[8] Despite holding the best record in the Eastern Conference at 30–11 midway through the season on January 22, 2016, the Cavaliers fired head coach David Blatt.

General Manager David Griffin cited "a lack of fit with our personnel and our vision" as the reason for Blatt's firing.

[10] Cleveland finished the regular season with a 57–25 record, capturing the Central Division title and the top playoff seed in the Eastern Conference.

They also became the first team to make over 1,000 three-pointers in the regular-season with 1,077, eclipsing the previous record of 933 set by the 2014–15 Houston Rockets.

[12] The Warriors were led by Stephen Curry, who was named the NBA Most Valuable Player (MVP) for the second straight season.

The Splash Brothers twosome of Curry and Klay Thompson were the highest scoring duo in the league, combining to average 52.2 points per game.

[13] Head coach Steve Kerr missed the first 43 regular season games because of a back injury.

[14] In the playoffs, the Warriors defeated the Houston Rockets in the first round and the Portland Trail Blazers in the conference semifinals in five games each.

The Cavaliers led 68–67 before the Warriors broke the game open with a 29–9 run spanning the third and fourth quarters to take a 96–76 lead.

Cleveland cut the deficit to within eleven points at 98–87 after an 11–2 run, but Stephen Curry and Klay Thompson nailed back-to-back three-pointers to essentially seal the victory for Golden State.

Cleveland took a 28–22 lead about two minutes into the second quarter, but Golden State answered with a 20–2 run while outscoring the Cavs 30–16 the rest of the period.

During the run, the Cavaliers' Kevin Love suffered a head injury while attempting to grab a defensive rebound.

[24] The Cavaliers avenged their lopsided defeat to Golden State by routing the Warriors 120–90 in Game 3 to cut the series deficit to 2–1.

[34] Feeling disrespected, Green swung his arm and appeared to make contact with James' groin.

[43] LeBron James led the Cavs with a historic performance of 41 points, 11 assists, 8 rebounds, 4 steals and 3 blocks while only committing 1 turnover.

[43] Following the game, Curry and Warriors head coach Steve Kerr were fined $25,000 each for their actions and public officiating criticism.

In the closing minutes of the 4th quarter, LeBron James delivered what became known as The Block on a layup attempt by Andre Iguodala with the score tied at 89 and 1:50 remaining in the game.

[51][52] This is cited both as a key sequence in deciding the outcome of the game, and as one of the most clutch defensive plays in NBA history.

LeBron James with the rejection!The play was referenced by Nicki Minaj in the song Do You Mind by DJ Khaled, which she was featured in later that summer.

Minaj raps, "Any baller tryna score, check them shot clocks/But I hit 'em with them 'Bron Iguodala blocks."

Kyrie Irving made a go-ahead 3-point field goal over Stephen Curry to give Cleveland a 92–89 lead with 0:53 remaining in the game.

[56] Before Kyrie Irving's 3-point field goal, both teams were tied at 699 points scored apiece in this series.

[citation needed] Immediately after Irving's 3-pointer, Golden State brought the ball up-court, opting not to call a timeout, and although Golden State got a preferred switch and matchup of Curry on Kevin Love, Love made arguably "the biggest defensive stop of the entire NBA season", and forced Curry into a contested 3-pointer, which he missed.

[57][58] After LeBron James hurt his right wrist on a dunk attempt in which he was fouled by Draymond Green, he virtually clinched the title for the Cavaliers by making one of two free throws, putting them 4 points ahead with only 10.6 seconds left in the game.

Stephen Curry received the ensuing inbounds pass, pump faked and shot a three-pointer over Cavaliers guard Iman Shumpert.

[59] Draymond Green put up his best performance of the Finals, leading all scorers with 32 points, including 6 of 8 from three-point range to go along with 15 rebounds and 9 assists.

LeBron James was named the unanimous Finals MVP, becoming only the fifth player in NBA history to earn the award three times or more.

Roster Last transaction: April 13, 2016 Roster Last transaction: June 14, 2016 In the United States, the NBA Finals aired on ABC (and for the second 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.

ESPN Deportes provided exclusive Spanish-language coverage of The Finals, with a commentary team of Álvaro Martín and Carlos Morales.

Three years later, they made it to their sixth Finals in eight seasons and defeated the Boston Celtics in six games.