The Story Behind The 2016 Cavs

For the latter half of the 20th century and well into the 21st, Cleveland and its sports teams were said to be cursed. The city fell into a profound funk, going more than five decades without any of its professional sports franchises claiming a title. Until on June 19th, 2016… it finally happened.
Written and Narrated by: Esfandiar Baraheni (@JustEsBaraheni | Twitter)
Produced and Edited by: Zack Underhill (@zackunderhill | Instagram)
Additional Graphics: Stephen Addante (@stephenaddante | Instagram) and Jeff Wall (@jeffaustinwall | Twitter)
Thumbnail Design by: Justin Shipley (@shipleysportstudio | Instagram)
Courtesy List: controlc.com/0c7cd049
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#LeBronJames #KyrieIrving #ClevelandCavaliers

[@thescore]

CORRECTION: Steph Curry won his unanimous MVP in 2015-2016, not 2014-2015. Thanks for watching, as always!

[@dawdatouray47]

You also were wrong when you said the Warriors won 28 games in a row, they won 24

[@thescore]

@@dawdatouray47 Hey Dawda, thanks for watching! They actually did win 28 in a row (4 games to end the 2014-2015 season and 24 in the 2015-2016 season). You can check it out here officially, too. www.basketball-reference.com/leaders/team_wins.html

[@yelsamarani]

Also, the Warriors never called a timeout immediately after Irving's three. Kyrie wasn't traded "midway" through the 2017-2018 campaign - he was already on the Celtics by the offseason.

[@arturmeric7892]

@@dawdatouray47 facts

[@User-5amk1m0]

@@dawdatouray47 dummy smh lol

[@Carlo-zk2cy]

K. Love is the last remaining Cavalier from that championship roster.

[@kennethjose7159]

Doing a fantastic job off the bench today as well

[@user-zc5ls2hq3i]

Glad the cavs has something going for them. Wish that team the best fr

[@offwhitejayR2E]

Not anymore

[@SABER19XX]

Transfer transfer

[@crashbandicoot5636]

I used to think that LeBron will never be as great as he is now. But he proved me wrong with that 2016 run. The only man to have ever done it.

[@emilioreyes4159]

The only team tho

[@Jetanium]

@@emilioreyes4159 Nah if it’s his fault when they lose, it’s his fault when they win too.

[@emilioreyes4159]

@@Jetanium I didn't say the other thing tho...

[@slavafedorov1528]

2016 Bron was great but 2018 Bron was a different animal

[@Jetanium]

@@slavafedorov1528 yeah yeah we know the story

[@RudieObias]

As a lifelong Cavs fan, game 7 in 2016 was one of the best days of my life! Go Cavs!

[@logandetwiler4483]

The only team to come back from 3-1 in an NBA Finals

[@BabaYagaRacing]

LeBron 1 ring in Cleveland is superior than Durants gifted Rings in Golden state

[@S7ayMelo]

@@BabaYagaRacing y’all say that but when u bring up things like LeBron’s ring in the bubble y’all say a ring is a ring, and while we there we gonna act like LeBron didn’t have a super team in Miami … you don’t need to hate on one player to show how great another is smh

[@lusterdragon02]

@@BabaYagaRacing lebron fans accepting things that make him great while rejecting things that don't. Always the excuses for him to be the best player, while also putting other great players down who have greater achievements.

[@billzzdimzz2990]

thanks to lebron stepping over draymond

[@jhaivee10]

Bron holding a 1-3 trash record against the warrriors, FOREVER! 🤣🤣

[@BabaYagaRacing]

This was the best NBA finals of all time CHANGE MY MIND

[@logandetwiler4483]

Hell yeah

[@jaretaustin9749]

every single game besides game 7 was a blowout

[@carlkash3587]

2010 is right up there and also 2013

[@thinkinginsideout4053]

Mavs championship for me.

[@johndebono1870]

04 Pistons: Am I a joke to you?

[@Gamealishis]

I absolutely love the editing on this channel, high quality stuff

[@dejaunpillay7572]

CLEVELAND, THIS IS FOR YOU 👑. will always give me goosebumps

[@ibhansanity]

20 yrs from now, this finals series will be a movie.

