History usually feels inevitable once it's written down, but if you were watching the NBA in June 2016, nothing about the Cleveland Cavaliers winning a title felt certain. It felt impossible. Honestly, most people had written them off by Game 4.
The Golden State Warriors weren't just "good." They were the 73-9 juggernaut that had essentially broken basketball. They had the first-ever unanimous MVP in Stephen Curry. They had a 3-1 lead.
No team in NBA Finals history had ever come back from 3-1. None. The record was 0-32. Then, over the course of a week, everything shifted.
The Draymond Green Suspension and the Turning Point
A lot of GSW fans still point to the "nut tap" heard 'round the world. In the closing minutes of Game 4, LeBron James and Draymond Green got tangled up. LeBron stepped over Green—a move many saw as a blatant sign of disrespect—and Green swung his arm, making contact with James’ groin.
The refs didn't call it on the floor. But the league office reviewed it, handed Green a Flagrant 1, and since he had accumulated too many "flagrant points" throughout the playoffs, he was suspended for Game 5.
This was the crack in the door.
Without their defensive anchor, the Warriors looked human. But even with Green out, the Cavs still had to win at Oracle Arena, a place where the Warriors almost never lost. What happened next was purely historic: LeBron James and Kyrie Irving both dropped 41 points in the same game. It was the first time teammates had ever done that in a Finals game. Basically, they decided they weren't going home yet.
The Statistical Madness of LeBron James
People forget how dominant LeBron was across the board. It wasn't just the scoring. By the time the buzzer sounded on Game 7, LeBron had led both teams—not just his own, both teams—in points, rebounds, assists, steals, and blocks for the entire series.
2016 Finals Statistical Leaderboard:
- Points: LeBron James (208)
- Rebounds: LeBron James (79)
- Assists: LeBron James (62)
- Steals: LeBron James (18)
- Blocks: LeBron James (16)
Think about that for a second. It’s statistically absurd. It’s the kind of thing you’d do on Rookie mode in a video game.
Game 7: The Block, The Shot, and The Stop
If you look at the box score for Game 7, it was actually a pretty ugly game. Nobody could buy a bucket in the fourth quarter. It was a slugfest. The score was stuck at 89-89 for nearly four minutes of game time. The tension was so thick you could practically feel it through the TV screen.
Then, the "Trilogy" happened.
The Block
Andre Iguodala had a clear path for a layup that would have given the Warriors a two-point lead with less than two minutes left. Out of nowhere, LeBron sprinted the length of the floor. He pinned the ball against the glass. It’s still one of the most athletic feats ever captured on film. If he’s a tenth of a second late, the Warriors likely win that game.
The Shot
With 53 seconds left, Kyrie Irving found himself isolated against Steph Curry. Kyrie danced at the top of the key, stepped back to his right, and buried a cold-blooded three-pointer. "The Shot" changed the course of NBA history. It didn't just win a ring; it validated Kyrie as one of the greatest "big game" players ever.
The Stop
This is the one people talk about the least. After Kyrie’s shot, the Warriors had a chance to tie. They forced a switch to get Steph Curry onto Kevin Love. Love is a great player, but he was never known for his perimeter defense. Everyone thought Curry was going to cook him. Instead, Love stayed in front of him, sliding his feet like his life depended on it, forcing a contested miss.
Why the Cavs vs GSW 2016 Series Still Matters
This series changed the NBA forever. If the Warriors win this, they are arguably the greatest team of all time, 73-9 with a ring. Instead, they became the "team that blew a 3-1 lead," a meme that haunted them until they signed Kevin Durant a month later.
For Cleveland, it ended a 52-year championship drought. It was the "promise kept" by LeBron.
Actionable Takeaways for Fans and Analysts
- Context matters more than stats: If you just look at Draymond's Game 7 (32 points, 15 rebounds, 9 assists), you'd think the Warriors won. But the momentum of the suspension and the loss of Andrew Bogut (who broke his leg in Game 5) created a hole in the middle that Cleveland exploited.
- The 3-1 lead isn't safe: This series changed how coaches and players approach "clincher" games. The pressure shifts entirely to the leading team once the underdog wins a single elimination game.
- Rewatch Game 7: If you want to see what high-stakes pressure looks like, watch the final 5 minutes of Game 7. Notice how both teams' offenses completely stall. It's a masterclass in how fatigue and nerves affect even the world's best athletes.
The next time someone tells you a series is over at 3-1, remind them of June 2016. It only takes one suspension, one injury, or one "possessed" performance to flip the script.
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To dig deeper into the legacy of this rivalry, look at the 2017 roster changes. The "arms race" that followed—specifically the Warriors adding KD—was a direct reaction to the vulnerability they felt after this collapse. It effectively ended the parity of the mid-2010s and ushered in the "Superteam" era that defined the next five years of the league.