2018 NBA Finals

The 2018 NBA Finals was the championship series of the National Basketball Association's (NBA) 2017–18 season and conclusion of the season's playoffs. In this best-of-seven playoff, the defending NBA champion and Western Conference champion Golden State Warriors swept the defending Eastern Conference champion Cleveland Cavaliers four games to zero. The Warriors became the 7th NBA franchise to win back-to-back championships, joining the Los Angeles Lakers, Boston Celtics, Detroit Pistons, Chicago Bulls, Houston Rockets, and Miami Heat. This year's Finals was the first time in any of North America's four major professional sports leagues that the same two teams met for the championship four years in a row.[1] This was also the first time that a team was swept in the NBA Finals since 2007, in which the Cavaliers were also the losing team. LeBron James, in his eighth consecutive NBA Finals appearance and ninth appearance overall, suffered the second Finals sweep of his career, having also played in the 2007 Finals. Warriors small forward Kevin Durant was named NBA Finals MVP for the second straight year.

2018 NBA Finals
TeamCoachWins
Golden State Warriors Steve Kerr 4
Cleveland Cavaliers Tyronn Lue 0
DatesMay 31 – June 8
MVPKevin Durant
(Golden State Warriors)
Eastern FinalsCavaliers defeated Celtics, 4–3
Western FinalsWarriors defeated Rockets, 4–3

The Warriors entered the series having home-court advantage with a regular season record of 58–24, compared to the Cavaliers' regular season record of 50–32. Entering the matchup, the Warriors were also noted by various sports media outlets as one of the biggest NBA Finals favorites in recent history.[2][3][4] The 2018 Finals began on May 31 and ended on June 8. The series broke the record set by the 2014 NBA Finals for highest average scoring differential per game (15.0) for an NBA Finals series.[5]

Background

Cleveland Cavaliers

This was the Cleveland Cavaliers' fourth consecutive trip to the NBA Finals, and fifth appearance overall. This was also the eighth consecutive NBA Finals appearance for Cavaliers small forward LeBron James.[6]

LeBron James of the Cleveland Cavaliers

Prior to the 2017–18 season, All-Star point guard Kyrie Irving requested to be traded away from the Cavaliers. Although James was against the idea of trading him away, the Cavaliers agreed to Irving's request, trading him to the Boston Celtics in exchange for point guard Isaiah Thomas, small forward Jae Crowder, center Ante Žižić, the first round pick from the Brooklyn Nets in the 2018 NBA Draft and the Miami Heat's 2020 second round pick. Miami's second round pick was added as compensation after Isaiah Thomas failed his physical.[7] Other major changes included shooting guard Dwyane Wade signing with the Cavaliers, thus reuniting with James from their time together on the Big Three-era Miami Heat,[8] and the signing of point guard Derrick Rose to a one-year contract.[9]

On February 8, 2018 – just before the NBA trade deadline – the Cavaliers radically changed their roster in a little more than an hour,[10][11] acquiring George Hill, Rodney Hood, Jordan Clarkson, and Larry Nance Jr. in exchange for Thomas, Rose, Crowder, Wade, Channing Frye, Iman Shumpert, and their own 2018 first-round pick. Multiple writers argued at the time that the trades made the Cavaliers significantly better.[12][13][14]

The Cavaliers finished the regular season with a 50–32 record, securing the 4th seed in the Eastern Conference. In the playoffs, the Cavaliers defeated the Indiana Pacers in seven games in the first round, swept the top-seeded Toronto Raptors in the Eastern Conference semifinals, and defeated the Boston Celtics in seven games in the Eastern Conference Finals.[15]

Golden State Warriors

This was the Golden State Warriors' fourth consecutive trip to the NBA Finals.[16] During the 2017–18 offseason, the Warriors re-signed their core players, including point guard Stephen Curry to a five-year contract worth $201 million, and Kevin Durant to a two-year, $53 million contract. Golden State also re-signed Andre Iguodala, Shaun Livingston, Zaza Pachulia, and David West.[17] A major free agent acquired during the offseason was guard Nick Young.[18]

The Warriors finished the 2017–18 regular season with a 58–24 record, winning the Pacific Division and securing the 2nd seed in the Western Conference. In the playoffs, Golden State defeated the San Antonio Spurs in five games in the first round, eliminated the New Orleans Pelicans in five games in the Western Conference semifinals, and defeated the 65-win Houston Rockets in seven games in the Western Conference Finals.[19]

The Warriors entered the series as heavy favorites,[20] aiming to repeat back-to-back titles after losing their quest in 2016.