[@Syte425]

Imagine the pressure LeBron had. Not just to win a championship for a franchise who was almost always irrelevant but the football and baseball team are leaning on you. The man returned and delivered. He’s the GOAT in my book

[@rafiihsan9593]

Always love 2016 cavs content

[@jordankartchner4090]

I love ALL the videos y'all produce, but these are straight up your best ones

[@bonzobonanza]

2016 NBA Finals will go down as one of the greatest championships in sports history.

[@TMK561]

2014-15 wasn’t the year Curry came off of a Unanimous MVP season, it was the following season when they went 73-9

[@deyantodorov6775]

I way gonna type exactly that

[@urielramirez8007]

They got a lot wrong with this video smh

[@richiejosephmazumder7632]

@@urielramirez8007 like what,

[@LumpyNutz]

They also notoriously didn't call a timeout after Kyrie's three. Video seems a little thrown together lol

[@DevinPosey20]

Greatest Cleveland moment ever!

[@BeehAndKeyyTv]

This not the video I voted for but I'm still happy it's here 😂💪🏿🗣️ Keep grinding guys

[@JVLnetwork]

Just know this will be a banger

[@Fcamb107]

Keep it up! This videos are awesome!

[@edwingalam3658]

Quality edit quality content 🔥

[@sandaliovirenees6991]

I still get emotional watching that game 7 it legit was a movie. I watched it with my little brother who is just as being lebron fan as I am, my dad also and it was Father’s Day. Gosh what a ride that game was greatest game ever.

[@HeezJero]

It’s tradition to watch these finals highlights of the cavs.

[@zwelithinihlabathe5269]

Thank you for listening to your subscribers and giving us this

[@Michael-eq8th]

Am I the only one who can’t help clicking on the Story Behind because the stock music in the intro is an absolute banger?

[@kw1726]

I feel like it should be noted Kyrie signed his max before Lebron came back, as in he didn’t exactly sign up for a second fiddle role with Lebron, which led to the resentment in 2017-2018

[@mdp5775]

That was the best finals series I’ve ever seen. The Heat vs Spurs in 2013 comes in 2nd and the 98 Bulls Last dance at 3rd.

[@TMK561]

Kelly was still dirty af for dislocating K. Love’s shoulder

[@jacksonbrown7877]

Would’ve had 2 championships if he didn’t yank loves shoulder out, dog of a move that one

[@jemanvilla9867]

@@jacksonbrown7877 if that happens maybe Durant will join GS 1 year early too...

[@jacksonbrown7877]

@@jemanvilla9867 ah yeah don’t think you can sign somewhere else while your in the middle of a contract lmao, wrong

[@matthewdepersiis8231]

The goat does it again

[@JawaPenguin16]

Iggy won finals MVP for “containing” Lebron to a 36/13/9 scoring average on insane efficiency 😂

[@pjwright3773]

Fmvp is such a flawed award

[@RafitoOoO]

LeBron should've won the FMVP. I don't care if he lost it, he was the best player on the court.

[@GameChanger-xi4iy]

39 %fg is insane efficiency ???

[@JawaPenguin16]

@@GameChanger-xi4iy .....Yes casual. Shooting around that percentage in basketball is considered really good. If you shot 40% on crazy usage rate you would have had a great series. Shooting in that sport is hard. The greatest shooter of all time is a 43% shooter from 3. This isnt a score during some math test, this is real life. The only people shoot 50% are dudes like Rudy who just dunk and finish at the rim only. Rudy specifically shoots 65% FG. Is he a better scorer than Steph and Lebron? Exactly.

[@GameChanger-xi4iy]

@@JawaPenguin16 Lol calling me a casual when you posted one of the most casual takes I've ever seen. Shooting under 40% on high 2 point attempts is not considered efficient. Rudy Gobert shoots 70% on his 2 point field goals by the way and those are mainly lobs and dump off passes so its not comparable to Lebron or Steph. In most of Lebrons finals he's shot over 50% on his field goal attempts and this series he shot under 40% because he was guarded by Iggy so yeah Iggy forced him to take tough contested shots that hurt his team. If LeBron passed more instead of chucking contested shots maybe the Cavs would have had a chance.

[@Syte425]

If KD doesn’t ruin the competition in the league by joining a 73-9 team Cleveland would’ve never lost a finals series to the Warriors. As a matter of fact if K.Love and Kyrie don’t get injured GS doesn’t win that 1st title either.

