2015–16 Cleveland Cavaliers season

2015–16 Cleveland Cavaliers season
NBA champions
Conference champions
Division champions
Head coach	David Blatt (fired) Tyronn Lue
General manager	David Griffin
Owner(s)	Dan Gilbert
Arena	Quicken Loans Arena
Results
Record	57–25 (.695)
Place	Division: 1st (Central) Conference: 1st (Eastern)
Playoff finish	NBA Champions (Defeated Warriors 4–3)
Stats at Basketball-Reference.com
Local media
Television	Fox Sports Ohio
Radio	WTAM WMMS

(Photo from 2016 to 2017 season) Team captain forward LeBron James played his ninth season with Cleveland (and the second of his second stint). He was an All-Star for the twelfth time in his career, was named to the All-NBA First Team, and was named Finals MVP after leading the Cavaliers back from a 3–1 deficit against the Golden State Warriors for the franchise's first NBA title.

The 2015–16 Cleveland Cavaliers season was the 46th season of the Cleveland Cavaliers franchise in the National Basketball Association (NBA). The Cavaliers won the 2016 NBA championship, the first NBA championship in franchise history. During the regular season, the Cavaliers had the third best team offensive rating and were tenth in team defensive rating in the NBA. During the playoffs, the Cavaliers had the best team offensive rating and were eighth in team defensive rating in the NBA.

In the playoffs, the Cavaliers swept the Detroit Pistons in four games in the first round, then swept the Atlanta Hawks in four games in the Semi-finals, before finally defeating the Toronto Raptors in six games in the Conference Finals to reach the NBA Finals for a second consecutive year. There, the Cavaliers faced off against the defending NBA champion Golden State Warriors, the team that defeated them in the previous year's NBA Finals in six games, and were coming off of a record-breaking regular season, where the team posted a league-best 73–9 record.

The Cavaliers would go on to defeat the Golden State Warriors in the 2016 NBA Finals in seven games, coming back from a 3–1 series deficit to avenge their loss from the prior year. The Cavaliers became the first team in NBA Finals history to recover from a 3–1 series deficit and win.^[1] 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. The Cleveland Cavaliers would be the first NBA champion to represent the Central Division since the 2003–04 Detroit Pistons.

Regular season summary

The Cavaliers started the season strong and rose to the top of the Eastern Conference. However, despite having the best record in their conference, the team fired head coach David Blatt on January 22, 2016.^[2] Assistant coach Tyronn Lue took over for the remainder of the season.^[3] The Cavaliers finished the regular season with a 57–25 record and obtained the number one seed in the Eastern Conference for the first time since 2010.^[4]

Team captain guard Kyrie Irving played his fifth season with Cleveland and hit the go-ahead shot in Game 7 of the NBA Finals.

Postseason summary

In the 2016 NBA Playoffs' first round, the Cleveland Cavaliers matched up against the 8th seed Detroit Pistons. In the first game of their series, Cleveland's point guard Kyrie Irving led the way scoring 31 points and sealing a win for the Cavaliers, 106–101.^[5] The Cavs swept the rest of the series, winning 107–90 in Game 2, 101–91 in Game 3, and 100–98 in Game 4.^[6] Kyrie Irving was the top scorer of the series averaging 27.5 points per game,^[7] LeBron James led the Cleveland Cavaliers in this series in assist and steals, averaging 6.8 assists and 1.8 steals,^[8] and big man Kevin Love led Cleveland in rebounds averaging 12 total rebounds per game.^[9] The Cavaliers were matched with the number four seed, Atlanta Hawks, for their second series in the 2015-2016 post-season. Similar to their last series, they swept their opponents 4–0.^[10] Lebron James led the way in scoring, averaging 24.3 points per game. He also led his team in assists and steals, averaging 7.8 assists and 3 steals per game.^[11] Kevin Love was the rebound leader for the series averaging 13 rebounds per game.^[12] The Cavaliers were now facing the Toronto Raptors in the Eastern Conference Finals. The series between the Raptors and the Cavaliers took 6 games to finish with Cleveland winning 4 to 2. This was the first time in their 2015-2016 playoff run that they lost a game.^[13] Lebron James led his team in all major stats against the Toronto Raptors. He averaged 26 points, 8.5 rebounds, and 6.7 assists in the 6-game series.^[14] The Cavaliers were off to face the Golden State Warriors in the NBA finals. They were considered huge underdogs because the Warriors had accomplished an incredible feat in the regular season, seventy-three wins and nine losses, the best record ever in the NBA.^[15]

