2017 NBA Finals

The wordmark of the NBA Finals (2003–2017)
Team Coach Wins Golden State Warriors Steve Kerr 4 Cleveland Cavaliers Tyronn Lue 1
Dates	June 1–12
MVP	Kevin Durant (Golden State Warriors)
Hall of Famers	Officials: Danny Crawford (2025)
Eastern finals	Cavaliers defeatedCeltics, 4–1
Western finals	Warriors defeatedSpurs, 4–0
← 2016 NBA Finals 2018 →

The2017 NBA Finals was thechampionship series of theNational Basketball Association's (NBA)2016–17 season and conclusion of theseason's playoffs. In this best-of-seven series, and a rematch of the2016 NBA Finals, theWestern Conference championGolden State Warriors defeated theEastern Conference champion and defending championCleveland Cavaliers four games to one for their second title in three years, and fifth overall. Golden State'sKevin Durant was unanimously voted theNBA Finals Most Valuable Player (MVP), after averaging 35.2 points, 8.2 rebounds, and 5.4 assists.^[1] The series began on June 1 and ended on June 12.

With a 12–0 record in the first three rounds of the playoffs, the Warriors were undefeated entering the series while the Cavaliers, with ambitions of repeating as NBA champions, entered with a 12–1 record. This marked the first time in NBA history that the same two teams played in three consecutive Finals, having previously met in2015 and2016. The Warriors won the first three games, giving them a 15–0 record, themost consecutive postseason wins in NBA history.^[2] They bounced back in Game 5 after losing to the Cavaliers in Game 4, eventually finishing the postseason 16–1 (.941), the best winning percentage in NBA playoff history.^[3]

This was theGolden State Warriors' third consecutive trip to the NBA Finals and ninth appearance overall, having come short of back-to-back titles in the2016 NBA Finals by losing in seven games after having a 3–1 lead. With the acquisition of free agent superstarKevin Durant in the offseason, the Warriors were hailed as a"Superteam" by the media and fans, forming a newAll-Star "Big Four" lead by Kevin Durant,Stephen Curry,Klay Thompson, andDraymond Green.^[4][5][6]

The team equaled their2014–15 regular-season record of 67–15, their second most wins in franchise history. They won thePacific Division title andWestern Conference Championship for the third consecutive season. The club became the fastest team in NBA history to clinch a playoff berth, achieving the feat on February 25, 2017, two days earlier than last season when they clinched on February 27, 2016.^[7] They also became the first team in NBA playoff history to start 12–0, sweeping thePortland Trail Blazers in the first round, theUtah Jazz in the Western Conference semifinals, and theSan Antonio Spurs in the Western Conference finals.^[8] Entering the Finals, this twelve game win-streak tied third for themost consecutive wins in the postseason.^[9] The Warriors also entered the Finals with the largest playoff points differential in NBA history, with a +16.3 winning margin per game.^[10]

This was theCleveland Cavaliers' third consecutive trip to the NBA Finals, and fourth appearance overall, seeking to repeat as NBA champions. This was also the seventh consecutive NBA Finals appearance forLeBron James, and the sixth forJames Jones (who technically qualified for the2011 NBA Finals along with James, but did not play).^[11]

The Cavaliers finished the 2016–17 regular season with a 51–31 record, securing the #2-seed in the Eastern Conference. In the playoffs, the Cavaliers swept theIndiana Pacers in the first round, swept theToronto Raptors in the Eastern Conference semifinals, and defeated theBoston Celtics in five games in the Eastern Conference finals.^[12]

The Warriors and Cavaliers tied the regular season series 1–1, with each team winning its home game.

The Warriors routed the Cavaliers 113–91 to take a 1–0 series lead. The Warriors led by only eight points at halftime (60–52), but they opened the third quarter on a 13–0 run and never looked back.Kevin Durant had 38 points to lead the Warriors, andStephen Curry added 28 points. For Cleveland,LeBron James also had 28 points, becoming the first player to score 6,000 career points in the postseason. He also passedReggie Miller for second all-time in postseason three-pointers made. James grabbed 15 rebounds and dished out eight assists, but he committed eight of the Cavaliers' 20 turnovers. Golden State as a team managed only half of James' total with four turnovers, equaling the NBA record for fewest turnovers in an NBA Finals game. With this victory, the Warriors became the first team ever to start 13–0 in the playoffs and their current 13 game win-streak is tied for the most consecutive postseason wins in NBA history.^[13] Former Cavaliers head coach and current Warriors interim head coachMike Brown took charge of the game, withSteve Kerr still being out due to illness.^[14]

