2018 NBA Finals

2018 NBA finals

Team Coach Wins Golden State Warriors Steve Kerr 4 Cleveland Cavaliers Tyronn Lue 0
Dates	May 31 – June 8
MVP	Kevin Durant (Golden State Warriors)
Eastern finals	Cavaliers defeated Celtics, 4–3
Western finals	Warriors defeated Rockets, 4–3

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 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. Golden State Warriors small forward Kevin Durant was named NBA Finals Most Valuable Player (MVP) for the second straight year. Kevin Durant became the first and only player in the history of the Warriors franchise to win two consecutive NBA Finals MVP Awards and also the first and only player in the history of the NBA to have been named two NBA Finals MVP in the first two seasons with a team.

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. 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.

As of 2024, the 2018 Finals are the most recent NBA Finals to have a repeat champion and the most recent where the losing team was swept.

Background

Golden State Warriors

Main article: 2017–18 Golden State Warriors season

Kevin Durant scored 608 points in the 2018 NBA playoffs, the most points in a single NBA playoff run of his career.

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

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 despite major obstacles, they defeated the top-seeded Houston Rockets in seven games in the Western Conference Finals.

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

Cleveland Cavaliers

Main article: 2017–18 Cleveland Cavaliers season

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.

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. 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, and the signing of point guard Derrick Rose to a one-year contract.

On February 8, 2018 – just before the NBA trade deadline – the Cavaliers radically changed their roster in a little more than an hour, 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.

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.

Road to the Finals

Main article: 2018 NBA playoffs

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

Recap

Cleveland Cavaliers 92, Golden State Warriors 99

Oracle Arena, Oakland, California

January 15, 2018

Recap

Golden State Warriors 118, Cleveland Cavaliers 108

Quicken Loans Arena, Cleveland, Ohio

Series summary

Game	Date	Road team	Result	Home team
Game 1	May 31	Cleveland Cavaliers	114–124 (OT) (0–1)	Golden State Warriors
Game 2	June 3	Cleveland Cavaliers	103–122 (0–2)	Golden State Warriors
Game 3	June 6	Golden State Warriors	110–102 (3–0)	Cleveland Cavaliers
Game 4	June 8	Golden State Warriors	108–85 (4–0)	Cleveland Cavaliers

Game summaries

Times listed are Eastern Daylight Time (UTC−4). For games in Oakland, the local time is also given (PDT, UTC−7).

Game 1

ABC

May 31 9:00 pm (6:00 pm PDT)

Boxscore

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. 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. In overtime, the Warriors outscored the Cavaliers 17–7 to win the game. Tristan Thompson was ejected following a flagrant foul with 2.6 seconds remaining in overtime.

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. 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.

Game 2

ABC

June 3 8:00 pm (5:00 pm PDT)

Boxscore

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. Meanwhile, Golden State's Stephen Curry set an NBA Finals record in Game 2 with nine three-point field goals. He scored 33 points, while the Warriors got 26 points, nine rebounds, and seven assists from Kevin Durant, and 20 points from Klay Thompson. Smith struggled for Cleveland, shooting 2-for-9 (22.2%) with both baskets coming in the first quarter. The Warriors won 122–103 over the Cavaliers.

Game 3

ABC

June 6 9:00 pm

Boxscore

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. He injured his right leg early in the game, not returning until after halftime. 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. 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.

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, while also contributing 13 rebounds and seven assists, in a 110–102 win over the Cavaliers, helping the Warriors take a 3–0 lead. 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. 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.

Game 4

ABC

June 8 9:00 pm

Boxscore

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, the Warriors led 61–52 at halftime. The Warriors expanded their lead in the third quarter and entered the last period of play with an 86–65 advantage.

With Golden State leading 102–77 with 4:03 remaining, James came out of the game, receiving a standing ovation. 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. Durant received 7 of the 11 votes, with Curry receiving the other 4.

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.

Rosters

Cleveland Cavaliers

2017–18 Cleveland Cavaliers roster

Players

Coaches

Pos. No. Name Height Weight DOB 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 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 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 (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. Name Height Weight DOB 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 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 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 Steve Kerr Assistant coach(es) Mike Brown (associate HC) Ron Adams Jarron Collins Chris DeMarco (player development) Bruce Fraser (player development) Willie Green (player development) Legend (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.