The Cavaliers lost three of the first four games of the 2016 NBA Finals to the Golden State Warriors, who had defeated Cleveland in the Finals the year before.^[16] The first two games were blowouts for Golden State, 104–89 and 110–77 respectively, combining for a total winning margin of 48. Cleveland would respond with a 120–90 blowout of their own to cut the series deficit to 2–1, but the Warriors would pull away late in Game 4 to take a decisive 3–1 series lead. In turn, the Cavaliers won Games 5 and 6 of the series to bring about a climactic Game 7 at Oracle Arena.^[17]

With Game 7 tied at 89–89, LeBron James chased down and blocked Andre Iguodala's attempted lay-up in a play that became known as "The Block."^[18][19] The Cavaliers ultimately won Game 7, 93–89, for the first NBA championship in franchise history.^[17] Until then, no team had recovered from a 3–1 deficit in an NBA Finals series.^[1] James was named the unanimous NBA Finals MVP, receiving the award for the third time in his career.^[18]

This win ended a fifty-two year championship drought in the city of Cleveland, with the last championship that any major sports team had won there being in 1964 when the Cleveland Browns won an NFL season.^[20] When the game ended, it was visible the sense of relief that the players felt. Lebron James was the star of the show, and he could not hold his tears back. When he finally got the strength to stand up, the only thing that he was able to say was, "Cleveland, this is for you," as the Oracle Arena blasted with cheers from Cleveland fans.^[21] Not only was this a monumental win for the Cleveland Cavaliers, it also cemented Lebron James as one of the all-time greats of the NBA.^[22] Prior to this ring, he had only won with the Miami Heat. The win in Cleveland was undoubtedly one of the best basketball performances the NBA has ever seen.^[23]

Draft picks

Main article: 2015 NBA draft

Round	Pick	Player	Position	Nationality	College/Club team
1	24	Tyus Jones	PG	United States	Duke
2	53	Sir'Dominic Pointer	SG / SF	United States	St. John's

Roster

2015–16 Cleveland Cavaliers roster

Players

Coaches

Pos. No. Name Height Weight DOB From C 9 Frye, Channing 6 ft 11 in (2.11 m) 255 lb (116 kg) 1983-05-17 Arizona PG 8 Dellavedova, Matthew 6 ft 4 in (1.93 m) 198 lb (90 kg) 1990-09-08 Saint Mary’s PG 2 Irving, Kyrie 6 ft 3 in (1.91 m) 193 lb (88 kg) 1992-03-23 Duke SF 23 James, LeBron 6 ft 8 in (2.03 m) 250 lb (113 kg) 1984-12-30 St. Vincent–St. Mary HS (OH) SF 24 Jefferson, Richard 6 ft 7 in (2.01 m) 233 lb (106 kg) 1980-06-21 Arizona SF 30 Jones, Dahntay 6 ft 6 in (1.98 m) 225 lb (102 kg) 1980-12-27 Duke SF 1 Jones, James 6 ft 8 in (2.03 m) 218 lb (99 kg) 1980-10-04 Miami (FL) C 14 Kaun, Sasha 6 ft 11 in (2.11 m) 260 lb (118 kg) 1985-05-08 Kansas PF 0 Love, Kevin 6 ft 10 in (2.08 m) 251 lb (114 kg) 1988-09-07 UCLA PG 12 McRae, Jordan 6 ft 5 in (1.96 m) 179 lb (81 kg) 1991-03-28 Tennessee C 20 Mozgov, Timofey 7 ft 3 in (2.21 m) 275 lb (125 kg) 1986-07-16 Russia SG 4 Shumpert, Iman 6 ft 5 in (1.96 m) 220 lb (100 kg) 1990-06-26 Georgia Tech SG 5 Smith, J. R. 6 ft 6 in (1.98 m) 225 lb (102 kg) 1985-09-09 St. Benedict's Prep (NJ) F/C 13 Thompson, Tristan 6 ft 9 in (2.06 m) 238 lb (108 kg) 1991-03-13 Texas PG 52 Williams, Mo 6 ft 1 in (1.85 m) 198 lb (90 kg) 1982-12-19 Alabama