Road to the Finals
Cleveland Cavaliers (Eastern Conference champion)Golden State Warriors (Western Conference champion)
Eastern Conference
# Team W L PCT GB GP
1 c – Toronto Raptors * 59 23 .720 – 82
2 x – Boston Celtics 55 27 .671 4.0 82
3 x – Philadelphia 76ers 52 30 .634 7.0 82
4 y – Cleveland Cavaliers * 50 32 .610 9.0 82
5 x – Indiana Pacers 48 34 .585 11.0 82
6 y – Miami Heat * 44 38 .537 15.0 82
7 x – Milwaukee Bucks 44 38 .537 15.0 82
8 x – Washington Wizards 43 39 .524 16.0 82
9 Detroit Pistons 39 43 .476 20.0 82
10 Charlotte Hornets 36 46 .439 23.0 82
11 New York Knicks 29 53 .354 30.0 82
12 Brooklyn Nets 28 54 .341 31.0 82
13 Chicago Bulls 27 55 .329 32.0 82
14 Orlando Magic 25 57 .305 34.0 82
15 Atlanta Hawks 24 58 .293 35.0 82
4th seed in the East, 6th best league record		 Regular season
Western Conference
# Team W L PCT GB GP
1 z – Houston Rockets * 65 17 .793 – 82
2 y – Golden State Warriors * 58 24 .707 7.0 82
3 y – Portland Trail Blazers * 49 33 .598 16.0 82
4 x – Oklahoma City Thunder 48 34 .585 17.0 82
5 x – Utah Jazz 48 34 .585 17.0 82
6 x – New Orleans Pelicans 48 34 .585 17.0 82
7 x – San Antonio Spurs 47 35 .573 18.0 82
8 x – Minnesota Timberwolves 47 35 .573 18.0 82
9 Denver Nuggets 46 36 .561 19.0 82
10 Los Angeles Clippers 42 40 .512 23.0 82
11 Los Angeles Lakers 35 47 .427 30.0 82
12 Sacramento Kings 27 55 .329 38.0 82
13 Dallas Mavericks 24 58 .293 41.0 82
14 Memphis Grizzlies 22 60 .268 43.0 82
15 Phoenix Suns 21 61 .256 44.0 82
2nd seed in the West, 3rd best league record
Defeated the 5th seeded Indiana Pacers, 4–3 First round Defeated the 7th seeded San Antonio Spurs, 4–1
Defeated the 1st seeded Toronto Raptors, 4–0 Conference Semifinals Defeated the 6th seeded New Orleans Pelicans, 4–1
Defeated the 2nd seeded Boston Celtics, 4–3 Conference Finals Defeated the 1st seeded Houston Rockets, 4–3

Regular season series

The Warriors won the regular season series 2–0.

December 25, 2017
Cleveland Cavaliers 92, Golden State Warriors 99
Oracle Arena, Oakland, California

Series summary
Game Date Road team Result Home team
Game 1 May 31Cleveland Cavaliers114–124 (OT) (0–1)Golden State Warriors
Game 2 June 3Cleveland Cavaliers103–122 (0–2)Golden State Warriors
Game 3 June 6Golden State Warriors110–102 (3–0)Cleveland Cavaliers
Game 4 June 8Golden State Warriors108–85 (4–0)Cleveland Cavaliers

Game summaries
All times are in Eastern Daylight Time (UTC−4)

