I still get chills thinking about that 2017 NBA Finals. Having followed basketball for over two decades, I've witnessed numerous championship runs, but what the Golden State Warriors and Cleveland Cavaliers delivered felt like something straight out of basketball mythology. This wasn't just another finals—it was the culmination of a rivalry that had captured the global imagination, a series where legacy was on the line every single possession. Through years of glory and perseverance, an unrivaled winning tradition was born—and as someone who's studied the game's history, I'm not taking this era for granted.
Let me set the stage for you. The Warriors entered these finals with something to prove after their historic 73-9 season ended in heartbreaking fashion the previous year. Adding Kevin Durant to a team that had already won a championship in 2015 created what I believe was the most talented starting lineup in NBA history. Meanwhile, LeBron James was carrying a Cavaliers team determined to defend their 2016 title. The tension was palpable from Game 1—I remember watching pre-game warmups thinking we were about to witness basketball at its absolute peak.
Game 1 set the tone in stunning fashion. The Warriors won 113-91, but the score doesn't capture how dominant they looked. Durant dropped 38 points with 8 rebounds and 8 assists—just effortless excellence. What struck me most was the defensive intensity; Golden State held Cleveland to just 34.9% shooting from the field. I've rarely seen a LeBron-led team look so overwhelmed. The Cavaliers bounced back in Game 2 though—Kyrie Irving's 29 points kept them competitive until the final minutes, but the Warriors ultimately prevailed 132-113. That's when I started realizing we were watching an offensive juggernaut unlike any other.
Then came Game 3—oh man, that game nearly shifted the entire series. Cleveland was phenomenal at home, with Kyrie delivering one of his signature performances—38 points including that incredible fourth-quarter flurry. The Cavs led by 6 with under two minutes left, but then KD happened. His transition three over LeBron with 45.3 seconds remaining—I remember jumping off my couch—put Golden State up for good. Final score: 118-113. That shot essentially sealed the championship in my opinion; you could see the deflation on Cleveland's bench.
Game 4 felt inevitable after that heartbreaker. The Warriors closed it out 129-120 behind another Durant masterpiece—35 points on 70% shooting. What often gets overlooked is Draymond Green's all-around impact—9 points, 12 rebounds, and 4 assists while anchoring the defense. The numbers still astonish me: Golden State averaged 121.6 points per game in the series—the highest in finals history at that time. They became the first team to go 16-1 in the postseason, which I think will stand as one of those unbreakable records.
Looking back, what made this series special wasn't just the basketball—it was about legacy. For Golden State, it validated their superteam construction. For LeBron, it marked his fifth finals loss, though he averaged a triple-double—33.6 points, 12 rebounds, and 10 assists per game—which frankly deserves more recognition in the historical conversation. I've always argued that losing in the finals doesn't diminish greatness—it often reveals the incredible difficulty of reaching that stage year after year.
The 2017 finals represented basketball evolution—the perfect marriage of individual brilliance and systemic excellence. Golden State's ball movement (30.4 assists per game) against Cleveland's isolation excellence created this beautiful basketball dichotomy. Six years later, I still find myself rewatching those games, appreciating how both teams pushed each other to basketball's outer limits. That's the thing about legendary series—they're not just games in the record books, but moments that define generations of players and fans alike. Through years of glory and perseverance, an unrivaled winning tradition was indeed born, and I feel privileged to have witnessed it unfold in real time.