Head coach David Blatt (fired) Tyronn Lue Assistant coach(es) Jim Boylan Bret Brielmaier Larry Drew Phil Handy (player development) Mike Longabardi James Posey Vitaly Potapenko (player development) Legend (DP) Unsigned draft pick (FA) Free agent (S) Suspended Injured Roster Last transaction: April 13, 2016

Player statistics

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

Regular season

Player	GP	GS	MIN	FG%	FT%	3FG%	STL	BLK	AST	REB	PTS
LeBron James	76	76	35.6	52.0%	73.1%	30.9%	1.4	.60	6.8	7.4	25.3
Kyrie Irving	53	53	31.5	44.8%	88.5%	32.1%	1.1	.30	4.7	3.0	19.6
Kevin Love	77	77	31.5	41.9%	82.2%	36.0%	.80	.50	2.4	9.9	16.0
J.R. Smith	77	77	30.7	41.5%	63.4%	40.0%	1.1	.30	1.7	2.8	12.4
Tristan Thompson	82	34	27.7	58.8%	61.6%	0%	.50	.60	.6	9.0	7.8
Matthew Dellavedova	76	14	24.6	40.5%	86.4%	41.0%	.60	.10	4.4	2.1	7.5
Iman Shumpert	54	5	24.4	37.4%	78.4%	29.5%	1.0	.40	1.7	3.8	5.8
Mo Williams	41	14	18.2	43.7%	90.5%	35.3%	.30	.10	2.4	1.9	8.2
Richard Jefferson	74	5	17.9	45.8%	66.7%	38.2%	.40	.20	.8	1.7	5.5
Timofey Mozgov	76	48	17.4	56.5%	71.6%	14.3%	.30	.80	.4	4.4	6.3
Channing Frye	26	3	17.2	44.1%	78.6%	37.7%	.30	.30	1.0	3.6	7.5
Anderson Varejao	31	0	10.0	42.1%	76.2%	0%	.40	.20	.6	2.9	2.6
James Jones	48	0	9.6	40.8%	80.8%	39.4%	.20	.20	.3	1.0	3.7
Jared Cunningham	40	3	8.9	35.2%	62.5%	31.3%	.30	.10	.5	0.7	2.6
Jordan McRae	15	1	7.5	44.2%	69.2%	63.6%	.00	.10	1.0	0.8	4.1
Sasha Kaun	25	0	3.8	52.9%	45.5%	0%	.20	.20	.10	1.0	0.9
Joe Harris	5	0	3.0	25.0%	0%	25.0%	.00	.00	0.4	.6	0.6

^[24]

Standings

Eastern Conference
#	Team	W	L	PCT	GB	GP
1	c – Cleveland Cavaliers *	57	25	.695	–	82
2	y – Toronto Raptors *	56	26	.683	1.0	82
3	y – Miami Heat *	48	34	.585	9.0	82
4	x – Atlanta Hawks	48	34	.585	9.0	82
5	x – Boston Celtics	48	34	.585	9.0	82
6	x – Charlotte Hornets	48	34	.585	9.0	82
7	x – Indiana Pacers	45	37	.549	12.0	82
8	x – Detroit Pistons	44	38	.537	13.0	82
9	Chicago Bulls	42	40	.512	15.0	82
10	Washington Wizards	41	41	.500	16.0	82
11	Orlando Magic	35	47	.427	22.0	82
12	Milwaukee Bucks	33	49	.402	24.0	82
13	New York Knicks	32	50	.390	25.0	82
14	Brooklyn Nets	21	61	.256	36.0	82
15	Philadelphia 76ers	10	72	.122	47.0	82