Game 1
ABC
May 31
9:00 pm
Cleveland Cavaliers 114, Golden State Warriors 124 (OT)
Scoring by quarter: 30–29, 26–27, 22–28, 29–23, Overtime: 7–17
Pts: LeBron James 51
Rebs: Kevin Love 13
Asts: LeBron James 8		 Pts: Stephen Curry 29
Rebs: Draymond Green 11
Asts: Draymond Green, Curry 9 each
Golden State leads series, 1–0
Oracle Arena, Oakland, California
Attendance: 19,596
Referees:
  • No. 41 Ken Mauer
  • No. 25 Tony Brothers
  • No. 14 Ed Malloy

Klay Thompson of the Warriors suffered a leg injury in the first quarter, but returned to the game in the second quarter.[21] With the score tied at 107 in the last five seconds of regulation, J. R. Smith of the Cavaliers collected an offensive rebound following a missed free throw, but dribbled the ball towards half court rather than taking a final shot. Tyronn Lue, Cleveland's coach, later said that Smith thought the Cavaliers were ahead, though Smith denied not knowing the correct score, and claimed he assumed his team would take a time-out. Cleveland was not able to score in the final seconds and the game went to overtime.[22] In overtime, the Warriors outscored the Cavaliers 17–7 to win the game.[23] Tristan Thompson was ejected following a flagrant foul with 2.6 seconds remaining in overtime.[21]

Cleveland's LeBron James scored 51 points in Game 1, the sixth-highest point total for an NBA Finals game and the most in a loss.[24] After Game 1, James punched a whiteboard in the Cavaliers' locker room due to frustration of his team's level of play, suffering a bone contusion in his hand that he kept private for the remainder of the series.[25]

Game 2
ABC
June 3
8:00 pm
Cleveland Cavaliers 103, Golden State Warriors 122
Scoring by quarter: 28–32, 18–27, 34–31, 23–32
Pts: LeBron James 29
Rebs: Kevin Love 10
Asts: LeBron James 13		 Pts: Stephen Curry 33
Rebs: Kevin Durant 9
Asts: Stephen Curry 8
Golden State leads series, 2–0
Oracle Arena, Oakland, California
Attendance: 19,596
Referees:
  • No. 24 Mike Callahan
  • No. 16 David Guthrie
  • No. 9 Derrick Stafford

The Warriors employed more double teams against James in Game 2, limiting him to 29 points. Cleveland had a 41% field goal percentage, including 9-for-27 (33.3%) on three-point field goals.[26] Meanwhile, Golden State's Stephen Curry set an NBA Finals record in Game 2 with nine three-point field goals.[27] He scored 33 points, while the Warriors got 26 points, nine rebounds, and seven assists from Kevin Durant, and 20 points from Klay Thompson.[28] Smith struggled for Cleveland, shooting 2-for-9 (22.2%) with both baskets coming in the first quarter.[29] The Warriors won 122–103 over the Cavaliers.[28]

Game 3
ABC
June 6
9:00 pm
Golden State Warriors 110, Cleveland Cavaliers 102
Scoring by quarter: 28–29, 24–29, 31–23, 27–21
Pts: Kevin Durant 43
Rebs: Kevin Durant 13
Asts: Draymond Green 9		 Pts: LeBron James 33
Rebs: Kevin Love 13
Asts: LeBron James 11
Golden State leads series, 3–0
Quicken Loans Arena, Cleveland, Ohio
Attendance: 20,562
Referees:
  • No. 8 Marc Davis
  • No. 30 John Goble
  • No. 15 Zach Zarba

Andre Iguodala of the Warriors, who missed the previous six games, including the first two games of the NBA Finals, due to a left leg injury, returned in Game 3.[30] He injured his right leg early in the game, not returning until after halftime.[31] The Cavaliers started the game with a 14–4 advantage and led for the entire first half, at one point leading by 13. The Warriors trimmed Cleveland's lead to six by halftime.[32] The Cavaliers enjoyed strong contributions from Rodney Hood, who scored 15 points, Smith, who scored 13 points, and Kevin Love, who had 20 points and 13 rebounds.[33]

