At this point, every basketball fan should know the legend behind the 2016 NBA Finals. LeBron James and the Cleveland Cavaliers were looking for revenge after losing the 2015 NBA Finals thanks to a handful of injuries. In their way was an all-time great Golden State Warriors team that had finished the season with a historic regular-season record of 73-9. The first four games of the series went exactly as you would expect, with the Warriors taking a 3-1 series lead.
The Cavaliers were looking down and out but pulled off something that had never been done before. They came back from a 3-1 deficit and went on to win the NBA title. LeBron James was able to secure his third championship and the city of Cleveland finally caught a W.
In a recent podcast, JR Smith spoke about the Cavaliers title run and the sentiments LeBron shared with the team after going down 3-1. As Smith explains, LeBron told the team they weren’t losing anymore. It’s a simple and obvious message but it clearly resonated with the team.
“When [LeBron] was saying that, I felt that shit. Like bro, they done. We got em,” Smith said.
LeBron and the Cavs’ epic comeback will forever be seen as one of the greatest moments in NBA history and it’s not hard to see why. Despite their three championships in five years, the Warriors will still forever be upset about letting 2016 slip through the cracks.