Central Division	W	L	PCT	GB	Home	Road	Div	GP
c – Cleveland Cavaliers	57	25	.695	–	33‍–‍8	24‍–‍17	8–8	82
x – Indiana Pacers	45	37	.549	12.0	26‍–‍15	19‍–‍22	8–8	82
x – Detroit Pistons	44	38	.537	13.0	26‍–‍15	18‍–‍23	10–6	82
Chicago Bulls	42	40	.512	15.0	26‍–‍15	16‍–‍25	10–6	82
Milwaukee Bucks	33	49	.402	24.0	23‍–‍18	10‍–‍31	4–12	82

Preseason

2015 pre-season game log Total: 1–6 (Home: 1–4; Road: 0–2)
Pre-season: 1–6 (home: 1–4; road: 0–2) Game Date Team Score High points High rebounds High assists Location Attendance Record 1 October 7 7:00 pm Atlanta 96–98 J. R. Smith (15) LeBron James (7) LeBron James (5) Cintas Center 10,250 0–1 2 October 8 7:00 pm @ Philadelphia 114–115 Jared Cunningham (31) Austin Daye (9) Matthew Dellavedova (5) Wells Fargo Center 8,229 0–2 3 October 12 7:00 pm Memphis 81–91 LeBron James (14) Anderson Varejão (7) Matthew Dellavedova (4) Schottenstein Center 18,073 0–3 4 October 13 7:00 pm Milwaukee 101–110 Mo Williams (18) Kaun, Williams (6) Cook, Williams (4) Quicken Loans Arena 18,624 0–4 5 October 15 7:00 pm Indiana 85–107 Timofey Mozgov (16) Anderson Varejão (7) Jared Cunningham (6) Quicken Loans Arena 18,774 0–5 6 October 18 8:00 pm @ Toronto 81–87 Mo Williams (13) Timofey Mozgov (11) Dellavedova, Varejão (5) Air Canada Centre 19,800 0–6 7 October 19 7:00 pm Dallas 103–97 J. R. Smith (19) Jack Cooley (15) Cunningham, Dellavedova (5) Quicken Loans Arena 18,768 1–6
2015–16 season schedule