Durant, who reprised his dagger 3-pointer over LeBron James from Game 3 the previous year with 49.8 seconds left to give the Warriors a 106-100 lead, scored a playoff career-high 43 points,[34] while also contributing 13 rebounds and seven assists, in a 110–102 win over the Cavaliers, helping the Warriors take a 3–0 lead.[35] Golden State withstood poor offensive performances from Curry and Klay Thompson, the Splash Brothers. Curry missed 13 out of his first 14 shot attempts in the game.[33] The Cavaliers were 3-for-17 (17.6%) on three point shots in the second half, and Durant scored a three-pointer late in the game that ended Cleveland's chances of a comeback. With the 110–102 victory, the Warriors took a 3–0 series lead.[36]

Game 4
ABC
June 8
9:00 pm
Golden State Warriors 108, Cleveland Cavaliers 85
Scoring by quarter: 34–25, 27–27, 25–13, 22–20
Pts: Stephen Curry 37
Rebs: Kevin Durant 12
Asts: Kevin Durant 10		 Pts: LeBron James 23
Rebs: Kevin Love 9
Asts: LeBron James 8
Golden State wins NBA Finals, 4–0
Quicken Loans Arena, Cleveland, Ohio
Attendance: 20,562
Referees:
  • No. 48 Scott Foster
  • No. 19 James Capers
  • No. 23 Jason Phillips

The Warriors led the game nearly from start to finish. Golden State led 13–3 at the start of the game. Though the Cavaliers took the lead, 39–38, in the second quarter,[37] the Warriors led 61–52 at halftime.[38] The Warriors expanded their lead in the third quarter and entered the last period of play with an 86–65 advantage.[39]

With Golden State leading 102–77 with 4:03 remaining, James came out of the game, receiving a standing ovation.[37] Curry scored 37 points and made seven three-pointers, while Durant recorded a triple-double with 20 points, 12 rebounds and 10 assists. The Warriors won 108–85 to sweep the series. Durant was named Finals MVP for the second straight year.[40] He received seven of the 11 votes, with Curry receiving the other four.[41]

Game 4 was also James' last game as a Cavalier as he joined the Los Angeles Lakers during the offseason.

The Warriors' victory parade took place on June 12 in Downtown Oakland.[42][43]

Rosters

Cleveland Cavaliers
2017–18 Cleveland Cavaliers roster
Players Coaches
Pos.No.NameHeightWeightDOB (YYYY-MM-DD)From
G 81 Calderón, José 6 ft 3 in (1.91 m) 200 lb (91 kg) 1981–09–28 Spain
G 8 Clarkson, Jordan 6 ft 5 in (1.96 m) 194 lb (88 kg) 1992–06–07 Missouri
F 32 Green, Jeff 6 ft 9 in (2.06 m) 235 lb (107 kg) 1986–08–28 Georgetown
G 3 Hill, George 6 ft 3 in (1.91 m) 188 lb (85 kg) 1986–05–04 IUPUI
G/F 10 Holland, John (TW) 6 ft 5 in (1.96 m) 205 lb (93 kg) 1988–11–06 Boston University
G/F 1 Hood, Rodney 6 ft 8 in (2.03 m) 206 lb (93 kg) 1992–10–20 Duke
G/F 23 James, LeBron (C) 6 ft 8 in (2.03 m) 250 lb (113 kg) 1984–12–30 St. Vincent–St. Mary HS (OH)
G/F 26 Korver, Kyle 6 ft 7 in (2.01 m) 212 lb (96 kg) 1981–03–17 Creighton
F/C 0 Love, Kevin (C) 6 ft 10 in (2.08 m) 251 lb (114 kg) 1988–09–07 UCLA
F 22 Nance Jr., Larry 6 ft 9 in (2.06 m) 230 lb (104 kg) 1993–01–01 Wyoming
G/F 16 Osman, Cedi 6 ft 8 in (2.03 m) 215 lb (98 kg) 1995–04–08 Turkey
C 21 Perkins, Kendrick 6 ft 10 in (2.08 m) 270 lb (122 kg) 1984–11–10 Clifton J. Ozen HS (TX)
G 15 Perrantes, London (TW) 6 ft 2 in (1.88 m) 190 lb (86 kg) 1994–10–03 Virginia
G/F 5 Smith, J. R. 6 ft 6 in (1.98 m) 225 lb (102 kg) 1985–09–09 Saint Benedict's Prep (NJ)
F/C 13 Thompson, Tristan 6 ft 9 in (2.06 m) 238 lb (108 kg) 1991–03–13 Texas
F 9 White, Okaro 6 ft 8 in (2.03 m) 215 lb (98 kg) 1992–08–13 Florida State
F/C 41 Žižić, Ante 6 ft 11 in (2.11 m) 250 lb (113 kg) 1997–01–04 Croatia
Head coach
  • Tyronn Lue
Assistant coach(es)
  • Larry Drew (Assoc. HC)
  • Jim Boylan
  • Phil Handy
  • Damon Jones
  • Mike Longabardi
  • James Posey
  • Vitaly Potapenko
Legend
  • (C) Team captain
  • (DP) Unsigned draft pick
  • (FA) Free agent
  • (S) Suspended
  • (GL) On assignment to G League affiliate
  • (TW) Two-way affiliate player
  • Injured