The Cavaliers became the first team in NBA Finals history to fail to record a steal in a game. With the loss, the Cavaliers' nine game road playoff winning streak (a streak that began when they won Game 5 of the2016 NBA Finals) came to an end. James dropped to 1–7 in NBA Finals openers in his career.^[15]

The Warriors won Game 2 over the Cavaliers, 132–113, to improve their best start in NBA playoff history to 14–0. Their 14-game winning streak is thelongest postseason win streak in NBA history. Golden State surpassed Cleveland's 13 game win-streak, which dated back to Game 5 of the2016 Finals. The Warriors also hit an NBA Finals record 18 three-pointers on 43 attempts, withStephen Curry,Klay Thompson, andKevin Durant hitting four threes apiece andDraymond Green connecting on a three of his own from behind the arc. Warriors head coachSteve Kerr returned from illness to coach from the sideline for the first time since April 19, 2017. In what was a high scoring affair for both teams, the Warriors held a slim three-point lead (67–64) at halftime and a four-point lead (86–82) past the midway point of the third quarter before outscoring the Cavaliers 35–17 through the middle of the fourth quarter.LeBron James led Cleveland with 29 points while grabbing 11 rebounds and dishing out 14 assists, andKevin Love andKyrie Irving added 27 and 19 points, respectively.^[16]

For the Warriors, Durant scored 33 points with 13 rebounds, while Curry had 32 points to go along with 10 rebounds and 11 assists. With his eighth triple-double of the Finals, James moved into a tie withMagic Johnson for the most Finals triple-doubles in the league. Game 2 was the first postseason game since1970 where two opposing players each had a triple-double. Golden State took a 2–0 series lead heading into Cleveland for Game 3.^[17]

The Warriors defeated the Cavaliers 118–113 to extendthe longest winning streak in NBA playoff history to 15 games.^[2] Golden State became the first team inthe four major sports leagues in North America to go 15–0 in the postseason.^[18] The Warriors got off to a blistering start, hitting an NBA Finals record nine three-pointers in the first quarter, resulting in an early 39–32 lead. During the quarter, the Cavaliers got a scare whenLeBron James bumped into his teammateTristan Thompson trying to guardKlay Thompson, but James stayed in the game. The Warriors finished the first half making 12 three-pointers, another NBA Finals record for most threes in a half and led by six points at halftime (67–61). However, the Cavaliers started to show some life to start the third quarter, going on a 10–2 run to lead 71–69. They led 94–89 after three quarters of play and 113–107 with 2:32 remaining in the fourth quarter, but the Warriors scored 11 unanswered points to steal the road win and take a commanding 3–0 series lead heading into Game 4.^[19] During the game-ending run,Kevin Durant drilled the go-ahead three-pointer for Golden State with 45.3 seconds remaining and Iguodala blocked LeBron James' potential game-tying 3.

Durant led the Warriors with 31 points, going 4-for-7 from behind the arc that included the winning basket. Klay Thompson added 30 points on 6-of-11 shooting from three-point range, andStephen Curry scored 26 points on 5-of-9 shooting from downtown to go along with 13 rebounds. For the Cavaliers, James had 39 points, falling one assist shy of a triple-double with 11 rebounds and 9 assists.Kyrie Irving added 38 points but struggled from beyond the arc, going 0-for-7. Despite stellar performances from both James and Irving, Cleveland finished the game a dismal 12-of-44 from three-point range, compared to the Warriors 16-of-33 performance on three-pointers.^[20]

The Cavaliers led wire-to-wire as they avoided a Finals sweep by Golden State to rout the Warriors 137–116, ending Golden State's NBA postseason record winning streak at 15 games to start the 2017 playoffs. The game was notable for shattering a number of NBA Finals records. Cleveland scored 49 points in the first quarter, the most points of any period in an NBA Finals game, en route to scoring 86 points for the first half, which was the most points scored in a half. They also hit 13 three-pointers in the first half, which broke the NBA Finals record for most threes in a half set last game by the Warriors. The Cavaliers finished the game with 24 three-pointers, which easily broke the Finals record for the most threes in a game set by the Warriors in Game 2. Both teams combined to score a total of 154 points in the first half, which is another Finals record for most points by any two teams in a half.^[21]

