the last time lebron won the finals was 2016.
the last time lebron won the finals was 2016.
when was the last time lebron won the finals?
2016
this season's finals marked the first time in nba history in which both teams entered game 7 with the same total points scored through six games (610 points each). the cavaliers defeated the warriors 93–89 in game 7 to win the series 4–3. game 7 was close, with 20 lead changes and 11 ties. this was the only game in the series to have a final margin of fewer than 10 points. at halftime, the warriors were ahead 49–42. in the second half, the cavaliers outscored the warriors 51–40 as the warriors failed to score a basket during the last 4:39 of the game. in the closing minutes of the 4th quarter, lebron james delivered what became known as "the block" on a layup attempt by andre iguodala with the score tied at 89 and 1:50 remaining in the game. kyrie irving made a go-ahead 3-point field goal over stephen curry to give cleveland a 92–89 lead with 0:53 remaining in the game. before kyrie irving's 3-point field goal, both teams were tied at 699 points scored apiece in this series. immediately after irving's 3-pointer, golden state brought the ball up-court, opting not to call a timeout, and although golden state got a preferred switch and matchup of curry on kevin love, love made arguably "the biggest defensive stop of the entire nba season", and forced curry into a contested 3-pointer, which he missed. after lebron james hurt his right wrist on a dunk attempt in which he was fouled, he nearly clinched the title for the cavaliers by making one of two free throws with 10.6 seconds left in the game. the cavaliers fouled draymond green with 6.5 seconds remaining. stephen curry received the ensuing inbounds pass, pump faked and shot a three-pointer over cavaliers guard iman shumpert. the attempt missed, and was rebounded by marreese speights of the warriors who attempted a three-pointer as time expired and missed. love immediately hugged the finals mvp lebron james. draymond green led all scorers with 32 points, including 6 of 8 from three-point range to go along with 15 rebounds and 9 assists. stephen curry and klay thompson added 17 and 14 points, respectively. lebron james led all cavaliers with 27 points and became only the 3rd player ever in nba history to record a triple double in an nba finals game 7 by adding 11 assists and 11 rebounds. kyrie irving added 26 points for cleveland.
2016 nba finals
in the offseason, the heat focused on retaining their team outside the big 3. ray allen and rashard lewis opted into their contracts for an extra year. mario chalmers picked up the team option for another year with the team. james jones stayed on the team after mulling over retirement. during the 2013 nba draft, the heat traded a second round pick for forward-guard james ennis, the 50th pick. udonis haslem is to have surgery on his knee after tearing his meniscus during the regular season. chris andersen was re-signed to a one-year deal with the heat. mike miller was released via the amnesty clause, which would save the heat upwards to $40 million in the luxury tax. greg oden, the first pick in the 2007 nba draft, signed to a one-year deal at the league minimum. michael beasley, who was formerly drafted by the heat with the 2nd overall pick in the 2008 nba draft, was signed to a 1-year contract. the heat began with a 22–6 record, the best start in franchise history. however, the 2013–14 season was full of struggle for the heat. their struggles against other top teams continued in a similar fashion as the 2010–11 season. they suffered an 0–4 regular season sweep against the brooklyn nets, three of them by one point and one went into overtime in brooklyn. they also went 0–2 when playing against the chicago bulls on the road at the united center in chicago and 0–2 against the indiana pacers when playing against them in bankers life fieldhouse in indianapolis. addressing the heat's struggles, many heat players admitted that the team had lacked the necessary motivation and energy. fourth quarter woes were also to blame (as in the past), with the heat often failing to keep the lead for four quarters. much was also talked about mario chalmers' poor play, often becoming the target of berating from lebron, wade and bosh dubbed the "little brother" of the heat. during a home game against the indiana pacers on december 18, 2013, lebron and mario chalmers got into a near-altercation after exchanging words during a timeout in the third quarter. chalmers gave lebron some words, in turn lebron made a leap as if to physically do something, until he was restrained by udonis haslem. james later apologized court side to chalmers as well as on twitter stating it was "wrong" of him. lebron also suffered a nose injury during a game against oklahoma city on february 20. he returned with an unusual black nose mask on february 27 during a home game against the new york knicks, he retained a high performance and miami won 108–82. during a home game against the charlotte bobcats, lebron james had a career-high 61 points. his 61-points was also a franchise high, breaking glen rice's 56-point franchise record, set in 1995 against the orlando magic. the heat concluded the season with a 54–28 regular season record, the second seed in the much weakened-eastern conference, the lowest record in the big three era. in the playoffs, they swept over the 7th-seed charlotte bobcats in the first round. it became the second consecutive sweep of the big 3 era. in the conference semifinals. the heat found themselves against a rival that swept them during the regular season: brooklyn nets. as the heat won the first two games at home, brooklyn won game 3, ending the heat's six-game winning streak of the postseason. fortunately, james had a career-high 49 points to lead the heat to victory in game 4 on the road. back at home, the heat avenged their regular season sweep loss over the nets in game 5. moving on, the heat faced another rematch against the indiana pacers in the eastern conference finals and their third consecutive playoff encounter. pacer head coach frank vogel made it plain that the pacers felt, if game 7 was at indiana, they would have beaten miami, so they strove to get the number one seed in the east. the pacers blew out the heat in game 1, but lost down the stretch in game 2, 3, and 4. they avoided elimination in game 5, with james facing foul trouble and career lows in points and minutes played. much was made about lance stephenson's antics throughout the series, from blowing on james' ear to slamming his hand at norris cole's face. in game 6, despite taking a 9–2 lead early in the first quarter, the pacers were subsequently blown out for the rest of the way; miami would reach the finals for the fourth straight year, joining the boston celtics and the los angeles lakers as only the third franchise to achieve such a feat. in the finals the miami heat would face the san antonio spurs in another much-expected rematch. however the miami heat would fail to achieve their goal of a three-peat, and like their 2011 loss to the mavericks, would end up falling in the rematch against the spurs, although in a brutal five-game sweep in which the heat lost by 15 points or more in each loss. during game 1, the heat players suffered dehydration due to an air conditioning failure at the at&t center in san antonio and in particular lebron was unable to stay in the game because of cramping leading to the internet/twitter meme referring to him as "lecramp" and the oxymoron slogan "too hot for the heat". after winning game 2 in san antonio, miami lost the next three games including two straight home losses in game 3 and game 4. it would be the heat's first postseason loss ever since their loss to the dallas mavericks in 2011. on july 11, 2014, lebron james announced he had decided to return to cleveland leaving wade and bosh to continue on without him.
history of the miami heat