From 73–9 to 3–1: How the Warriors Blew a 3-1 Lead in the 2016 NBA Finals

From 73–9 to 3–1: How the Warriors Blew a 3-1 Lead in the 2016 NBA Finals

In this video, we break down how the 2016 Golden State Warriors blew a 3–1 lead in the NBA Finals to the Cleveland Cavaliers. Using stats, game footage, and key turning points, we explore how the tide shifted in LeBron James and Kyrie Irving’s favor. We also look at Steph Curry and Klay Thompson’s performances in the final games, including their struggles under pressure. Tyronn Lue’s strategic adjustments and the suspension of Draymond Green were pivotal moments. This is the full story behind one of the most shocking collapses in NBA history…

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The 3-1 lead. The Icarus of the NBA. You ride high thinking you have the power. Thinking you have control. Thinking that victory is a certainty and failure is impossible. Believing that the next one will come on cruise control. Then you cruise for too long, get too close to the sun and watch your wings burn. But as they burn up in flames and as you drop to the ground, you see the birds around you taking their time, not getting too high to get burned like you did, and not staying too low to become prey, but applying the right amount of pressure, knowing when to catch the wind at the right moments, and understanding how to see through the blinding light or fight through the raging storm. Yes, you were great. Yes, you were dominant. But the issue is that it’s past tense. You were these things, but the birds around you, they are those things. And while you slowly fall to your imminent doom, you are faced to accept the reality that you are now ingrained in history as what not to do. Everything you did before, the history you made, the dominance you showed gone. The blemish in what should be perfection. The stain that will go down in history and possibly will submit the victor as the greatest of all time. I’m just Drew and this is how the Warriors blew a 3-1 lead. bothered [Applause] by how about that steps over to Ron. Before we get into the video, I just want to say that I’m writing this before the outcome of the Warriors and Rockets game 7 has been decided. I guess that means that if the Warriors choke, I’m basically a genie and can see the future and should become a gambling addict. Just kidding. Don’t do that. Don’t give paid donations to those gambling websites just to lose your 15 leg parlay. Instead, give your very easy and free donation to me, Daddy Drew, with a like, comment, and subscription. I have an ever growing catalog of basketball bangers in this sad, sad world with ESPN reporters who know basketball, as well as I know how to play the harmonica. Who even plays the harmonica anymore? That’s sad, man. I’m sad now. Like and subscribe to fix that. First, let me take y’all back to the 2015 to 16 NBA season. Over in the East, the Cavs were running it at number one. The Raptors were the second seed in the East and were still cementing themselves as the LeBronto Raptors. Isaiah Thomas was an all-star on the Celtics. The Hawks still had Paul Milsap, Al Horford, Jeff Teague, and Kyle Corver. Derrick Rose and Jimmy Butler were still on the Bulls. Campbell Walker and Al Jefferson had the Hornets as the six seed. Paul George wasn’t podcasting yet. Andre Drummond was still mastering the craft of grabbing his own rebounds off of his own misses. Giannis was still frail and skinny in his sophomore year of the NBA. The 76ers had the second worst record in the NBA, falling one loss shy of tying number one, which was the 1973 [Music] 76ers brother. Out west, the Warriors were absolutely running things with the Kawawaii le Spurs following closely behind. The Thunder still had their core in Russ KD while Lob City still ran wild. Dame and CJ McCullum were emerging as a starback court in Portland and Dirk and the Mavs were slowly fading out of the picture. Oh, and the beer was beginning the stages that would soon lead to him becoming one of the greatest scorers of all time. Demarcus Cousins was still giving the most violent buckets on the Kings. The Brow refused to cut it and Kobe Bean was still playing though it was his last season. Not going to lie, the nostalgia is kind of hitting me right now. And I understand the people who are stuck in 2016 to this day. To this day. To this day. The 2015 to 2016 Warriors will probably go down as the greatest NBA team of all time. They were coming off of an already historic season. In the 2014 and 2015 season, the Warriors finished 67 and 15, tied for the sixth best record in NBA history at the time. They led the league in points per game, field goal percentage, three-pointer percentage, and assists, while also having the statistically best defense in the league. On top of that, Steph Curry fully emerged, winning the MVP, and breaking the record for most three-pointers made in the season. The Warriors would go on to complete this historic season, beating the LeBron led Cleveland Cavs in six games. But nobody was expecting an already all-time season to somehow be improved upon. and etched into history for the foreseeable future in the following year. The 2016 NBA season will be a year of record holding for the Warriors. First and foremost, we have the greatest Mike Breen bang of all time introduced that year. And it all started when the Warriors had a timeout and decided not to use it. They do have a timeout. Decide not to use it. Curry way down top. Bang. Second, Steph tied the then record for most threes made in a game at 12. Third, Steph Curry absolutely shattered the very record he set the year before in threes made in a season, hitting .42 that year. Fourth, and I’m going to sound like a broken record, Curry was named the first ever unanimous MVP in NBA history. Granted, LeBron or MJ probably should have won the MVP unanimously in previous years. That season, he was the scoring leader, averaging 30.1 points per game on 50490 shooting, and the steals leader, averaging 2.1 steals per game while also leading the league in win shares. He was also the first player in NBA history to join a 50490 club while leading the league in scoring. Fifth, the Warriors set the record for the longest home win streak in NBA history, as well as the most regular season road wins in NBA history. Lastly, and most importantly, the Warriors finished 73 and N, marking themselves as the greatest regular season team of all time. Additionally, they again let in points per game, field goal percentage, three-point percentage, and assists. In the first round of the playoffs, the Warriors would storm past the Rockets in five games