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The 2016 NBA Finals may go down as the greatest comeback in NBA history. LeBron James led the Cleveland Cavaliers from being down 3-1 against the Golden State Warriors, who were defending champions and had just completed their historic 73-9 season.
After winning Game 6 and tying the series 3-3, James had some words for his teammates.
“They f**ked up, mentally and physically," James said.
James said this because, after Golden State had the series under control, it was now tied 3-3 with the Cavaliers having the momentum. The Warriors knew what it was like because they just came back from the same deficit in the Western Conference finals against the OKC Thunder.
LeBron James’ confidence had to be at an all-time high after scoring 41 points to go along with 11 assists and eight rebounds in Game 6. This was his second consecutive 41-point game as both he and Kyrie Irving scored 41 in Game 5. This was James reclaiming his best-player-in-the-world status after Stephen Curry won back-to-back league MVP awards.
The Cavaliers went on to complete the comeback by defeating the Warriors 93-89 in Game 7. LeBron James was able to secure his third NBA title and first one ever for Cleveland.
James was named Finals MVP after averaging 27.0 points per game, 11.3 rebounds per game and 8.9 assists per game during the series. He was clearly the best player on the court and avenged the previous year’s six-game finals loss when Cleveland was decimated by injuries.
The 2016 Finals changed the NBA
The Warriors lost the 2016 NBA Finals to the Cavaliers after winning a record 73 games during the regular season. By not finishing the deal and winning the championship, it made the regular season appear to not matter as much. Golden State then recruited the league's best free agent that summer.
The team brought Kevin Durant in via free agency after he just led a team that nearly knocked off the Warriors in the Western Conference finals. This took away their top threat in the conference and made them much harder to beat in the NBA Finals. A team replacing Harrison Barnes with someone who could be perceived as the league's second-best player made the Warriors almost impossible to beat.
The Warriors went on to beat LeBron James and the Cavaliers in the next two NBA Finals before losing the 2019 Finals to the Toronto Raptors. Most observers believe that loss was due to major injuries to Klay Thompson and Kevin Durant.