[@jamesraphaelL]

That 28 game winning streak for the warriors was the 24-0 start the 2015-16 season plus the 4 games the prior regular season. Not exactly in one season. 😅

[@joenichols3901]

I'm gonna predict the future. In the 2023-2024 season the following will happen: 1. GSW will yet again be the best team in the league 2. LeBron will sign with the Cavs 3. Mobley, Allen and Garland will be all stars 4. Cavs will draft Bronny (role player) 5. Cavs will win the finals against the Warriors in game 7

[@Cr33DEXOTIC]

If only

[@jauharilee7496]

What people don’t realize is that Kyrie turned the ball over right before Lebron blocked Iggy. Lebron erased Kyrie’s mistake and then Kyrie redeemed himself with that 3 pointer.

[@thelivingmiracle]

I still have the original Cleveland Plain Dealer and Chronicle of the days prior and the day they won

[@kj.wakeup2179]

That team was like the mighty ducks

[@kobetrotman2484]

No wonder the city of Cleveland hates lebron for leaving he was the only thing they ever had going for them 💀

[@Blackhawks19_xx]

That 2016 finals is the greatest series in nba history.

[@TheYaBoyKevin]

Never forget

[@MrDebpriya]

What is the background track called ?

[@davidrivera8751]

Chills every time I hear the Lebron block

[@NiteshNW_FreshPrince]

Best video

[@animemui5626]

So ironic that the warriors come back from a 3-1 lead in wcf only to blew a 3-1 in nba finals

[@brianm5563]

I will never forget Kelly Olynyk wrenching Love's arm. I never so badly wanted another human being to be mauled to death by bears. Torn to pieces, eaten, and shat out on a forest floor. That was so deliberate it was comical. He should have been suspended the entire next season without pay. And then, broke and desperate, while foraging for whatever he could find in a local state park, mauled and eaten by bears. And then shat out.

[@duanegadama61]

I still don't get the 'Iguodala contained LeBron' narrative to this day. Man averaged 35.8 points, 13.3 rebounds and 8.8 assists

[@MoSuli96]

Averaged those crazy stats against a team of “Bron-stoppers” while he was the only playmaker/scorer left on his team lmao

[@Ckproduction03]

The Boget narrative is also a joke. I’m pretty sure the man played 3 minutes the game before he was injured and people act like it’s losing Kevin Love

[@MasterAppels]

The Cavs were so unlucky to get 2 terrible draft classes after each other. Of course it should also be mentioned how lucky they were to get number 1 picks in consecutive drafts in the first place.

[@Silverswooosh]

The block that was heard around the world

[@cocojo168]

They really should have given Kyrie more props for that series. I remember them blatantly snubbing him like LeBron did it on his own and he didn't

[@jahleelx9270]

More props how? U wanted him to get the finals mvp or something?

[@jahleelx9270]

I mean lebron led every player in every stat in both teams. Kyrie did his thing but lebron is the engine behind why that team won.

[@_will795]

Still can’t believe the cavs won in T-shirts

[@BjFaniran]

Kyrie was traded in the offseason not midway through the season

[@undercover1921]

Goat things!!!

[@elai3147]

indifferent about lebron but seriously only haters and warrior fans can dislike the 2016 cavs

[@theycallmedom4157]

Also Warriors only won 24 games in a row that season.

[@aaronmontane6479]

I think they counted the last 4 regular season games they won the year before which is dumb because it’s a different season and they lost playoff games in between.

[@sootheseeker]

Steph didn’t have a unanimous mvp in 2015

[@oldfat8393]

I'm Lebron fan. But I got to say, you shouldn't ignore what Kyrie did in Game 5 and Game 6.

[@HeezJero]

I feel sad for Kevin love cause he’s stuck with a random roster of players in Cleveland after that finals roster left.

[@lckfan3696]

? He got a huge contract while not playing well

[@richborn6700]

Well don't feel bad now...

[@keithm9589]

Lebron’s most important ship

[@leonardomv8451]

That Draymond suspension lol smh

[@aaronmontane6479]

Green screwed himself getting all those techs and Cavs still won 3 games he played in.😂

[@leonardomv8451]

@@aaronmontane6479 still shouldn't have happened lmao

[@aaronmontane6479]

@@leonardomv8451 ok😂

[@walkoff7]

Didn’t secret base already make this video but it’s 3 hours?

[@theycallmedom4157]

Steph wasn’t unanimous mvp until 15/16 not the first go around.