Roster
Last transaction: April 11, 2018

Golden State Warriors
2017–18 Golden State Warriors roster
Players Coaches
Pos.No.NameHeightWeightDOB (YYYY-MM-DD)From
F/C 2 Bell, Jordan 6 ft 9 in (2.06 m) 224 lb (102 kg) 1995–01–07 Oregon
F 25 Boucher, Chris (TW) 6 ft 10 in (2.08 m) 200 lb (91 kg) 1993–01–11 Oregon
G 4 Cook, Quinn 6 ft 2 in (1.88 m) 179 lb (81 kg) 1993–03–23 Duke
G 30 Curry, Stephen (C) 6 ft 3 in (1.91 m) 190 lb (86 kg) 1988–03–14 Davidson
F 35 Durant, Kevin 6 ft 9 in (2.06 m) 240 lb (109 kg) 1988–09–29 Texas
F 23 Green, Draymond (C) 6 ft 7 in (2.01 m) 230 lb (104 kg) 1990–03–04 Michigan State
G/F 9 Iguodala, Andre 6 ft 6 in (1.98 m) 215 lb (98 kg) 1984–01–28 Arizona
C 15 Jones, Damian 7 ft 0 in (2.13 m) 245 lb (111 kg) 1995–06–30 Vanderbilt
G 34 Livingston, Shaun 6 ft 7 in (2.01 m) 192 lb (87 kg) 1985–09–11 Peoria Central HS (IL)
F/C 5 Looney, Kevon 6 ft 9 in (2.06 m) 220 lb (100 kg) 1996–02–06 UCLA
G 0 McCaw, Patrick 6 ft 7 in (2.01 m) 185 lb (84 kg) 1995–10–25 UNLV
C 1 McGee, JaVale 7 ft 0 in (2.13 m) 270 lb (122 kg) 1988–01–19 Nevada
C 27 Pachulia, Zaza 6 ft 11 in (2.11 m) 270 lb (122 kg) 1984–02–10 Georgia
G 11 Thompson, Klay 6 ft 7 in (2.01 m) 215 lb (98 kg) 1990–02–08 Washington State
F 3 West, David 6 ft 9 in (2.06 m) 250 lb (113 kg) 1980–08–29 Xavier
G/F 6 Young, Nick 6 ft 7 in (2.01 m) 210 lb (95 kg) 1985–06–01 USC
Head coach
Assistant coach(es)
  • Mike Brown (associate HC)
  • Ron Adams
  • Jarron Collins
  • Chris DeMarco (player development)
  • Bruce Fraser (player development)
  • Willie Green (player development)
Legend
  • (C) Team captain
  • (DP) Unsigned draft pick
  • (FA) Free agent
  • (S) Suspended
  • (GL) On assignment to G League affiliate
  • (TW) Two-way affiliate player
  • Injured

