Every NBA team's best iteration ever

Every NBA team’s best iteration ever

PORTLAND, OR - 1987: Head Coach Pat Riley leads Magic Johnson #32, Byron Scott #4, and Kareem Abdul-Jabbar #33 during a game played circa 1987 at the Veterans Memorial Coliseum in Portland, Oregon. NOTE TO USER: User expressly acknowledges and agrees that, by downloading and or using this photograph, User is consenting to the terms and conditions of the Getty Images License Agreement. Mandatory Copyright Notice: Copyright 1987 NBAE (Photo by Brian Drake/NBAE via Getty Images) /

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CLEVELAND, OH – JUNE 16: Kyrie Irving #2 of the Cleveland Cavaliers handles the ball against the Golden State Warriors in Game Six of the 2015 NBA Finals on June 16, 2016 at Quicken Loans Arena in Cleveland, Ohio. NOTE TO USER: User expressly acknowledges and agrees that, by downloading and/or using this photograph, user is consenting to the terms and conditions of the Getty Images License Agreement. Mandatory Copyright Notice: Copyright 2015 NBAE (Photo by Garrett Ellwood/NBAE via Getty Images) /

Cleveland Cavaliers: 2015-16

For a long time, the Cavaliers did not have very much to celebrate. For the first twenty years of the team’s existence, they won a grand total of one (1) playoff series. Throughout the 1980s and 1990s, things weren’t much better. They had a very solid team built around Mark Price, Brad Daugherty, and Larry Nance, but still struggled to advance out of the first round. And when they did make it to further rounds in 1992 and 1993, they had their dreams dashed — as did so many others — by Michael Jordan and the Chicago Bulls.

In 2003, though, their fortunes changed when they drafted LeBron James, although the team was never able to win a championship with him until his second tenure there — with the best team in Cavaliers history.

Featuring Kyrie Irving and Kevin Love alongside LeBron James, Cleveland was able to overcome a 3-1 deficit in the NBA Finals, becoming the first team in NBA history to do so. It was an unbelievable comeback, and while they were given all the breaks in the world over the last three games, James and Irving in particular played as well as either ever have. In Game 5, their ability to simultaneously shine was most clearly demonstrated as both scored 41 points while leading the Cavaliers to a 15-point victory. In Game 7, all three of their All Stars contributed to their victory in a major way — James with his triple-double and iconic chasedown block of Andre Iguodala, Irving with 26 points and one of the most clutch shots in NBA history, and Love with his refusal to allow Stephen Curry an open shot in the final minute. It was Cleveland’s first title in 52 years, since the Browns won the NFL Championship in 1964, and what is likely to remain the Cavaliers greatest success for a very long time.

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