[@MrOctober44]

So Kevin Love just wanted a little bit of love? Ironic

[@joseladisla923]

11:42 Iggy successfully containing Bron? Bron averaged 35.8PPG, 13.3RPG, 8.8ASG for the whole series. What now?!

[@pjwright3773]

And won fmvp… the most flawed award

[@GameChanger-xi4iy]

He shot 39 % from the field, one of the most inefficient finals series by an all time great ever being even worse than 2007 finals.

[@MoSuli96]

@@GameChanger-xi4iy while also having to be the sole playmaker/scorer after Love\Irving went down. Being able to Average 36, 13, 9 on anything close to 40%fg on 1 of the highest usage rates avg in finals history and when you’re literally the only dependable offensive threat on your team against a fully healthy GS. They Just have focus on 1 man defensively and he still out performed everybody on the court.

[@jonathang1080]

@@MoSuli96 I know that shit is crazy. Casuals dont understand tho

[@CarlosRodriguez-vy1kb]

11:12 seeing Kyrie force himself to play is kind of hard to watch 🫣😥

[@taraishot100]

I remember when I was a year 9 in high school in New Zealand and Lebron James high school clips hit espn and the internet back 2002 or 2003 can’t remember then when he hit the NBA he was good but he wasn’t like dominating anyone yet it wasn’t until he went to Miami people started accepting him as an elite.. my childhood was MJ my high school years were Kobe my 20s and 30s are Lebron my blessed to have been alive and witnessed all 3 goats era after era after era

[@silasbaby96]

And that when Jordan said shit we gotta release the documentary

[@jahleelx9270]

Facts

[@jonathanwstx]

The Cavs got the Spurs to thank for that chip.

[@cavsin7152]

MY NAME

[@apogwapo]

2016 the year of the blown 3-1's 😆

[@honestharry88]

KZbin " Secret Base - Chosen" for the inspiration of this video

[@blondeboy5582]

Nobody was touching this squad from the east! The Warriors had to get KD to do it.

[@carinhaqueestasempreporai6733]

They shouldn't have sent Andrew Wiggins to Minnesota. They should pick Kevin Love and keep Andrew, so Cleveland can become a real machine.

[@urielramirez8007]

Y’all make great videos man but you stated a wrong info in this video (curry unanimous mvp 2014/15 szn, draymond getting suspend for the slap everyone knows it was for the attempted to the nuts & kyrie getting traded MIDWAY through 2018???) y’all need to fact check shit look bad lol

[@mrjayfoggy]

This video makes it seem like KLove's shoulder just popped out agsaint the Celtics. Everyone knows Olynyk literally yanked his shoulder out of place on purpose. Is this channel an Olynyk sympathizer?

[@amirianozakwano]

You guys missed out Bill. Fucking. Musselman.

[@jcmercadejas2364]

ONE OF THE BEST CHAMPIONSHIP RUN. LBJ!!!!!

[@kaidekaids94]

well the cavs is doing good without lebron as of today 😅😅 and rumors say lebron wanna go back again in cavs because of good standings and rosters here we go again. hahaha

[@8teenOfficial]

Ted is the one to blame for making Cavs look like shit in the start

[@Madhamz]

I couldn't watch to the end. I still feel the warriors' pain losing when up 3-1 in a 73 win season. But it was clevelands victory and it is a beautiful victory and sweet sweet champoinship. But i still feel the pain. Stopping the video at 13:48..

[@darrellwilliams9168]

As a Cavs fan I stopped watching after he talked about the chip we won😂 when I saw he started talking about the other series vs the Warriors afterwards I stopped watching so I feel you

[@markjayvillamayor4625]

jordan old heads didnt realize LeBron saves the 96 bulls legacy

[@GameChanger-xi4iy]

lol im pretty sure they would rather warriors win and surpass the 96 bulls than Lebron being called the GOAT over Mj after that series.

[@raptorjack9649]

The 73-9 Warriors DID NOT win 28 in a row that season they won 24 in a row then lose to the Bucks

[@aaronmontane6479]

They are counting 4 regular season wins from the year before which is dumb.

