Record 57–25 (.695) General manager David Griffin Television Fox Sports Ohio Radios WTAM, WMMS | Owner Dan Gilbert Arena Quicken Loans Arena Head coaches David Blatt, Tyronn Lue | |
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Place Division: 1st (Central)
Conference: 1st (Eastern) Playoff finish NBA Champions
(Defeated Warriors 4–3) Similar 2015–16 NBA season, 2014–15 NBA season, 2016–17 NBA season, 2012–13 Miami Heat season, 2015–16 Miami Heat season | ||
The 2015–16 Cleveland Cavaliers season was the 46th season of the Cleveland Cavaliers franchise in the National Basketball Association (NBA).
The Cavaliers started the season strong and rose to the top of the Eastern Conference. However, despite having the best record in their conference, head coach David Blatt was fired on January 22, 2016, and assistant coach Tyronn Lue took over for the remainder of the season. The Cavaliers finished 57–25 and obtained the number one seed in the Eastern Conference for the first time since 2010. The team advanced to the NBA Finals for the second year in a row, facing the Western Conference champions Golden State Warriors in a rematch from last year's NBA finals, which the Warriors won in six games. The Cavaliers would go on and defeat the Warriors in seven games, avenging their loss from last year's NBA Finals and winning their first championship after becoming the first team in Finals history to overcome a 3–1 series deficit, as well as becoming the fourth team in the Finals to come back from a 2-0 deficit, and also the ninth team in the NBA Finals to rebound from a 3-2 deficit. The Cavaliers' victory also marked the first championship win by a major professional sports team from Cleveland since 1964, ending a 52-year championship drought dating back to the 1964 NFL title won by the Cleveland Browns.