Regular season game log

2015–16 game log Total: 57–25 (Home: 33–8; Road: 24–17)
October: 2–1 (home: 1–0; road: 1–1) Game Date Team Score High points High rebounds High assists Location Attendance Record 1 October 27 @ Chicago L 95–97 LeBron James (25) Tristan Thompson (12) Mo Williams (7) United Center 21,957 0–1 2 October 28 @ Memphis W 106–76 Kevin Love (17) Kevin Love (13) J. R. Smith (7) FedExForum 18,119 1–1 3 October 30 Miami W 102–92 LeBron James (29) Kevin Love (14) Matthew Dellavedova (10) Quicken Loans Arena 20,562 2–1
November : 11–3 (home: 8–0; road: 3–3) Game Date Team Score High points High rebounds High assists Location Attendance Record 4 November 2 @ Philadelphia W 107–100 LeBron James (22) James, Thompson (9) LeBron James (11) Wells Fargo Center 18,094 3–1 5 November 4 New York W 96–86 LeBron James (23) Tristan Thompson (13) Matthew Dellavedova (7) Quicken Loans Arena 20,562 4–1 6 November 6 Philadelphia W 108–102 LeBron James (31) Kevin Love (14) LeBron James (13) Quicken Loans Arena 20,562 5–1 7 November 8 Indiana W 101–97 LeBron James (29) Kevin Love (15) Matthew Dellavedova (9) Quicken Loans Arena 20,562 6–1 8 November 10 Utah W 118–114 LeBron James (31) Kevin Love (8) LeBron James (8) Quicken Loans Arena 20,562 7–1 9 November 13 @ New York W 90–84 LeBron James (31) Kevin Love (11) LeBron James (6) Madison Square Garden 19,812 8–1 10 November 14 @ Milwaukee L 105–108 (2OT) LeBron James (37) Kevin Love (14) Matthew Dellavedova (7) BMO Harris Bradley Center 18,717 8–2 11 November 17 @ Detroit L 99–104 LeBron James (30) Love, Thompson (9) Mo Williams (7) The Palace of Auburn Hills 18,442 8–3 12 November 19 Milwaukee W 115–100 LeBron James (27) Kevin Love (15) Matthew Dellavedova (13) Quicken Loans Arena 20,562 9–3 13 November 21 Atlanta W 109–97 Kevin Love (25) Tristan Thompson (16) LeBron James (8) Quicken Loans Arena 20,562 10–3 14 November 23 Orlando W 117–103 Kevin Love (34) Tristan Thompson (14) LeBron James (13) Quicken Loans Arena 20,562 11–3 15 November 25 @ Toronto L 99–103 LeBron James (24) Kevin Love (13) LeBron James (8) Air Canada Centre 20,140 11–4 16 November 27 @ Charlotte W 95–90 LeBron James (25) Kevin Love (16) James, Dellavedova (5) Time Warner Cable Arena 19,093 12–4 17 November 28 Brooklyn W 90–88 James, Love (26) Tristan Thompson (11) Matthew Dellavedova (6) Quicken Loans Arena 20,562 13–4
December : 8–5 (home: 4–1; road: 4–4) Game Date Team Score High points High rebounds High assists Location Attendance Record 18 December 1 Washington L 85–97 LeBron James (24) LeBron James (13) LeBron James (4) Quicken Loans Arena 20,562 13–5 19 December 4 @ New Orleans L 108–114 (OT) LeBron James (37) Love, Thompson (10) LeBron James (8) Smoothie King Center 17,906 13–6 20 December 5 @ Miami L 84–99 Richard Jefferson (18) Kevin Love (8) Matthew Dellavedova (5) American Airlines Arena 19,600 13–7 21 December 8 Portland W 105–100 LeBron James (33) LeBron James (10) Kevin Love (4) Quicken Loans Arena 20,562 14–7 22 December 11 @ Orlando W 111–76 LeBron James (25) Kevin Love (13) LeBron James (8) Amway Center 17,239 15–7 23 December 15 @ Boston W 89–77 LeBron James (24) Timofey Mozgov (10) Kevin Love (5) TD Garden 18,624 16–7 24 December 17 Oklahoma City W 104–100 LeBron James (33) Tristan Thompson (15) LeBron James (11) Quicken Loans Arena 20,562 17–7 25 December 20 Philadelphia W 108–86 LeBron James (23) Timofey Mozgov (8) Irving, James, Smith, Shumpert (4) Quicken Loans Arena 20,562 18–7 26 December 23 New York W 91–84 LeBron James (24) Kevin Love (13) Matthew Dellavedova (7) Quicken Loans Arena 20,562 19–7 27 December 25 @ Golden State L 83–89 LeBron James (25) Kevin Love (18) Kevin Love (4) Oracle Arena 19,596 19–8 28 December 26 @ Portland L 76–105 Kevin Love (13) Tristan Thompson (11) Matthew Dellavedova (6) Moda Center 19,393 19–9 29 December 28 @ Phoenix W 101–97 Kyrie Irving (22) Tristan Thompson (10) LeBron James (7) Talking Stick Resort Arena 18,319 20–9 30 December 29 @ Denver W 93–87 LeBron James (34) Kevin Love (14) Matthew Dellavedova (5) Pepsi Center 17,523 21–9