LeBron James tallied his ninthtriple-double of the Finals (31 points, 10 rebounds, 11 assists), surpassingMagic Johnson for the most triple-doubles in a championship series. His highlight of the game came three minutes into the third quarter when he threw a pass off the backboard to himself, finishing with a powerful dunk. James also passedMichael Jordan for third all-time in points scored in the Finals.Kyrie Irving led all scorers with 40 points, breaking out of a shooting slump from behind the arc by going 7-for-12.Kevin Love added 23 points on 6-of-8 from downtown, andJ. R. Smith had 15 points, all on 5-of-9 from three-point range, including a deep shot from 30 feet in the second quarter to beat the shot clock buzzer.Kevin Durant scored 35 points to lead the Warriors, but their other three superstars were held to under 20 points each asStephen Curry,Klay Thompson, andDraymond Green managed 14, 13, and 16 points respectively. Cleveland trailed the Finals 3–1 as the series shifted back to Oakland.^[22]

Game 4 was also notable for a number of testy incidents. As the teams prepared for a jump ball with 1:56 left in the first quarter, Green was called for a hard foul for throwing an elbow atIman Shumpert. Green was trying to plead his case when Warriors head coachSteve Kerr simultaneously argued with the officials, who then called atechnical foul on Kerr, although it was mistakenly recorded as a foul on Green. With 7:26 remaining in the third quarter, Love fouled Durant from behind on a layup attempt. Durant claimed he was hit hard in the forehead, and James exchanged words with him, leading to a double-technical on the pair as well as a Type 1flagrant foul on Kevin Love.^[23] About a minute later, Green picked up what appeared to be his second technical foul of the game, which would have forced anejection. However, the officials confirmed that the first technical was on coach Kerr, not Green as originally recorded. Late in the third, Shumpert andZaza Pachulia got involved in a mini scuffle when battling for the loose ball, with Pachulia hitting in the direction of Shumpert's groin and Shumpert retaliating. At the same time, a Cavaliers fan charged onto the court to shout atMatt Barnes during the Warriors huddle as the officials were replaying the incident. Shumpert and Pachulia were assessed double technicals, and the fan was escorted out of the arena by security personnel.^[24]

Many in the media and onTwitter commented on the refereeing in this game, calling it "a disaster" and "a sideshow".^{[25][26][27][28]}

External videos
Full game broadcast by ABC onYouTube

The Warriors defeated the Cavaliers by a score of 129–120 to win the series 4–1. With this win, Golden State's 16–1 postseason record is the best winning percentage (.941) inNBA playoffs history.^[3][29][30]LeBron James andKyrie Irving tried their best to combat the Warriors offense but were unable to overcome a bad night fromKevin Love, who only had six points and a game low minus-21 in his 29 minutes, and the Cavaliers bench, which was outscored seven to 35 by the Warriors' bench.^[31] The Cavaliers did come out aggressive early whileGolden State dealt with a series of turnovers.^[32] Although the Warriors trailed 41–33 with 10:14 left in the second quarter, they chipped away at that deficit and eventually were able to take a 45–43 lead.^[32]David West got tangled up with Irving while fighting for the ball with 3:08 left before halftime; afterJ.R. Smith pushed West from behind,Tristan Thompson entered the tussle and went face-to-face with West while each jawed at one another. West, Thompson and Smith all receivedtechnical fouls after the officials reviewed the replay.^[33] A 28–4 run pushed Golden State ahead, just after it looked like Durant committed his thirdfoul on a basket by James that was not called.^[33][32] The Cavaliers were barely able to hold on, trailing by 11 at the end of the half. Cleveland responded in the third quarter by outscoring the Warriors 33–27 to cut the lead to five and eventually to as little as three, but could not withstand the offensive barrage by the Warriors in the fourth quarter.^[32]Kevin Durant hit a 17-foot fadeaway over James early in the fourth quarter, then assisted on anAndre Iguodala three-pointer the next possession as the Warriors began to pull away for good.^[33] In the fourth quarter, Stephen Curry hit a three-pointer over Kyrie Irving to seal the game for the Warriors.