[@reillydougherty2166]

CORRECTION KYRIE ONLY RESIGNED BECAUSE THE CAVS DIDNT KNOW THEY WERE GETTING LEBRON IN THE 2014 OFFSEASON. KYRIE INKED UP HIS EXTENSION FIRST AND THEN LEBRON ANNOUNCED HE WAS RETURNING HOME TO CLEVELAND. NOT LEBRON COMING HOME AND THEN KYRIE SIGNED. THAT WAS THE BEGINNING OF THE FRICTION BETWEEN THEM BECAUSE KYRIE THOUGHT HE WAS GETTING HIS OWN TEAM

[@jahleelx9270]

Tension for what? Kyrie led them nowhere. Not even the playoffs.

[@Kokozaftran]

Best NBA-helped Championship Comeback of All Time

[@mikmaks7393]

Helped your ass cry more lol

[@TheGoober216]

You mean Lebron and Kyrie show

[@inchanted3179]

More like Lebron show, they pretty much give all the credit to him, sure he was a big factor but without Love and Irving, there's no way Lebron's gonna win that championship

[@vaijonhorton640]

2016 finals is overrated but let’s get a 2017 Warriors story

[@vaijonhorton640]

@@yanyansalvilla958 they beat an injured team goofy ass lil boy

[@darrylbodollo7389]

@@vaijonhorton640 So the 2015 injured cavs lose to the warriors 😂

[@vaijonhorton640]

@@darrylbodollo7389 I never said they didn’t. I said a 2017 story because everybody was healthy and were locked and loaded

[@darrylbodollo7389]

So for you the 2016 cavs is overrated because of they beat injured team? haha

[@__Peter]

i won 250 off the cavs

[@joenichols3901]

It's hard to build a team around LeBron, unless you already had deep talent and then drafted him. Once you have LeBron you lose your ability to draft significant talent (normally). Just ask the Lakers - your team just dries out. That's why he will be in CLE again in 2023

[@turbina7537]

Cavs kyrie was diferent

[@Kyle-ou2tc]

Still the most embarrasing NBA Finals, with NBA head office blatantly intervening to help LeBron with that ridiculous Draymond flagrant call.

[@MikeBeltMikeBelt]

Uhm, don't hit people in the nuts?

[@Kyle-ou2tc]

@@MikeBeltMikeBeltHe didn't. He flailed an arm at an asshole stepping over him while he was on the ground, and didn't hit him. Even if he had hit him, worse case scenario that's a tech, not a flagrant. Any other player in the league and it's the guy stepping over a downed opponent who is one the getting in trouble on that play, and a natural self-defence reaction for the dude getting stepped over. It wasn't even called a flagrant on the floor, it was upgraded to a flagrant by NBA head office after the game in order to blatantly try to extend a series that the Cavs were going to lose in 5 at Oracle. Any Cavs victory lost all legitimacy when that happened.

[@lazengerotibas]

@@Kyle-ou2tc Im guessing you still in recovery when both klay and KD is injured during their finals against the raptors..

[@Kyle-ou2tc]

@@lazengerotibas Ummm, I'm a Raptor fan from Toronto, so not exactly.

[@Kyle-ou2tc]

@Risner France Garces Why would I care about that? He beat us fair, and we eventually got our title. I just hate to see league office so blatantly tip the scales in a team's direction in the Finals. Championships should br decided on the court, not in a boardroom.

[@MZC3]

Gonna be honest I’m disappointed in this video. A lot of inaccuracies

[@MrOctober44]

Is Anthony Bennett the biggest bust in the history of sports?

[@optimusprime028]

THESCORE IS RIGHT, THIS CHAMPIONSHIP IS OVERRATED.

[@pjwright3773]

How?

[@dan5974]

@@pjwright3773 weakened GSW. Healthy GSW would've 4-1'd them.

[@pjwright3773]

I mean I guess but then you have to go back and discredit almost every single title because there are injuries every year

[@dan5974]

@@pjwright3773 that's why basketball is flawed.

[@reactking7093]

@@dan5974 draymond was suspended 1 game lebron dropped 41. Draymond came back Bron dropped 41. It's not lebrons fault curry wet the bed.

[@rocketkaito]

Game was heavily rigged

[@aaronmontane6479]

Because Warriors lost?😂

[@ryanbulaong2637]

This championship was given to the Cavs by the NBA.

[@SHITSWEEEK]

our 1 ring trumps every single ring that golden state has. cant win unless lopsided in their favor.. 2016 is the greatest championship in NBA history. NOBODY talks about 15, 17, 18, 21