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%	3P%	FT%	RPG	APG	SPG	BPG	PPG
Kevin Durant	4	4	41.3	.526	.409	.963	10.8	7.5	0.8	2.3	28.8
Stephen Curry	4	4	40.6	.402	.415	1.000	6.0	6.8	1.5	0.8	27.5
Klay Thompson	4	4	37.0	.480	.429	.800	3.8	1.0	0.5	0.3	16.0
Draymond Green	4	4	41.4	.517	.214	.800	6.0	8.5	2.0	1.5	9.3
JaVale McGee	4	3	13.8	.800	.000	.000	2.3	0.0	0.0	1.3	8.0
Shaun Livingston	4	0	16.2	.867	.000	1.000	2.8	1.5	0.3	0.0	7.5
Jordan Bell	4	0	13.5	.714	.000	.500	3.3	1.0	0.3	0.5	5.8
Andre Iguodala	2	0	22.3	.583	.500	1.000	2.0	0.5	1.5	1.0	9.5
Kevon Looney	4	1	9.7	.714	.000	.000	1.5	0.3	0.3	0.0	2.5
Zaza Pachulia	2	0	3.1	.333	.000	1.000	1.5	0.0	0.0	0.5	4.0
David West	4	0	7.0	.600	1.000	.000	1.3	1.0	0.0	0.8	1.8
Quinn Cook	2	0	1.8	.333	.000	.000	0.0	0.0	0.0	0.0	1.0
Nick Young	4	0	9.5	.154	.100	.000	0.5	0.0	0.0	0.0	1.3
Patrick McCaw	4	0	2.7	.000	.000	1.000	0.3	0.0	0.3	0.0	0.5

Cleveland Cavaliers

Cleveland Cavaliers statistics

Player	GP	GS	MPG	FG%	3P%	FT%	RPG	APG	SPG	BPG	PPG
LeBron James	4	4	44.7	.527	.333	.842	8.5	10.0	1.3	1.0	34.0
Kevin Love	4	4	33.2	.406	.321	.938	11.3	1.8	1.0	0.3	19.0
J. R. Smith	4	4	32.5	.317	.360	.600	3.3	1.3	1.3	0.0	9.5
George Hill	4	4	29.2	.323	.438	.500	2.3	2.3	0.8	0.3	7.5
Tristan Thompson	4	4	23.4	.520	.000	.333	5.3	0.0	0.0	0.8	6.8
Rodney Hood	4	0	14.1	.444	.200	.667	3.8	0.8	0.5	0.5	6.8
Larry Nance Jr.	4	0	17.1	.500	.000	.417	7.0	1.5	0.5	0.5	5.8
Jeff Green	4	0	24.4	.286	.214	1.000	1.3	2.0	0.3	0.3	5.3
Jordan Clarkson	2	0	12.6	.231	.000	.000	2.0	0.5	1.0	0.5	3.0
Kyle Korver	4	0	16.2	.063	.091	.600	1.8	0.8	0.0	0.3	1.5
Ante Žižić	3	0	1.7	1.000	.000	.000	0.3	0.0	0.0	0.0	2.0
José Calderón	3	0	2.5	.500	.000	.000	1.0	0.7	0.3	0.0	1.3
Cedi Osman	3	0	2.8	.400	.000	.000	0.3	0.0	0.0	0.0	1.3

Sponsorship

For the first time, the NBA sold a presenting sponsorship for the Finals to the internet television service YouTube TV. 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.

Broadcast

In the United States, the NBA Finals aired on ABC (and for the fourth consecutive year on local affiliates WEWS-TV in Cleveland and KGO-TV in San Francisco/Oakland) with Mike Breen as play-by-play commentator, and Mark Jackson and Jeff Van Gundy serving as color commentators. The series was sponsored by YouTube TV. 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.

Television viewership figures

Game	Ratings (households)	American audience (in millions)	Ref
1	10.0	17.4
2	10.3	18.5
3	10.4	17.9
4	9.3	16.5
Avg	10.0	17.6

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. The Cavaliers did not return to the playoffs until the 2022–2023 season.

See also

• Death Lineup
• Cavaliers–Warriors rivalry

External links

• Official website
• 2018 NBA Finals at Basketball-Reference.com