The 2016 NBA Finals was played between defending champions Golden State Warriors and Cleveland Cavaliers, who had also topped the Western and Eastern Conferences respectively in the 2015-16 regular season. A rematch of the 2015 NBA Finals, it is often referred to as the greatest comeback in NBA Finals history owing to the manner in which the Cavs won the title.
NBA Finals are a best-of-seven-match series, meaning the first team to four victories wins the title. Four games into the series, the Cavs were staring down at the inevitable as the Warriors, who earned the home-court advantage after setting the NBA regular season wins record (73-9), jumped to a 3-1 lead.
The Cavs, however, won the fifth game away from home 112-97, evened the series at home in the sixth game 115-101 and then completed the unthinkable by beating the Warriors away from home again. They claimed the series 4-3 with a 93-89 victory to lift their first NBA title.
DID YOU KNOW?
The Cleveland Cavaliers were the first team in NBA Finals history to overturn a 3-1 deficit and win the NBA title. LeBron James was instrumental in the Cavs victory and it was no surprise that he was awarded the NBA Finals MVP award.
James, in fact, led all players in the Finals in points, rebounds, assists, steals and blocks – the first player in NBA history to ever do so in any play-off series. James averaged 29.7 points. 11.3 rebounds, 8.9 assists, 2.3 blocks and 2.6 steals in the series.
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