By: Micah Wright
We’re four parts into this series that has looked at the greatest team for each NBA franchise. So far, many teams have been from older generations. In part 5 we look at three recent champions, starting with one led by the GOAT of his generation:
The 2015-16 Cleveland Cavaliers
57-25 W-L, 16-5 playoff W-L, Won NBA Finals (4-3) vs Golden State Warriors
Key players: LeBron James, Kyrie Irving, Kevin Love, J.R. Smith, Tristan Thompson, Matthew Dellavedova, Richard Jefferson, Iman Shumpert
Cleveland’s franchise was nothing worth while until number 23 came to town in 2003. LeBron James took a team to the finals in 2007 but had no help and lost to the mighty Spurs. Wanting more help, he left for Miami in 2010 setting the franchise back to mediocrity. Until his return to the Cavs in 2014-15.
Cleveland felt they were better than the Warriors in 2014-15 after having a 2-1 lead in the Finals, but lost three straight to lose the series. Young star Kyrie Irving missed five games after a game one injury, making them feel like they didn’t have their best team out there. The next season was a revenge tour that had turmoil, as coach David Blatt was fired despite a 30-11 record with the team in first place in the East. Blatt was not the players coach that LeBron wanted, so assistant Tyronn Lue took over. Cleveland finished the year 27-14 and held onto first in the East, sweeping Detroit and Atlanta in the first two rounds. Second seed Toronto was the only team standing in the way of Cleveland as they had the series tied 2-2 in the East finals, but the Cavs blew them out in games five and six to advance to its second straight Finals.
Having a healthy Kyrie Irving made Cleveland a much more difficult match for the Warriors, but Golden State seemed impossible to beat. An NBA record 73-9 regular season made the Warriors one of the biggest Finals favorites in NBA history. Golden State won the first two games at home by a combined 48 points, taking a 2-0 lead. Cleveland answered with a dominant 30-point win at home but an 11-point loss behind Steph Curry’s 38 points put Cleveland in a massive hole. Everyone thought it was over. No one in the history of the NBA had come back from 3-1 down to win the NBA Finals, but Cleveland proved there was a first for everything.
The Cavs were inspired to stay alive like no team in Finals history as LeBron and Kyrie had an all-time great duo performance on the road in game five with 41 points each. Down 3-2 in the series they had one last home game to try to stay alive and won behind LeBron’s 41 points and 11 assists. Now it was Golden State on the ropes. The Warriors had home court in game seven to prevent being the first team to blow a 3-1 lead in the Finals, but they couldn’t stop James and Irving. LeBron made one of the greatest plays in NBA history with a chase-down block of Andre Igoudala in a 89-89 tie game. About a minute later, Kyrie Irving hit the biggest shot in franchise history, one of the most monumental shots in NBA history, with a step back three with 53 seconds left to go up 92-89. Those two plays propelled the Cavs to a 93-89 win, and their first and only NBA title.
Next, the only other team to beat the 2010s Warriors in the finals:
The 2018-19 Toronto Raptors
58-24 W-L, 16-8 playoff W-L, Won NBA Finals (4-2) vs Golden State Warriors
Key players: Kawhi Leonard, Kyle Lowry, Pascal Siakam, Serge Ibaka, Marc Gasol, Danny Green, Fred VanVleet, OG Anunoby
Toronto was knocked out three years in a row by LeBron’s Cavs and fired coach Dwayne Casey after getting swept by fourth seed Cleveland in the 2018 East finals. General Manager Masai Ujiri hired assistant Nick Nurse to take over and he made a blockbuster trade in the offseason to upgrade the team. Kawhi Leonard and Danny Green were acquired from San Antonio in exchange for DeMar DeRozan, Jacob Poetl and a 1st round pick. Knowing Leonard was going to be a free agent the next summer and likely to leave, this was a very risky move. It was a move that ultimately paid off, though.