January : 13–3 (home: 6–2; road: 7–1) Game Date Team Score High points High rebounds High assists Location Attendance Record 31 January 2 Orlando W 104–79 LeBron James (29) Kevin Love (13) Matthew Dellavedova (6) Quicken Loans Arena 20,562 22–9 32 January 4 Toronto W 122–100 Kyrie Irving (25) Tristan Thompson (11) Kyrie Irving (8) Quicken Loans Arena 20,562 23–9 33 January 6 @ Washington W 121–115 LeBron James (34) LeBron James (10) LeBron James (4) Verizon Center 20,356 24–9 34 January 8 @ Minnesota W 125–99 J.R. Smith (27) LeBron James (12) LeBron James (8) Target Center 16,768 25–9 35 January 10 @ Philadelphia W 95–85 LeBron James (37) Kevin Love (15) LeBron James (9) Wells Fargo Center 19,226 26–9 36 January 12 @ Dallas W 110–107 (OT) LeBron James (27) Kevin Love (11) Kyrie Irving (9) American Airlines Center 20,347 27–9 37 January 14 @ San Antonio L 95–99 LeBron James (22) Tristan Thompson (11) LeBron James (4) AT&T Center 18,418 27–10 38 January 15 @ Houston W 91–77 Kyrie Irving (23) Kevin Love (13) LeBron James (7) Toyota Center 18,320 28–10 39 January 18 Golden State L 98–132 LeBron James (16) Kevin Love (6) Matthew Dellavedova (6) Quicken Loans Arena 20,562 28–11 40 January 20 @ Brooklyn W 91–78 James, Love (17) Kevin Love (18) Irving, James (5) Barclays Center 17,732 29–11 41 January 21 L.A. Clippers W 115–102 James, Smith (22) Kevin Love (16) LeBron James (12) Quicken Loans Arena 20,562 30–11 42 January 23 Chicago L 83–96 LeBron James (26) LeBron James (13) LeBron James (9) Quicken Loans Arena 20,562 30–12 43 January 25 Minnesota W 114–107 LeBron James (25) Tristan Thompson (12) LeBron James (9) Quicken Loans Arena 20,562 31–12 44 January 27 Phoenix W 115–93 James, Love (21) Kevin Love (11) LeBron James (9) Quicken Loans Arena 20,562 32–12 45 January 29 @ Detroit W 114–106 Kevin Love (29) Tristan Thompson (14) LeBron James (8) The Palace of Auburn Hills 21,012 33–12 46 January 30 San Antonio W 117–103 LeBron James (29) Kevin Love (11) LeBron James (7) Quicken Loans Arena 20,562 34–12
February : 8–5 (home: 6–2; road: 2–3) Game Date Team Score High points High rebounds High assists Location Attendance Record 47 February 1 @ Indiana W 111–106 (OT) Kyrie Irving (25) James, Thompson (12) Kyrie Irving (7) Bankers Life Fieldhouse 17,283 35–12 48 February 3 @ Charlotte L 97–106 Kyrie Irving (26) Kevin Love (12) LeBron James (6) Time Warner Cable Arena 19,189 35–13 49 February 5 Boston L 103–104 LeBron James (30) Tristan Thompson (10) Kyrie Irving (6) Quicken Loans Arena 20,562 35–14 50 February 6 New Orleans W 99–84 Kyrie Irving (29) Tristan Thompson (15) LeBron James (8) Quicken Loans Arena 20,562 36–14 51 February 8 Sacramento W 120–100 Kyrie Irving (32) James, Thompson (10) Kyrie Irving (12) Quicken Loans Arena 20,562 37–14 52 February 10 L.A. Lakers W 120–111 Kyrie Irving (35) Tristan Thompson (13) LeBron James (11) Quicken Loans Arena 20,562 38–14 All-Star Break 53 February 18 Chicago W 106–95 LeBron James (25) Kevin Love (12) LeBron James (9) Quicken Loans Arena 20,562 39–14 54 February 21 @ Oklahoma City W 115–92 Kevin Love (29) Tristan Thompson (11) LeBron James (9) Chesapeake