Barnes, HarrisonHarrison Barnes	7	7	31.7	.352	.310	.600	4.4	1.4	0.7	0.4	9.3
Bogut, AndrewAndrew Bogut	5	5	12.0	.471	.000	.000	3.0	0.6	0.4	2.0	3.2
Clark, IanIan Clark	4	0	4.8	.625	.600	.000	0.8	0.5	0.0	0.0	3.3
Curry, StephenStephen Curry	7	7	35.1	.403	.400	.929	4.9	3.7	0.9	0.7	22.6
Ezeli, FetusFetus Ezeli	7	1	8.6	.300	.000	.500	1.9	0.4	0.1	0.1	2.0
Green, DraymondDraymond Green	6	6	40.0	.486	.406	.783	10.3	6.3	1.7	1.0	16.5
Iguodala, AndreAndre Iguodala	7	2	34.1	.466	.304	.333	6.3	4.1	0.9	0.7	9.1
Livingston, ShaunShaun Livingston	7	0	21.1	.511	.000	.857	3.4	2.9	0.3	0.3	8.3
Michael McAdoo, JamesJames Michael McAdoo	3	0	6.1	1.000	.000	.000	1.3	0.3	0.0	0.0	1.3
Rush, BrandonBrandon Rush	1	0	5.5	.000	.000	.500	1.0	0.0	0.4	0.2	0.2
Speights, MarreeseMarreese Speights	7	0	4.7	.222	.400	1.000	1.3	0.3	0.1	0.3	2.0
Thompson, KlayKlay Thompson	7	7	35.3	.427	.350	.786	3.0	1.9	1.0	0.6	19.6
Varejao, AndersonAnderson Varejao	6	0	6.9	.000	.000	.500	1.3	1.0	0.2	0.0	1.2

Broadcast

In the United States, the NBA Finals aired on ABC with Mike Breen as play-by-play commentator and Jeff Van Gundy and Mark Jackson serving as color commentators. TNT's Craig Sager made an appearance for Game 6 as a sideline reporter, his first appearance at the NBA Finals, and his last game before he died later that year in December. ESPN Radio aired it as well and had Kevin Calabro and Hubie Brown as color commentators. ESPN Deportes provided exclusive Spanish-language coverage of The Finals, with a commentary team of Álvaro Martín and Carlos Morales.

Game	Ratings (households)	American audience (in millions)
1	11.1	19.20
2	9.8	17.49
3	9.7	16.47
4	9.8	16.57
5	11.8	20.53
6	11.8	20.70
7	15.8	31.02
Avg.	11.4	20.28

Aftermath

The Cavaliers and Warriors also met in the following two NBA Finals, the first time in any of North America's four major professional sports leagues that the same two teams met for the championship four years in a row. The Warriors, who added Kevin Durant in the 2016 offseason, defeated the Cavaliers in five games in 2017 and a four-game sweep in 2018. Durant was named the Finals MVP in both series.

The Warriors made it to a fifth consecutive Finals in 2019, which they would lose to the Toronto Raptors in six games. Three years later, they made it to their sixth Finals in eight seasons and defeated the Boston Celtics in six games.

James left the Cavaliers in the 2018 offseason to join the Los Angeles Lakers. He would lead the Lakers to a title in 2020 over his other former team the Miami Heat in six games and win his fourth Finals MVP that year. The Cavaliers have not returned the playoffs until 2023.

Preceded by 2015

NBA Finals 2016

Succeeded by 2017