with Curry missing two games due to a knee injury. Then the Warriors would do the same to the Blazers in the Western Conference semi-finals with Curry missing the first three games. After two gentleman sweeps with their unanimous MVP missing half of the games, it really seemed that the Warriors were unstoppable. It seemed that any team that would be put in front of them would shrivel up and wither when it mattered most until they ran into the Oklahoma City Thunder in the Western Conference Finals. In the first four games of the Western Conference Finals, the Thunder completely overwhelmed Golden State, averaging 115 points per game on 47% shooting and 35.6% three-point shooting. To the Warriors, 104.8 points per game on 42.5% shooting and 34.3% three-point shooting. To make matters worse, Curry was only averaging 23.5 points per game on 41.4% shooting and 31.4% from three, averaging 4.3 turnovers a game. When your best player is showing inefficiency, especially if it’s the most valuable player, it only makes sense that the Thunder would be beating the Warriors at their own game. However, it wasn’t like KD and Westbrook were both playing exceptionally. Yes, they both averaged 29 and 28 points per game, respectively, but KD was shooting 39.5% from the field and 27.8% from three, with Russell Westbrook being the unsung hero, averaging 11 assists and shooting 36.4% from three. Nevertheless, the Thunder took a commanding 3-1 lead after a 24-point win in game four. Remember what I said at the start of the video about being up 3-1? The Warriors would do the unthinkable and flip the series with Klay Thompson birthing a playoff legend. In games 5 to7, the Warriors held the Thunder to 100 points per game, a 15-point drop off. The Thunder proceeded to shoot 40.2% from the field and 28.7% from three with a four-point increase in turnovers per game when compared to the first four games. The Thunder’s efficiency plummeted while the Warriors rose while KD continued to struggle from the field and with turnovers, Westbrook followed suit. Westbrook scoring dropped as he proceeded to shoot 38.7% from the field and 23.1% from three while averaging 2.2 more turnovers per game and fewer assists per game. Curry and Clay, however, went nuclear. Curry averaged 32.7 points per game on 46.7% three-point shooting, also increasing his rebounds and assists. And Klay had one of the greatest single game playoff performances of all time in game six, scoring 41 points with 11 threes, allowing for game six Clay to debut. Klay was already having an efficient series, but his points per game jumped by eight as his efficiency took an insane jump, shooting 52.3% from the field and an absurd 54.8% from three. What looked like a thunderstorm turned into a light rain and rainbow threes with the Warriors winning in seven coming back from a 3-1 deficit. But isn’t it funny how the world works? Over in the East, the Cavs were quietly having a great season, finishing first even after a head coaching change midway into the season. LeBron had another MVP caliber season as they easily dismantled the East in the playoffs, getting to the finals with a 16-2 record, sweeping their opponents in the first two rounds. So, the matchup would be LeBron, Kyrie, and Kevin Love versus Curry, Clay, and Draymond. The Warriors were determined to prove that their championship win the previous year wasn’t a fluke as both Kyrie and Kevin Love were injured. That determination led to them leading 3-1 after four games. At that point, the Warriors contained LeBron and Kyrie as they both averaged under 25 points per game on less than 44% from the field. It seemed like the Warriors would repeat, beginning a new dynasty, a dynasty that would compete with that of Michael Jordan’s Bulls or Tim Duncan Spurs. But remember when I said there was a coaching change for the Cavs midway through the season? David Blat, who led the Cavs to a 30 and 11 record, was replaced by Tailoo. Though Tailoo had a worse win percentage that year when compared to Blatz, the Cavs were much more cohesive and Tailoo was obviously a mastermind. After game four, Tailoo decided to switch the game plan, targeting Steph Curry on the pick and roll while freeing up the offense and allowing LeBron to take full control. This freed Kyrie to be a score, opening up both him and LeBron. Additionally, Lou strategically utilized Richard Jefferson at the four instead of Kevin Love at times when pace and switchability was needed. The result, Curry struggled with foul trouble, not allowing him to get into rhythm as he proceeded to shoot 36.4% from the field in games 5 through 7. Meanwhile, LeBron averaged 36.3 points, 11.7 rebounds, and 9.7 assists on 53.3% shooting, co-starred by Kyrie’s 27.7 points per game on 49.5% shooting and 45.2% three-point shooting. It also didn’t help that in the final minutes of game four, Draymond got a series changing technical foul, leading to him being suspended for game five at home, allowing the Cavs to win and gain momentum. After a win in Oracle, LeBron and Kyrie smelled blood and the Warriors were then in sharkinfested water. LeBron and Kyrie both dropped 41 in game five. And in game six, LeBron did it again. Suddenly, the series was tied. The Warriors offense stalled with a game seven on the way. Game seven at Oracle Arena. Everything on the line. What followed was one of the most dramatic games in NBA history. Klay and Steph combined for only 31 points, while Draymond erupted for 32 points, 15 rebounds, and nine assists. But how can you win when your best players combined are getting outscored by someone who is not known for their scoring prowess whatsoever? In fact, that was Draymond’s last 30-point game. Klay and Steph went scoreless in the final 4 minutes and 39 seconds. Then Kyrie hit the shot of a lifetime over the unanimous MVP one. LeBron got the chase down block of all time, too. And Kevin Love got the stop of all time. Game. Just like that, the greatest regular season team in NBA history didn’t win the title. Instead, they became an answer to a trivia question. Who is the only team in NBA Finals history to blow a 3-1 lead? Kyrie wins a title. LeBron wins another Finals MVP. His legacy is cemented at the expense of the Warriors. Kevin Durant joined the following season. A super team was born. But the 2016 finals, that collapse, it will forever haunt the dynasty that shortly began. And I believe that those two titles with KD will also haunt them, reminding them of what made them acquire KD, what made them feel that they didn’t have enough. Sometimes history changes in the blink of an eye. And for the Warriors, it only took three games. [Music]