It’s easy to look back and say it was unfair. In fact, most people do. They see the 16-1 postseason record, the Kevin Durant addition, and the lopsided 4-1 series score and they just check out. They call it a "foregone conclusion." But honestly? If you actually rewatch the Golden State vs Cavs 2017 Finals, you aren’t watching a blowout. You’re watching the absolute peak of offensive basketball in the history of the NBA. We might never see two teams this talented, this disciplined, and this locked-in trade blows ever again.
Cleveland wasn't some underdog story that year. They were a juggernaut. People forget that the 2017 Cavaliers went 12-1 through the Eastern Conference playoffs. They were actually better than the 2016 championship team that came back from 3-1. LeBron James was in his absolute physical prime, Kyrie Irving was a wizard, and Kevin Love was finally comfortable in his role. They just ran into a buzzsaw that changed the geometry of the court forever.
The Nuclear Option: How Golden State Redefined Gravity
The Warriors were coming off a 73-win season and a heart-wrenching Finals loss. Then they added Kevin Durant. It felt like a video game cheat code. But the chemistry wasn't instant; it was forged through a season of figuring out how to balance three of the greatest shooters to ever live. By the time June rolled around, the Golden State vs Cavs 2017 Finals matchup felt like a collision of two different eras. Golden State represented the future—positionless, high-paced, and lethal from 30 feet out.
Stephen Curry was the engine. Even with KD on the floor, Curry’s "gravity" is what opened everything up. When he crossed half-court, two defenders had to jump at him. That left Kevin Durant—one of the most efficient scorers in history—with wide-open lanes to the rim. It was a math problem that Tyronn Lue and the Cavs coaching staff simply couldn't solve. You either let Steph hit a 3, or you let KD dunk. Pick your poison. Both options ended in a loss.
LeBron James and the Impossible Standard
LeBron was unbelievable. Seriously. He averaged a triple-double for the entire series: 33.6 points, 12.0 rebounds, and 10.0 assists. No one had ever done that in a Finals series before. He was the best player on the planet, playing the best basketball of his life, and it still wasn't enough. That tells you everything you need to know about the talent gap.
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The Cavs' strategy was basically "LeBron, do everything." He would bring the ball up, facilitate, defend Durant, and try to keep the pace slow. It worked for stretches. In Game 3, the Cavs had the lead late. They were right there. They were about to make it a series. Then Kevin Durant hit "The Shot" over LeBron’s outstretched arms. It was a transition pull-up three that effectively ended the LeBron-in-Cleveland era. It was cold. It was calculated. It was the moment the Warriors proved that their "superteam" status wasn't just on paper—it was a reality that couldn't be stopped.
The Kyrie Irving Factor
Kyrie was a flamethrower. In Game 4, the Cavs scored 86 points in the first half. 86! That’s a full game’s score in the 90s. Kyrie was hitting shots that didn't even make sense. Banked-in floaters, contested threes, spinning layups over Draymond Green. The Cavs won that game 137-116. It was a reminder that when Cleveland was clicking, they were arguably better than any other team in history—except for that specific Golden State roster.
Why the Defense gets Ignored
Everyone talks about the shooting, but the Warriors' defense was the real story. Draymond Green was the conductor. He was everywhere at once. Klay Thompson played some of the best individual defense of his career, chasing Kyrie around screens until his legs gave out. The Warriors' ability to switch everything disrupted the Cavs' rhythm.
Cleveland relied heavily on high pick-and-rolls to get Curry switched onto LeBron. They wanted to bully the smaller guard. The Warriors countered by "scramming" out of the switch—basically pre-rotating so Curry never actually had to guard LeBron on the block. It was high-level chess played at 100 miles per hour. If you weren't paying attention to the off-ball movement, you missed half the game.
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The Stats That Don't Make Sense
Look at the efficiency. The Warriors had an offensive rating of 121.3 during those five games. In 2017, that was astronomical. Even the Cavs, who lost, had an offensive rating that would have won them the title in almost any other year.
- Kevin Durant: 35.2 PPG on 55/47/92 shooting splits. Those are "Pro-Am" numbers.
- Stephen Curry: 26.8 PPG, 9.4 APG, 8.0 RPG. A near triple-double that got overshadowed.
- Team Threes: The two teams combined to take over 60 threes per game, a massive jump from Finals just three years prior.
This series was the blueprint for the modern NBA. It killed the traditional "big man" era for good. If you couldn't switch on the perimeter or shoot the three, you couldn't stay on the floor. Tristan Thompson, who was a hero in 2016, struggled to find his footing because the pace was simply too fast.
What People Get Wrong About the "Superteam" Narrative
The biggest misconception is that the Warriors were just "too talented" and didn't have to play hard. Watch the tape. Their ball movement was selfless. They led the playoffs in assists by a wide margin. You saw Hall of Famers like Andre Iguodala and David West sacrificing shots to get the ball to the open man. It wasn't just a collection of stars; it was a perfectly oiled machine.
On the flip side, the Cavs weren't "failures." They played better in 2017 than they did when they won the ring in 2016. They just ran into the greatest roster ever assembled. If you put that 2017 Cavs team in the 2010 or 2014 Finals, they likely sweep. The Golden State vs Cavs 2017 Finals wasn't a failure of competition; it was an elevation of the sport.
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Game 3: The Turning Point
If Cleveland wins Game 3, the series is 2-1. Momentum shifts. The pressure mounts on Golden State. The Cavs led 113-107 with two minutes left. Then, a 11-0 run by the Warriors happened. Kyle Korver missed a corner three that would have iced it. Durant grabbed the board, walked it up, and hit the dagger. That two-minute stretch is the difference between a five-game "blowout" and a seven-game classic.
How to Analyze This Series Like an Expert
To truly understand what happened during the Golden State vs Cavs 2017 Finals, you have to look past the highlights. You have to look at the "gravity" charts. Notice how the floor shrinks when LeBron has the ball and expands when Curry has it.
If you want to dive deeper into why this series changed the league, do these three things:
- Watch the "Off-Ball" Movement: Don't follow the ball. Watch Steph Curry and Klay Thompson run through a maze of screens while Durant stands in the corner. Notice how the Cavs' defenders are terrified to leave them, even for a second. This "spacing" is what allowed the Warriors to get so many uncontested layups.
- Evaluate the "Short Roll": When the Cavs doubled Curry, he would pass to Draymond Green at the top of the key. Draymond then had a 4-on-3 advantage. This is the most dangerous play in modern basketball history. Notice how many times this resulted in a lob to JaVale McGee or an open corner three for Iguodala.
- Compare the Pace: Look at the "Seconds per Possession." This series was played at a breakneck speed that exhausted both teams. The Cavs eventually ran out of gas in the 4th quarters of Games 1, 2, and 5.
The Golden State vs Cavs 2017 Finals remains the gold standard for offensive execution. It wasn't a "boring" series because of the outcome; it was a spectacular series because of the process. We saw the best individual player (LeBron) go up against the best collective unit (Warriors) and the result was a level of basketball that feels like a fever dream in retrospect.
If you’re researching this era, check out the specific "Player Tracking" data available on the NBA’s official stats site. Look at "Distance Traveled." You’ll see that the Warriors outran the Cavs in almost every category. They simply moved more. They worked harder for their shots. And in the end, talent combined with that level of effort is unbeatable.
Next time someone tells you the 2017 Finals were "bad for basketball," show them the tape of Game 3. Show them the shot-making. Show them the defensive rotations. It wasn't a lack of competition—it was the highest level of competition the world has ever seen.