The 2016 NBA Finals ended in an epic, but surprising way with the Golden State Warriors blowing a 3-1 lead to the Cleveland Cavaliers. Not only was this a rematch of the 2015 Finals, but Golden State won a record 73 games in the regular season.
With Cleveland winning the championship, it was the first major pro sports championship won by a Cleveland team since the Browns won the 1964 NFL championship. Golden State won Game 4 to go up 3-1 and after that, the rest is history.
The Cavaliers became the first team in NBA Finals history to come back from being down 3-1 to win the championship. The main reason for that was because of how LeBron James and Kyrie Irving played during the comeback stretch.
Steph Curry remembers how well James and Irving played and he sat down with “The Old Man and The Three” podcast to give his take on the duo’s performance:
“You get to the Finals and you’re up 3-1. You’re already kind of counting the win like oh just get it done. Draymond (Green) suspension, all that, that kind of gives a little distraction, but you’re like, we’re still right there. I’ve never seen two guys play at that level for three straight games. Bron (LeBron James) and Kyrie were just on. Like, we played well, they just played better. It was hard to watch and be in that vibe where you couldn’t do anything about it”