Leonard was one of the league’s five best players (26.6 points, 7 rebounds per game) and was surrounded by a multitude of options. 24 year-old Pascal Siakam was the league’s most improved player (17 points and 7 rebounds per game), and veterans Kyle Lowry (14 points, 8 assists per game) and Serge Ibaka (15 points, 8 rebounds per game) were key contributors.
Toronto was second in the East with 58 wins and took care of Orlando in five games to meet with Philadelphia in the semifinals. The phenomenal series was concluded by one of the greatest, most dramatic game-winning shots ever, as Leonard hit a three pointer at the buzzer in game 7 that rolled around the rim for an eternity, sealing a one-point win. In the East finals against the 60-22 Milwaukee Bucks they won four straight after being down 2-0, behind Leonard’s 30 points and 10 rebounds per game in the series. They then met with Golden State who lost Kevin Durant to injury earlier in the playoffs, boosting their confidence of dethroning the dynasty. Toronto took game one at home but the Warriors stole game two to go home to an even series. The Raptors won both games in Golden State to take a commanding 3-1 lead, and they wrapped up the series in game six in a 114-110 win. Leonard’s lone season with the team ended with his second championship and second finals MVP with 28.5 points and 9.8 rebounds per game in the series.
Lastly, another franchise with only one championship:
The 2010-11 Dallas Mavericks
57-25 W-L, 16-5 playoff W-L, Won NBA Finals (4-2) vs Miami Heat
Key players: Dirk Nowitzki, Shawn Marion, Jason Terry, Jason Kidd, Tyson Chandler, Caron Butler, J.J. Barea, DeShawn Stevenson
Dallas was nothing until Dirk Nowitzki.
Dirk became the staple of the franchise in 1998 and was paired with a young hall of famer in Steve Nash, but the two couldn’t get past the West Finals. Nash left for Phoenix and Dirk managed to reach the 2006 NBA Finals without him, but lost four in a row to the Miami Heat after leading 2-0 in the series. Five years later, Dirk had another shot.
The Mavs were a veteran-heavy team, with hall of fame 37 year-old Point Guard Jason Kidd, 32 year-old Dirk, 30 year-old Caron Butler, 33 year-old Jason Terry and 32 year-old Shawn Marion. Center Tyson Chandler was the defensive captain (10 points, 9 rebounds per game, 65% from the field) in his only season in Dallas. Terry and Marion were mainly features off the bench and were highly productive, averaging 16 points and 12.5 points per game, respectively. Point Guard J.J. Barea was another key bench piece, scoring 9 points and dishing out 4 assists per game. Dallas was second in the league in bench points (39.5) and first in assists (8.7) per game.
Rick Carlisle’s squad got off to a hot 24-5 start but lost nine of their next eleven games and lost starting Small Forward Caron Butler for the year. After falling to 26-14 they figured things out and finished the year 31-11 to earn the 3rd seed in the West at 57-25. Dallas took out Portland in six and then shocked the defending champion Lakers in a four game sweep. The top seed Spurs got upset by Memphis in round one, opening the entire West up for grabs. Dallas met with OKC in the conference finals and won in five games.
Now they got their ’06 rematch with Miami. The Heat were the favorites with their hall of fame big three and took game one 92-84 at home. The series looked like it was over in game two as Miami led by 15 with 6 minutes left, 88-73. Dallas proceeded to make one of the greatest comebacks in finals history, finishing the game on a 22-5 run, and won on a Dirk Nowitzki layup. Suddenly, it was a series.
Miami even won game three on the road to regain the series lead, but Dallas won three straight to win the series to shock the NBA world. Dirk won Finals MVP with 26 points and 10 rebounds in the series but struggled heavily in game 6 shooting 9-27. Jason Terry was the key to closing out the series with his 27 points off the bench, and their defense held LeBron to just 21 points in the 105-95 win. Defense was king for Dallas, allowing 100 points just once in the series with LeBron scoring less than 18 points per game. Dallas was truly one of the most surprising champions in history and were exemplary of how a collective team effort can win a championship.
Part 6 will look at four other one-time champions that each won in the 1970s…
Dual Threat Sports 