The Golden State Warriors. That is the short answer. They didn't just win; they steamrolled the Cleveland Cavaliers in a four-game sweep that felt like a foregone conclusion the moment Kevin Durant signed with them two years prior. If you were watching back then, you remember the feeling. It was June 2018. The air was thick with the sense that we were watching a math equation solve itself in real-time. On one side, you had a juggernaut with four All-Stars in their prime. On the other? LeBron James basically carrying an entire franchise on his back like a mythical titan.
It was brutal.
People often forget how weird that season was for Cleveland. They traded Kyrie Irving to Boston in the summer, a move that basically signaled the beginning of the end. By the time the Finals rolled around, LeBron was playing with a roster that had been blown up at the trade deadline. He had George Hill, a young Jordan Clarkson, and a very confused J.R. Smith. Meanwhile, Steve Kerr was coaching a Warriors squad that featured Stephen Curry, Kevin Durant, Klay Thompson, and Draymond Green. It wasn't a fair fight. Honestly, it barely felt like a contest after the first game.
The Game 1 heartbreak that changed everything
When we talk about who won 2018 NBA Finals, we are really talking about Game 1. This is the game that haunts Cleveland fans. LeBron James put up one of the greatest individual performances in the history of the sport. He scored 51 points. He had 8 rebounds and 8 assists. He was shooting 59% from the floor. He was hitting fadeaways that looked impossible and driving to the rim like a freight train that refused to derail.
The Cavs had them. They really did.
With the score tied and mere seconds left on the clock, George Hill missed a free throw. J.R. Smith grabbed the offensive rebound. Instead of putting it back up or passing to a wide-open LeBron, he dribbled the ball out toward half-court. He thought they were winning. The look on LeBron’s face—arms outstretched in pure, unadulterated disbelief—became the defining meme of the decade. Tyronn Lue looked like he wanted to vanish into the hardwood. The Warriors won in overtime, 124-114.
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The series ended right there.
Sure, there were three more games played. But the spirit of that Cleveland team died in those final seconds of regulation in Oakland. LeBron reportedly punched a blackboard in the locker room afterward, suffering a bone contusion in his hand that he kept secret until the series was over. He played the rest of the Finals with essentially one good hand.
Kevin Durant and the silence of the sweep
Kevin Durant won his second consecutive Finals MVP. He deserved it, technically. He averaged 28.8 points, 10.8 rebounds, and 7.5 assists over the four games. His dagger three-pointer in Game 3 was a carbon copy of the shot he took in 2017. It was cold. It was efficient. It was also, according to many critics at the time, "boring."
The 2018 Warriors were so good they made greatness feel routine.
Steph Curry was nearly as good, dropping 37 points in the Game 4 clincher. There was a lot of debate about whether Steph should have won the MVP over Durant. Curry had the gravity; he opened up the lanes. But Durant had the raw efficiency. In Game 2, Curry set a Finals record by hitting nine three-pointers. He was dancing. He was shimmying. The Oracle Arena crowd was deafening. But even with all that flair, the outcome never felt in doubt.
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The scores tell the story of a blowout:
- Game 1: Warriors 124, Cavaliers 114 (OT)
- Game 2: Warriors 122, Cavaliers 103
- Game 3: Warriors 110, Cavaliers 102
- Game 4: Warriors 108, Cavaliers 85
By the fourth quarter of Game 4, the Cleveland crowd was mostly silent, except for when they cheered LeBron James as he checked out for the last time as a Cavalier. Everyone knew he was leaving for the Lakers. The dynasty in the West had officially broken the resistance in the East.
Why this series mattered for the record books
This was the fourth consecutive time these two teams met in the Finals. That had never happened before in North American professional sports. Not in the NBA, not in the MLB, not in the NFL. It was the "Quadrology." But while the 2016 series was a miracle comeback and 2015 was a fresh arrival, 2018 felt like an ending.
It was the end of LeBron's second stint in Cleveland.
It was the peak of the Warriors' dominance.
Mathematically, the Warriors' offensive rating in that postseason was staggering. They were moving the ball with a fluidity that looked like a choreographed dance. Draymond Green was the conductor, directing traffic and locking down the defensive end. Klay Thompson was the ultimate safety net, hitting 42% of his threes during the series. When you have that much talent, you don't even need a bench, though they had solid contributors like Shaun Livingston and Andre Iguodala.
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The aftermath and the legacy of 2018
Looking back, who won 2018 NBA Finals is a question that leads to a bigger discussion about parity in the NBA. This series was the catalyst for the "superteam" era reaching its breaking point. Fans were frustrated. Ratings dipped because people felt they knew the ending before the opening tip-off.
But we shouldn't let the predictability distract us from the skill.
We saw the highest level of basketball ever played by a collective unit. The Warriors' "Death Lineup" was a statistical anomaly. They played a style of positionless basketball that forced every other team in the league to change how they scouted and drafted. If you couldn't switch on defense and shoot from thirty feet, you were obsolete.
LeBron James, despite losing, solidified his "GOAT" case for many. To take that specific Cavaliers roster to the Finals was a miracle. He had to go through a grueling seven-game series against the Indiana Pacers and another seven-game war against a young Boston Celtics team just to get there. He was exhausted. He was bruised. And he still gave the Warriors everything they could handle for 48 minutes in Game 1.
Actionable insights for basketball students
If you are a coach or a player looking back at this series, there are actual lessons here beyond just "have better players."
- Spacing is king: The Warriors won because they didn't just have shooters; they had shooters who moved constantly. Watch the off-ball screens from Game 2.
- Mental resilience: The Cavs lost the series in the final 4.7 seconds of Game 1. When things go wrong, the "next play" mentality is the only thing that saves a season.
- The value of a "Two-Way" star: Kevin Durant’s defense in 2018 was underrated. He used his length to protect the rim, which allowed the Warriors to stay small.
- Know the situation: J.R. Smith’s blunder is taught in every youth camp now as a lesson in "Clock and Score." Always know the time. Always know the score.
The 2018 Finals were the closing of a chapter. The Warriors would return in 2019 but lose to the Raptors after devastating injuries to Durant and Thompson. LeBron would head to Los Angeles to rebuild his own legacy. But for one week in June, the Golden State Warriors were an untouchable force of nature that reminded everyone why they were the most dominant dynasty of the modern era.
To verify these stats or dive deeper into the play-by-play, checking the official NBA Advanced Stats database or Basketball-Reference provides the full tracking data for every possession of that lopsided series.