2016 Cleveland Cavaliers

James came home to Cleveland in 2014, and by 2016 the Cavaliers had built around him. They went 57-25, fired coach David Blatt in midseason, and promoted Tyronn Lue. Kyrie Irving ran the backcourt and Kevin Love stretched the floor from the front line.

The Warriors had just gone 73-9, the best regular season ever, and led the Finals 3-1. No team had come back from that in a Finals before. Cleveland won Game 5 in Oakland with James and Irving each scoring 41, then took Game 6 at home, then went back for Game 7.

The final game turned on two plays in the last minutes. James chased down Andre Iguodala and blocked a layup at the rim. Irving then hit a contested three over Stephen Curry to give Cleveland the lead. James led both teams in all five major statistical categories for the series and won Finals MVP.

The title was the first for any Cleveland major sports team since the Browns won the NFL championship in 1964. James had promised to deliver one when he returned, and he did.

Looking back, cleveland came back from a 3-1 deficit to beat the 73-win Warriors in 2016, the only team to do that in Finals history. LeBron James led both clubs in points, rebounds, assists, steals, and blocks for the series and won Finals MVP. The title ended a 52-year championship drought for the city.

The starting five was Kyrie Irving, J.R. Smith, LeBron James, Kevin Love, and Tristan Thompson. Tyronn Lue coached the group with Richard Jefferson as the primary bench scorer.

The full roster ran deeper than the headline names. Role players who mattered included Channing Frye (stretch big added midseason).

The 2016 title came in the modern era of load management, threes, and switch-heavy defense. The Cleveland Cavaliers still had to win four series, usually against teams built to contend rather than tank.

The Cleveland Cavaliers have only this one title in the record covered on Ring Holders Club. That makes the 2016 run the whole of the franchise's championship story in our archive.

Looking back, cleveland came back from a 3-1 deficit to beat the 73-win Warriors in 2016, the only team to do that in Finals history. LeBron James led both clubs in points, rebounds, assists, steals, and blocks for the series and won Finals MVP. The title ended a 52-year championship drought for the city.

For the full roster beyond the featured starters, see the table on this page. For other Cleveland Cavaliers titles, use the franchise hub linked below.