Energy Arena 18,203 40–14 55 February 22 Detroit L 88–96 Kyrie Irving (30) LeBron James (8) Irving, James (5) Quicken Loans Arena 20,562 40–15 56 February 24 Charlotte W 114–103 Irving, James (23) Tristan Thompson (10) Dellavedova, James (7) Quicken Loans Arena 20,562 41–15 57 February 26 @ Toronto L 97–99 LeBron James (25) Tristan Thompson (9) LeBron James (7) Air Canada Centre 19,800 41–16 58 February 28 @ Washington L 99–115 Kyrie Irving (28) Timofey Mozgov (10) Kyrie Irving (6) Verizon Center 20,356 41–17 59 February 29 Indiana W 100–96 LeBron James (33) Tristan Thompson (11) Irving, Love (6) Quicken Loans Arena 20,562 42–17
March : 11–5 (home: 6–2; road: 5–3) Game Date Team Score High points High rebounds High assists Location Attendance Record 60 March 4 Washington W 108–83 Kyrie Irving (21) LeBron James (13) Kyrie Irving (8) Quicken Loans Arena 20,562 43–17 61 March 5 Boston W 120–103 LeBron James (28) Iman Shumpert (16) LeBron James (8) Quicken Loans Arena 20,562 44–17 62 March 7 Memphis L 103–106 LeBron James (28) Kevin Love (11) Irving, James (5) Quicken Loans Arena 20,562 44–18 63 March 9 @ Sacramento W 120–111 Kyrie Irving (30) LeBron James (11) LeBron James (6) Sleep Train Arena 17,317 45–18 64 March 10 @ L.A. Lakers W 120–108 Kyrie Irving (26) Tristan Thompson (14) Kyrie Irving (9) Staples Center 18,997 46–18 65 March 13 @ L.A. Clippers W 114–90 LeBron James (27) Tristan Thompson (14) Irving, James (5) Staples Center 19,342 47–18 66 March 14 @ Utah L 85–94 LeBron James (23) LeBron James (12) Matthew Dellavedova (5) Vivint Smart Home Arena 19,911 47–19 67 March 16 Dallas W 99–98 Kyrie Irving (33) Kevin Love (18) Matthew Dellavedova (7) Quicken Loans Arena 20,562 48–19 68 March 18 @ Orlando W 109–103 Kyrie Irving (26) Tristan Thompson (15) LeBron James (8) Amway Center 18,046 49–19 69 March 19 @ Miami L 101–122 LeBron James (26) Frye, Jefferson, Mozgov (4) Irving, Shumpert (4) American Airlines Arena 19,737 49–20 70 March 21 Denver W 124–91 LeBron James (33) LeBron James (11) LeBron James (11) Quicken Loans Arena 20,562 50–20 71 March 23 Milwaukee W 113–104 LeBron James (26) Kevin Love (10) Irving, James (8) Quicken Loans Arena 20,562 51–20 72 March 24 @ Brooklyn L 95–104 LeBron James (30) Kevin Love (12) LeBron James (5) Barclays Center 17,732 51–21 73 March 26 @ New York W 107–93 Kevin Love (28) Kevin Love (12) LeBron James (10) Madison Square Garden 19,812 52–21 74 March 29 Houston L 100–106 Kyrie Irving (31) Kevin Love (11) Kyrie Irving (8) Quicken Loans Arena 20,562 52–22 75 March 31 Brooklyn W 107–87 LeBron James (24) Kevin Love (10) LeBron James (11) Quicken Loans Arena 20,562 53–22
April : 4–3 (home: 2–1; road: 2–2) Game Date Team Score High points High rebounds High assists Location Attendance Record 76 April 1 @ Atlanta W 110–108 (OT) LeBron James (29) LeBron James (16) LeBron James (9) Philips Arena 19,427 54–22 77 April 3 Charlotte W 112–103 LeBron James (31) Kevin Love (9) LeBron James (12) Quicken Loans Arena 20,562 55–22 78 April 5 @ Milwaukee W 109–80 J. R. Smith (21) Kevin Love (9) LeBron James (9) BMO Harris Bradley Center 15,061 56–22 79 April 6 @ Indiana L 109–123 Kyrie Irving (26) Kevin Love (5) Kyrie Irving (6) Bankers Life Fieldhouse 18,165 56–23 80 April 9 @ Chicago L 102–105 LeBron James (33) Kevin Love (13) Kyrie Irving (8) United Center 22,186 56–24 81 April 11 Atlanta W 109–94 Kyrie Irving (35) Kevin Love (14) LeBron James (6) Quicken Loans Arena 20,562 57–24 82 April 13 Detroit L 110–112 (OT) Jordan McRae (36) Timofey Mozgov (12) Jordan McRae (7) Quicken Loans Arena 20,562 57–25
2015–16 season schedule

