LeBron James keeps the ball away from a Golden State Warriors defender during Game 3 of the 2016 National Basketball Association Finals James scored 32 points to lead the Cleveland Cavaliers to a 30 point win
In June 2016 the Cleveland Cavaliers took on the Golden State Warriors in the National Basketball Association NBA Finals Cleveland’s best player LeBron James had one goal in mind He wanted to lead his team to their first NBA championship After four seasons with the Miami Heat he’d rejoined the Cavs after the 2013 2014 season to do exactly that The Cavs needed to win four out of seven games in the series to take the championship but the odds were against them After Game 4 the Warriors led the series 3 1 No team had ever trailed 3 1 and come back to win the Finals but James and the Cavs were determined to make history 7
In Game 5 James scored 41 points in a 112 97 Cleveland victory Three days later he scored 41 again to help beat Golden State 115 101 The Cavs had come back to tie the series but they needed to win the next game to make it count Game 7 was at Oracle Arena in Oakland California With the score tied 89 89 and 1:50 left on the game clock James made one of the biggest defensive plays of his career The Warriors raced down the court with the ball Golden State superstar Steph Curry passed to his teammate Andre Iguodala who had a clear path to score As Iguodala jumped to lay the ball into the basket James came soaring from behind him James batted the ball against the backboard causing it to bounce away from the basket and into the hands of a teammate The incredible defensive play kept the score tied With less than one minute left in the game Cleveland’s Kyrie Irving sank a 25 foot 7.6 m three point shot to give the Cavs the lead After the Warriors missed a shot at the other end of the court they fouled James He made one of his free throws to put the Cavs ahead 93 89 Golden State missed two more shots and the Cavs became NBA champions Cleveland fans at the arena cheered for their team’s first NBA championship Cavaliers coach Tyronn Lue wept tears of joy James was so overcome with emotion that he could barely speak I gave everything that I had he said I put my heart my blood my sweat my tears into this game Cleveland this is for you 8
James holds the Larry O’Brien NBA Championship Trophy after helping the Cavaliers defeat the Warriors in 2016 9
