For decades, the Cleveland Cavaliers had been a bridesmaid team, even with LeBron James on the roster.
But that all changed in 2016, and it came in unexpected fashion, as they fell behind in the NBA Finals three games to one against the Golden State Warriors, a team that had won a league-record 73 games in the regular season.
Cleveland won the next two games to set up a Game 7 in Oakland, and it was a contest that went back and forth.
Everyone remembers Kyrie Irving’s huge 3-pointer with about a minute left that put the team up by three, but in addition, the Cavs put together a defensive stop for the ages.
Monday was the seventh anniversary of their first-ever NBA championship, and they honored the occasion by reminding fans of that monster defensive stop.
The Stop. pic.twitter.com/etjeTuscg1
— Cleveland Cavaliers (@cavs) June 19, 2023
Many feel that the 2016 title was the hardest one in basketball history because the Cavs were down 3-1 in the series and had to win a Game 7 on the road over the winningest team in history during the regular season.
James didn’t shoot well in Game 7, but he had an iconic chase-down block against Warriors wing Andre Iguodala late in the game to keep his team in contention.
The Akron, Ohio native left for a second time in 2018, but now the Cavs have a young, ascendent team led by Donovan Mitchell, who is a primetime performer in his own right.
This current Cavs squad hopes to hang a banner of their own at Rocket Mortgage Fieldhouse in the years to come.
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