Revisiting top 5 moments from the 2016 NBA Finals

The last decade has seen basketball fans witness some very special NBA Finals. From the nerve-racking drama between the San Antonio Spurs and the Miami Heat in 2013, to the inspiring play of the Kawhi Leonard-led Toronto Raptors in 2019, the Finals are the ultimate stage for teams and players to showcase their greatness.

The 2016 NBA Finals between the Golden State Warriors and the Cleveland Cavaliers would perhaps rank as among the best NBA Finals in this regard. It had all the ingredients of what makes a Finals matchup particularly memorable. Both teams were led by all-time superstars: LeBron James for the Cavaliers and Stephen Curry for the Warriors.

The series finished in seven games, an important prerequisite for an NBA Finals to be counted among the best of all-time. Even more importantly, it provided a situation where one team came back from a 1-3 deficit to win the Finals 4-3 for the first time in NBA history.

On the five-year anniversary mark of that intense and keenly-contested Finals, we look back at the five best moments from that epic series.

#5 Draymond Green gets suspended for Game 5; James, Irving drop 82 on Warriors in Game 5

The Warriors were up to a 2-1 lead. With the score at 96-86 in their favor in the fourth quarter of Game 4, they were cruising to a win in that game as well. But with under three minutes to go, Draymond Green got entangled with LeBron James on a play and the two players ended up jawing with each other.

After the game, which the Warriors won, the league issued Green with a flagrant foul. Since Green had already picked up three flagrant fouls in the playoffs, this fourth one, meant that he was suspended for Game 5. That decision is when the series actually turned on its head.

With the Warriors losing Green, their defensive lynchpin, James and teammate Kyrie Irving poured in a combined 82 points (41 each) in Game 5, in one of the greatest performances by a pair of teammates in the NBA Finals. The performance forced a Game 6.

#4 LeBron James blocks Stephen Curry and give him a stare down in Game 6

LeBron stares at Curry after blocking his shot

With the Golden State Warriors losing Game 5, they had a chance to win the Finals on the road in Cleveland. But with Harrison Barnes going scoreless and the team enduring a horrid offensive night where they shot just 40.2% from the field, the Warriors faced an uphill challenge all through Game 6.

Trailing by 13 points late in the fourth quarter of that game, Stephen Curry tried to make a one-on-one play against James. James had switched onto Curry and was guarding him from the top of the key, outside the three-point line. Curry penetrated inside, dribbling with his left hand. At the last instant, he braked and tried to fake James with a right-handed layup. Curry then switched hands and tried to use the glass with his left hand to score a bucket.

But James did not buy Curry’s ball fake. He swatted Curry’s attempt and then stared him down, even talking trash to him in the process. The entire sequence had the home fans up on their feet in applause.

#3 Stephen Curry throws his mouthpiece, gets ejected in Game 6

To add salt to the injury, Stephen Curry fouled James 10 seconds later, with 4:22 left in the fourth quarter. Curry was so disgusted with the foul call, his sixth, that he threw his mouthguard at a fan in frustration.

Needless to say, Curry was ejected from the game, a first in his NBA career. The Warriors went on to lose 101-115, setting up a much-anticipated Game 7 back in Golden State.

#2 Chase-down block on Andre Iguodala by LeBron James in Game 7

LeBron blocks Iguodala's shot in the dying moments of Game 7

LeBron James’ block on Curry in Game 6 was good. But if you have to pick up one play that highlights James' defensive chops, then it has to be the one that he pulled out against Andre Iguodala in Game 7 of the 2016 NBA Finals.

With the score tied at 89 late in the fourth quarter, both teams were looking to break the deadlock. Neither team had been able to score for more than two-and-a-half minutes. But with the game clock winding down below the two-minute mark, Andre Iguodala grabbed a rebound off a Kyrie Irving miss and pushed the ball down the floor by himself in transition.

The Warriors were in a two-on-one situation, with Curry running alongside Iguodala. The duo only had a backtracking JR Smith in front of them. After crossing half-court, Iguodala made a pass to Curry, only to get the ball back from him on the bounce. Having crossed Smith, Iguodala went for a layup, only for LeBron James to come out of nowhere and block Iggy’s layup with his right hand.

The entire sequence was entirely incredible simply because James was trailing the play and Iguodala appeared to have an easy bucket. But James’ athleticism and his reach just snuffed the life out of Iguodala’s scoring plans.

#1 Kyrie Irving hits the dagger three over Curry in Game 7

Kyrie Irving shoots the dagger over Steph Curry

Continuing from the previous moment, when James blocked Iguodala, both teams still did not score for another minute of play. This meant that both Golden State and Cleveland had gone scoreless for three-and-a-half minutes of play.

But then with a minute left in the fourth quarter, and the score still tied at 89, Kyrie Irving found himself in a one-on-one situation against Steph Curry on the perimeter. With the Warriors fans on their feet, Kyrie showed off his handles. He dribbled the ball from his right hand to the left. He took the ball between his legs and then with one side-step from the right wing, Irving rose and made a contested three over Curry.

Outside of Ray Allen’s bizarre backtracking three in Game 6 of the 2013 NBA Finals, Irving’s shot over Curry has to be the greatest shot in NBA history. James nailed a free throw forty seconds later to give Cleveland a 93-89 win, but it was Kyrie with his dagger trey that killed the Warriors’ chances of winning a second successive NBA title.