Roster
Last transaction: April 10, 2018

Player statistics
Kevin Durant won his second consecutive NBA Finals Most Valuable Player Award.[40]
Legend
  GP Games played   GS  Games started  MPG  Minutes per game
 FG%  Field-goal percentage  3P%  3-point field-goal percentage  FT%  Free-throw percentage
 RPG  Rebounds per game  APG  Assists per game  SPG  Steals per game
 BPG  Blocks per game  PPG  Points per game
Golden State Warriors
Golden State Warriors statistics
Player GP GS MPG FG% 3FG% FT% RPG APG SPG BPG PPG
Kevin Durant 4441.3.526.409.96310.87.50.82.328.8
Stephen Curry 4440.6.402.4151.0006.06.81.50.827.5
Klay Thompson 4437.0.480.429.8003.81.00.50.316.0
Draymond Green 4441.4.517.214.8006.08.52.01.59.3
JaVale McGee 4313.8.800.000.0002.30.00.01.38.0
Shaun Livingston 4016.2.867.0001.0002.81.50.30.07.5
Jordan Bell 4013.5.714.000.5003.31.00.30.55.8
Andre Iguodala 2022.3.583.5001.0002.00.51.51.09.5
Kevon Looney 419.7.714.000.0001.50.30.30.02.5
Zaza Pachulia 203.1.333.0001.0001.50.00.00.54.0
David West 407.0.6001.000.0001.31.00.00.81.8
Quinn Cook 201.8.333.000.0000.00.00.00.01.0
Nick Young 409.5.154.100.0000.50.00.00.01.3
Patrick McCaw 402.7.000.0001.0000.30.00.30.00.5
Cleveland Cavaliers
Cleveland Cavaliers statistics
Player GP GS MPG FG% 3FG% FT% RPG APG SPG BPG PPG
LeBron James 4444.7.527.333.8428.510.01.31.034.0
Kevin Love 4433.2.406.321.93811.31.81.00.319.0
J. R. Smith 4432.5.317.360.6003.31.31.30.09.5
George Hill 4429.2.323.438.5002.32.30.80.37.5
Tristan Thompson 4423.4.520.000.3335.30.00.00.86.8
Rodney Hood 4014.1.444.200.6673.80.80.50.56.8
Larry Nance Jr. 4017.1.500.000.4177.01.50.50.55.8
Jeff Green 4024.4.286.2141.0001.32.00.30.35.3
Jordan Clarkson 2012.6.231.000.0002.00.51.00.53.0
Kyle Korver 4016.2.063.091.6001.80.80.00.31.5
Ante Žižić 301.71.000.000.0000.30.00.00.02.0
José Calderón 302.5.500.000.0001.00.70.30.01.3
Cedi Osman 302.8.400.000.0000.30.00.00.01.3

Sponsorship

For the first time, the NBA sold a presenting sponsorship for the Finals to the internet television service YouTube TV.[44] YouTube TV had previously been the presenting sponsor for the 2017 World Series, the first time that Major League Baseball's championship series had a title sponsor as well. As part of a multi-year partnership deal, YouTube TV also broadcast the NBA Finals.[45]

Broadcast

In the United States, the NBA Finals aired on ABC with Mike Breen as play-by-play commentator, and Jeff Van Gundy and Mark Jackson serving as color commentators. The series was sponsored by YouTube TV.[44] ESPN Radio aired it as well and had Marc Kestecher and Hubie Brown as commentators. ESPN Deportes provided exclusive Spanish-language coverage of The Finals, with a commentary team of Álvaro Martín and Carlos Morales.[46]

Television viewership figures
Game Ratings
(households)		 American audience
(in millions)		 Ref
1 10.017.4[47]
2 10.318.5[48]
3 10.417.9[49]
4 9.316.5[50][51]
Avg 10.017.6[52]

Aftermath

The Warriors made it to a fifth consecutive Finals in 2019, which they would lose to the Toronto Raptors in six games.

James left the Cavaliers in the 2018 offseason to join the Los Angeles Lakers. He would lead the Lakers to a title in 2020 and win Finals MVP that year. As of the 2021-22 NBA season, the Cavaliers have failed to return to the playoffs after James' departure, as was the case the first time he left them to join the Miami Heat; however, they entered the postseason—for the first time as a non-LeBron team since 1998—in the play-in, losing to both the Brooklyn Nets and the Atlanta Hawks.

See also
  • Death Lineup
  • Cavaliers–Warriors rivalry

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