Top eight takeaways from the 2016 NBA Finals

The Cleveland Cavaliers are NBA champions following a dramatic Game 7 win over the Golden State Warriors in Oakland.

This series had a little bit of everything. Trash-talking off the court, spats on the court, six blowouts in the first six games.

And then, it all came down to one game — a game that saw the two teams tied with less than three minutes remaining in regulation. Bad blood gave way to the gravity of the moment, as LeBron James and Co. ended up hoisting the Larry O’Brien trophy in front of the Warriors’ home crowd.

Here are the top eight takeaways from a Finals series that will go down as one of the greatest ever.

1. LeBron’s legacy etched in stone

In his sixth consecutive trip to the NBA Finals, LeBron James finally brings a championship trophy back to Cleveland for the first time in over a half century.

It was James’ improved performance from Game 5 on that helped the Cavaliers become the first team in Finals history to come back from a 3-1 series deficit.

James averaged 29.9 points, 11.3 rebounds and 8.9 assists per game in the Finals. In reality, it was one of the finest NBA Finals performances in the history of the Association.

When James returned to Cleveland during the summer of 2014, his ultimate goal was to bring a title back to the long downtrodden sports city.

“I’m not promising a championship. I know how hard that is to deliver,” James wrote in announcing his return. “We’re not ready right now. No way. Of course, I want to win next year, but I’m realistic. It will be a long process, much longer than it was in 2010. My patience will get tested. I know that.”

His patience was tested. James had to work his hardest to lead an injury-ravaged Cavaliers team to six games in the NBA Finals against these very same Warriors last June. He then dealt with the mid-season firing of a coach he seemingly hand-picked.

Then, falling down 3-1 in the Finals, James and his Cavaliers were placed behind the proverbial eight ball. His response created nothing short of a legacy, putting up a legendary performance. Over the course of the final three games (all Cavaliers wins), James averaged 36.3 points, 11.7 rebounds and 9.7 assists per outing.

2. Epic choke job from the Golden State Warriors

On the flip side, the Warriors absolutely choked in the worst imaginable way. A team that had won 95 percent of its home games under Steve Kerr, lost two of three at Oracle to close out the series, including the decisive Game 7.

We can blame Stephen Curry all we want (more on that below). We can also question Klay Thompson’s performance. Heck, Draymond Green’s suspension for Game 5 played a major role here.

It was, however, a team-wide failure in every possible way.

All said, Golden State went the final four-plus minutes of the game on Sunday without a single point. Despite what was stellar defense, that’s just not acceptable.

Thompson and Curry combined to shoot 3-for-10 with three turnovers in the fourth quarter. That obviously played a role in the loss.

We can surely point to the Warriors’ accomplishments this season. A record 73 regular season wins, the best road record in NBA history and the most three-pointers made in the history of the Association.

But as we have seen in other sports, most recently the New England Patriots 2007 season, none of that matters if you don’t win the title.

3. Draymond Green’s suspension should be talked about

Should Green have been suspended for Game 5 after making contact with James’ groin in Game 4? That’s a debate that will continue to rage.

What we do know is that the Warriors lost by 15 on their home court without Green in the lineup, a game that saw the team put up a postseason-low 18 assists. If you don’t think Green’s absence played a major role, we’re not exactly sure what to tell you.

The key for Green moving forward will be to get a grip on his emotions on the court. He’s proven himself to be among the game’s best. Unfortunately, his actions leading up to Game 5 cost his team big time.

4. One of the best NBA Finals ever

Game 7 was tied at 89 with four minutes remaining. At that point, the Cavaliers and Warriors had combined to score the same exact amount of points in the series. What makes this so interesting is that none of the first six games were decided by less than 10 points.

The entire NBA world was privy to that one close game. A game that was for all the marbles. And it was an epic performance from both squads, fighting tooth and nail to hoist the Larry O’Brien trophy when all was said and done.

Some will point to the Los Angeles Lakers Game 7 win over the Boston Celtics back in 2010 or the Lakers’ win over Detroit back in 1988 as the two-best Finals series in modern history. Well, an argument could be made for both.