Kevin Durant, who was defeated in the2012 NBA Finals when hisOklahoma City Thunder were finished off 4–1 byLeBron James'Miami Heat, returned the favor by scoring a team high 39 points in the 4–1 series defeat of James' Cavaliers while being honored as the2017 Finals MVP.Stephen Curry added 34 points, 10 assists and six rebounds alongsideDraymond Green's 12 big rebounds.Andre Iguodala, the2015 FinalsMVP, showed up big off the bench with 20 points.^[33]LeBron James finished with 41 points, 13 rebounds, and eight assists and became the first player in NBA history to average atriple-double in theNBA Finals, a feat made all the more impressive with his excellent shooting percentages of 56% from the field and 38% from behind the arc over the five-game series, with the only blemishes being his poor free-throw shooting and turnover count.Kyrie Irving was Cleveland's second leading scorer with 26 points on 9-of-22 from the field. However, it was the final game of Irving's career with the Cavaliers before being traded to theBoston Celtics in the off-season.J. R. Smith scored his 2017 postseason-best 25 points while going 7-of-8 from beyond the arc.^[33]

With the win atOracle, the Warriors became the firstBay Area team to win a championship in their home city since theOakland A's beat theLos Angeles Dodgers in Game 5 of the1974 World Series (theSan Francisco 49ers wonSuper Bowl XIX in January 1985 atStanford Stadium in nearbyStanford and the Oakland Athletics won the 1989 World Series in San Francisco), gaining revenge from their2016 loss.^[33]

2016–17 Golden State Warriors roster

Players

Coaches

Pos. No. Player Height Weight DOB From F 22 Matt Barnes 6 ft 7 in (2.01 m) 226 lb (103 kg) 1980-03-09 UCLA G 21 Ian Clark 6 ft 3 in (1.91 m) 175 lb (79 kg) 1991-03-07 Belmont G 30 Stephen Curry 6 ft 3 in (1.91 m) 190 lb (86 kg) 1988-03-14 Davidson F 35 Kevin Durant 6 ft 9 in (2.06 m) 240 lb (109 kg) 1988-09-29 Texas F 23 Draymond Green 6 ft 7 in (2.01 m) 230 lb (104 kg) 1990-03-04 Michigan State G/F 9 Andre Iguodala 6 ft 6 in (1.98 m) 215 lb (98 kg) 1984-01-28 Arizona C 15 Damian Jones 7 ft 0 in (2.13 m) 245 lb (111 kg) 1995-06-30 Vanderbilt G 34 Shaun Livingston 6 ft 7 in (2.01 m) 192 lb (87 kg) 1985-09-11 Peoria Central HS (IL) F 5 Kevon Looney () 6 ft 9 in (2.06 m) 220 lb (100 kg) 1996-02-06 UCLA F 20 James Michael McAdoo 6 ft 9 in (2.06 m) 240 lb (109 kg) 1993-01-04 North Carolina G 0 Patrick McCaw 6 ft 7 in (2.01 m) 185 lb (84 kg) 1995-10-25 UNLV C 1 JaVale McGee 7 ft 0 in (2.13 m) 270 lb (122 kg) 1988-01-19 Nevada C 27 Zaza Pachulia 6 ft 11 in (2.11 m) 275 lb (125 kg) 1984-02-10 Georgia G 11 Klay Thompson 6 ft 7 in (2.01 m) 215 lb (98 kg) 1990-02-08 Washington State F 3 David West 6 ft 9 in (2.06 m) 250 lb (113 kg) 1980-08-29 Xavier

Head coach Steve Kerr Assistant(s) Ron Adams Jarron Collins Mike Brown (associate HC) Christopher DeMarco (player development) Bruce Fraser (player development) Willie Green (player development) Legend (DP) Unsigned draft pick (FA) Free agent (S) Suspended (DL) Onassignment to D-League affiliate Injured Roster Updated: May 31, 2017

Golden State Warriors

Cleveland Cavaliers

In the United States, the NBA Finals aired onABC (and for the third consecutive year on local affiliatesWEWS-TV in Cleveland andKGO-TV in San Francisco/Oakland) withMike Breen as play-by-play commentator, andMark Jackson andJeff Van Gundy serving ascolor commentators.ESPN Radio aired it as well and hadMarc Kestecher andHubie Brown as commentators.ESPN Deportes provided exclusive Spanish-language coverage of The Finals, with a commentary team ofÁlvaro Martín and Carlos Morales.^[34][35]

• Death Lineup
• Cavaliers–Warriors rivalry

• Official website
• 2017 NBA Finals at Basketball-Reference.com

• 2016–17 NBA season
• NBA Finals
• Golden State Warriors games
• Cleveland Cavaliers games
• 2017 in sports in Ohio
• 2017 in sports in California
• 2017 in Cleveland
• 2010s in Oakland, California
• June 2017 sports events in the United States
• Basketball competitions in Oakland, California
• Basketball competitions in Cleveland
• ABS-CBN television specials

• Articles with short description
• Short description is different from Wikidata
• Use mdy dates from February 2024
• Pages using Template:College with unsupported name
• Pages using NBA roster footer with unknown parameters
• Articles with hCards