CLEVELAND -- Becoming the first team in NBA Finals history to overcome a 3-1 deficit, the Cleveland Cavaliers beat the Golden State Warriors in seven games to win the 2016 NBA title.
At the time, the Cavs' comeback against the team that laid claim to an NBA record 73-9 regular season record was regarded as one of the most impressive feats in basketball history.
In retrospect, it may have been even more remarkable than anyone could have imagined.
Following LeBron James' decision to leave Cleveland and join the Los Angeles Lakers, new information has come to light regarding his second stint with the Cavs. On Thursday, Jason Lloyd of The Athletic, Dave McMenamin of ESPN and Joe Vardon of Cleveland.com joined 92.3 The Fan's Bull & Fox for a roundtable discussion regarding the Cavs and James' exit.
In doing so, the three Cavs beat writers each helped paint the picture of a franchise featuring no shortage of turmoil, particularly when it came to the relationship of James and his former co-star, Kyrie Irving.
"It has been made clear to me by multiple people, Kyrie never really wanted LeBron to come back [to Cleveland] in the first place," said Lloyd, who also serves as an on-air analyst for WKYC Channel 3. “He didn’t think it was necessary. LeBron said something to Kyrie on the court following a game when he was with Miami something to the effect of, ‘Keep going, keep doing what you’re doing. You never know, I could be back here one day.’ And Kyrie basically said, ‘What’s he talking about? We don’t need him.'"
LeBron, of course, returned to Cleveland anyway, where his three seasons playing alongside Irving weren't short on drama. In one game less than a month into his second Cavs tenure, James admonished Irving for not having a single assist. In another, he seemingly left Irving and former Cleveland guard Dion Waiters to their own devices, standing in the corner as the two guards took turns chucking shots, leading to a postgame argument between James and Irving.
But even after tension mounted regarding Irving's injury issues in the 2015 playoffs, you would have never known the two weren't on the same page a year later. After falling behind the Warriors 3-1, James and Irving led the way in Cleveland's miraculous comeback, which culminated with 'The Block' by James and the 'The Shot' by Irving.
The Cavs' championship celebration, however, would be short-lived. A few weeks later, the Warriors added Kevin Durant, who would go on to win MVP honors in Golden State's five-game victory over Cleveland in their Finals rubber match in 2017. A few weeks after that, Irving requested a trade, which ultimately resulted in the Cavs shipping him to Boston as his notoriously rocky relationship with James once again took center stage.
Now a year later, Cleveland can no longer lay claim to not only Irving, but James as well. The memories of 2016, though, still endure and now appear even more impressive than they even did before.
