Who Won the 2016 NBA Finals? The Epic Cavaliers vs Warriors Showdown
I still get chills thinking about that 2016 NBA Finals. As someone who's followed basketball for over two decades, I've never witnessed anything quite like the Cavaliers' historic comeback against the 73-win Warriors. When people ask me "Who won the 2016 NBA Finals?" my answer always comes with a story - because this wasn't just another championship series, it was basketball history unfolding before our eyes.
Let me take you back to that incredible Game 7. The tension was palpable from the opening tip-off. Both teams had traded blows throughout the series, but this final game felt different. You could sense the weight of history in every possession. The Warriors, playing at home in Oracle Arena, were seeking to cap off their record-breaking 73-win season with a championship. The Cavaliers, down 3-1 earlier in the series, were attempting something no team had ever done before - coming back from that deficit in the Finals. I remember watching from my living room, completely captivated by the back-and-forth nature of the game. Neither team could pull away, and every basket felt monumental.
What struck me most was how both teams refused to yield. There's a particular quote from the Cavaliers' camp that perfectly captures the spirit of that series: "We felt we had a little letdown towards the end of the first half but we picked it up, and many other guys pitched in." I've rewatched that game multiple times, and you can actually see this play out. There was a moment late in the second quarter where the Warriors went on a 12-4 run, and honestly, I thought the Cavs might crumble. But they didn't. Instead, role players like Tristan Thompson and JR Smith made crucial contributions when it mattered most. Thompson grabbed what felt like every offensive rebound in the fourth quarter - I counted at least 5 key offensive boards in the final period alone.
The series truly could have gone either way, just like that quote suggests. People often forget how close the Warriors came to winning in Game 7. With about five minutes left, the game was tied at 89-89, and both teams were trading missed shots and turnovers. The pressure was immense. As a basketball analyst, I've rarely seen defense at that level in a championship game. Both teams were completely gassed, yet they kept finding ways to get stops. That final quarter was some of the most intense basketball I've ever witnessed - the score was 89-89 for what felt like an eternity before Kyrie Irving hit that legendary three-pointer over Stephen Curry with 53 seconds remaining.
Speaking of defense, the quote mentions "our ability to make stops when it mattered most," and boy, was that evident. The sequence that stands out in my memory is LeBron James' chase-down block on Andre Iguodala with about 1:50 left in the game. I remember jumping out of my seat when that happened. That single play epitomized the entire series - the Cavaliers' refusal to quit, their defensive intensity when it mattered most. Statistics show that the Cavs held the Warriors to just 38.6% shooting in Game 7, including a miserable 28.6% from three-point range. For a Warriors team that had averaged 114.9 points per game during the regular season, this was an incredible defensive accomplishment.
What many casual fans don't realize is how much this series changed the landscape of modern basketball. The Warriors' 73-9 regular season record was historic, but the Cavs' comeback showed that playoff basketball is a different beast entirely. I've always believed that regular season success doesn't always translate to playoff dominance, and this series proved it. The Cavaliers won the final three games by margins of 15, 8, and 4 points respectively - each victory harder fought than the last.
Looking back, I think this series marked a turning point in LeBron James' legacy. His performance throughout those seven games was nothing short of legendary - he led both teams in points, rebounds, assists, steals, and blocks. I've never seen a single player dominate a Finals series in all facets of the game like that. His triple-double in Game 7 - 27 points, 11 rebounds, 11 assists - was arguably the greatest Game 7 performance in NBA history. As much as I respect Michael Jordan's legacy, I don't think even His Airness ever delivered quite like LeBron did in those 2016 Finals.
The aftermath of this series continues to influence the NBA today. The Warriors responded by signing Kevin Durant, creating one of the most dominant superteams we've ever seen. Meanwhile, the Cavaliers' victory cemented LeBron's status as arguably the greatest player of his generation and brought Cleveland its first major sports championship in 52 years. I'll never forget the images of fans celebrating throughout Northeast Ohio - it was more than just a basketball victory, it was catharsis for an entire region.
When I reflect on why this particular Finals stands out in my memory, it's because it had everything - historic context, incredible individual performances, dramatic momentum swings, and a legacy-defining comeback. The Cavaliers' victory wasn't just about winning a championship; it was about overcoming impossible odds and making history. Even now, years later, I find myself rewatching highlights from that series and marveling at what both teams accomplished. The Warriors' 73-win season remains an incredible achievement, but the Cavaliers' comeback victory created one of the most memorable chapters in NBA history - a testament to resilience, determination, and the refusal to quit when everything seems lost.
We are shifting fundamentally from historically being a take, make and dispose organisation to an avoid, reduce, reuse, and recycle organisation whilst regenerating to reduce our environmental impact. We see significant potential in this space for our operations and for our industry, not only to reduce waste and improve resource use efficiency, but to transform our view of the finite resources in our care.
Looking to the Future
By 2022, we will establish a pilot for circularity at our Goonoo feedlot that builds on our current initiatives in water, manure and local sourcing. We will extend these initiatives to reach our full circularity potential at Goonoo feedlot and then draw on this pilot to light a pathway to integrating circularity across our supply chain.
The quality of our product and ongoing health of our business is intrinsically linked to healthy and functioning ecosystems. We recognise our potential to play our part in reversing the decline in biodiversity, building soil health and protecting key ecosystems in our care. This theme extends on the core initiatives and practices already embedded in our business including our sustainable stocking strategy and our long-standing best practice Rangelands Management program, to a more a holistic approach to our landscape.
We are the custodians of a significant natural asset that extends across 6.4 million hectares in some of the most remote parts of Australia. Building a strong foundation of condition assessment will be fundamental to mapping out a successful pathway to improving the health of the landscape and to drive growth in the value of our Natural Capital.
Our Commitment
We will work with Accounting for Nature to develop a scientifically robust and certifiable framework to measure and report on the condition of natural capital, including biodiversity, across AACo’s assets by 2023. We will apply that framework to baseline priority assets by 2024.
Looking to the Future
By 2030 we will improve landscape and soil health by increasing the percentage of our estate achieving greater than 50% persistent groundcover with regional targets of:
– Savannah and Tropics – 90% of land achieving >50% cover
– Sub-tropics – 80% of land achieving >50% perennial cover
– Grasslands – 80% of land achieving >50% cover
– Desert country – 60% of land achieving >50% cover