Though, with what was on the line in this specific series, it’s hard to look at another Finals bout that was better for the sport. Potential dynasty going up against the legacy of one of the best players in Association history.

In the end, Cleveland came out on top. But we’d be remiss not to mention just how hard the Warriors fought from the first game of the season with expectations at a record high. Chasing history, the Warriors ended up falling to greatness. There’s no shame in that.

5. Neither team is going away any time soon

There’s a reason James has been to the NBA Finals six consecutive seasons. He’s a dominating performer in a conference that’s fallen on hard times recently.

With the increased salary cap and some potential trade bait on the roster (Kevin Love), the expectation here has to be that the Cavaliers will improve even more during the summer. It would actually be hard for them not to improve.

On the flip side, the Warriors do have two key free agents in Harrison Barnes and Festus Ezeli. Though, there’s a decent chance neither will be retained after the performances they put up in the Finals.

What we do know is that the core group of three All-Stars, Klay Thompson, Stephen Curry and Draymond Green, are all under 30.

The Warriors may be playing in a much more difficult conference, but here’s a team that won 73 games during the regular year. That was not on accident.

Needless to say, the expectation here has to be that Cleveland and Golden State will meet in the Finals for a third consecutive year. In fact, we’d put money on this.

6. Kyrie Irving vastly outplays two-time reigning MVP

Stephen Curry should have dominated this one-on-one matchup. He was coming off one of the greatest seasons in Association history en route to becoming the first player to earn unanimous MVP honors. He was going up against a defensively-challenged Kyrie Irving.

It didn’t turn out this way. Whether some of Curry’s struggles had to do with the multitude of injuries he dealt with in the playoffs is anyone’s guess. What is known here is that Curry struggled. And struggled big time.

Curry averaged just 22.6 points and a ridiculously low 3.7 assists per game while turning the ball over a grand total of 30 times in the series. That’s simply not going to get it done.

In reality, Curry came up extremely small on the game’s grandest of stages. His 1-for-7 performance in the fourth quarter of Game 7 was a primary example of this.

Meanwhile, Irving was absolutely dominating on the offensive end. Including a late-game three on Sunday to put Cleveland ahead, Irving put up 26 points on 10-of-23 shooting. That brought his point per game average to 27.1 in the Finals. Also important to note, Irving had a dozen less turnovers than Curry.

That really was the difference in the series. If the Warriors’ best player is being outdone by the opposing team’s second-best player, it’s likely not going to end well for Golden State. This was on full display during the Finals.

7. Did the Finals change Golden State’s off-season plans

We’ve heard the rumors about Kevin Durant wanting to come to Oakland. Up until the Warriors’ loss in the NBA Finals, most figured the team didn’t want to mess with a good thing by moving valuable assets for one player.

That might no longer be the case. Outside of Green’s tremendous Game 7 outing, no other player behind Curry and Thompson proved themselves to be consistent scoring options. That’s one of the primary reasons the Warriors’ season ended in disappointment.

Would the addition of Durant change this? Would it mess up team chemistry? Could Golden State even consider giving up Barnes, Ezeli and Andrew Bogut in order to bring Durant in?

These are the questions we will surely see answered within the next couple months. Though, it does seem more likely than it was prior to Sunday’s Game 7 loss.

8. Good for the city of Cleveland

No matter your allegiances in the NBA, you have to be happy for the Cleveland sports scene. We’re talking about a fan base that’s gone more than 50 years without winning a title. That’s decades of changes in the United States, and the sports world in general (more on this here).

In reality, Warriors fans should understand exactly how those in Cleveland feel right now. After all, the Warriors themselves were a complete laughingstock around the NBA for a good two decades prior to this current run.

It might have been a disappointing end to the season for the Warriors, but even the players knew full well what the win meant for LeBron James and Co.

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That’s a sign of respect. Understanding that history was made. Understanding that players stepped up on the game’s grandest stage and brought a title back to a long downtrodden sports city.

In this, every single one of us should be happy for the die-hard fans in Cleveland. It’s been a long time coming. They deserves this. And for the first time in over a half century, we can finally say Cleveland is a city of champions.