For decades, the Cleveland Cavaliers have been the maid of honor team, even with LeBron James on the list.
But that all changed in 2016, and it came in an unexpected way, as they trailed in the NBA Finals three games to one against the Golden State Warriors, a team that won a league record 73 regular season games.
Cleveland won the next two games to set up a Game 7 in Oakland, and the contest was back and forth.
Everyone remembers Kyrie Irving’s huge 3-pointer about a minute earlier that put the team up by a triple, but in addition to that, the Cavs put together a defensive stop for the ages.
Monday was the seventh anniversary of the first-ever NBA championship, and they honored the occasion by reminding fans of this brutal defensive stop.
station. pic.twitter.com/etjeTuscg1
– Cleveland Cavaliers (cavs) June 19, 2023
Many feel the 2016 title was the toughest in basketball history because the Cavs were down 3-1 in the series and had to win Game 7 on the road over the winningest team in history during the regular season.
James wasn’t shooting well in Game 7, but had a creative block chase against Warriors winger Andre Iguodala late in the game to keep his team in contention.
The Akron, Ohio native left for the second time in 2018, but now the Cavs have a young rookie team led by Donovan Mitchell, who is a standout performer in his own right.
The current Cavs hope to hang their own banner at Rocket Mortgage Fieldhouse in the coming years.
the next:
Analyst pitches Garrett Allen’s trade proposal to Cavs