Playoffs

Game log

2016 playoff game log Total: 16–5 (Home: 9–1; Road: 7–4)
First Round: 4–0 (home: 2–0; road: 2–0) Game Date Team Score High points High rebounds High assists Location Attendance Series 1 April 17 Detroit W 106–101 Kyrie Irving (31) Kevin Love (13) LeBron James (11) Quicken Loans Arena 20,562 1–0 2 April 20 Detroit W 107–90 LeBron James (27) Kevin Love (10) Matthew Dellavedova (9) Quicken Loans Arena 20,562 2–0 3 April 22 @ Detroit W 101–91 Kyrie Irving (26) LeBron James (13) LeBron James (7) The Palace of Auburn Hills 21,584 3–0 4 April 24 @ Detroit W 100–98 Kyrie Irving (31) Kevin Love (13) LeBron James (6) The Palace of Auburn Hills 21,584 4–0
Conference Semifinals: 4–0 (home: 2–0; road: 2–0) Game Date Team Score High points High rebounds High assists Location Attendance Series 1 May 2 Atlanta W 104–93 LeBron James (25) Tristan Thompson (14) LeBron James (9) Quicken Loans Arena 20,562 1–0 2 May 4 Atlanta W 123–98 LeBron James (27) Kevin Love (13) Dellavedova, Irving (6) Quicken Loans Arena 20,562 2–0 3 May 6 @ Atlanta W 121–108 Channing Frye (27) Kevin Love (15) LeBron James (8) Philips Arena 19,089 3–0 4 May 8 @ Atlanta W 100–99 Kevin Love (27) Kevin Love (13) LeBron James (9) Philips Arena 19,031 4–0
Conference Finals: 4–2 (home: 3–0; road: 1–2) Game Date Team Score High points High rebounds High assists Location Attendance Series 1 May 17 Toronto W 115–84 Kyrie Irving (27) Richard Jefferson (11) Kyrie Irving (5) Quicken Loans Arena 20,562 1–0 2 May 19 Toronto W 108–89 Kyrie Irving (26) Tristan Thompson (12) LeBron James (11) Quicken Loans Arena 20,562 2–0 3 May 21 @ Toronto L 84–99 LeBron James (24) James, Thompson (8) LeBron James (5) Air Canada Centre 20,207 2–1 4 May 23 @ Toronto L 99–105 LeBron James (29) James, Thompson (9) Irving, James (6) Air Canada Centre 20,367 2–2 5 May 25 Toronto W 116–78 Kevin Love (25) Tristan Thompson (10) LeBron James (8) Quicken Loans Arena 20,562 3–2 6 May 27 @ Toronto W 113–87 LeBron James (33) Kevin Love (12) Kyrie Irving (9) Air Canada Centre 20,605 4–2
NBA Finals: 4–3 (home: 2–1; road: 2–2) Game Date Team Score High points High rebounds High assists Location Attendance Series 1 June 2 @ Golden State L 89–104 Kyrie Irving (26) Kevin Love (13) LeBron James (9) Oracle Arena 19,596 0–1 2 June 5 @ Golden State L 77–110 LeBron James (19) LeBron James (8) LeBron James (9) Oracle Arena 19,596 0–2 3 June 8 Golden State W 120–90 LeBron James (32) Tristan Thompson (13) Kyrie Irving (8) Quicken Loans Arena 20,562 1–2 4 June 10 Golden State L 97–108 Kyrie Irving (34) LeBron James (13) LeBron James (9) Quicken Loans Arena 20,562 1–3 5 June 13 @ Golden State W 112–97 James, Irving (41) LeBron James (16) LeBron James (7) Oracle Arena 19,596 2–3 6 June 16 Golden State W 115–101 LeBron James (41) Tristan Thompson (16) LeBron James (11) Quicken Loans Arena 20,562 3–3 7 June 19 @ Golden State W 93–89 LeBron James (27) Kevin Love (14) LeBron James (11) Oracle Arena 19,596 4–3
2016 playoff schedule

Transactions

Trades

June 25, 2015	To Cleveland Cavaliers[25] Rakeem Christmas Cedi Osman 2019 Second Round Pick	To Minnesota Timberwolves Tyus Jones
July 23, 2015	To Cleveland Cavaliers[26] 2019 Second Round Pick	To Indiana Pacers Rakeem Christmas
July 27, 2015	To Cleveland Cavaliers[27] Two Trade Exceptions	To Portland Trail Blazers Mike Miller Brendan Haywood 2019 & 2020 Second Round Pick
January 12, 2016	To Cleveland Cavaliers[28] 2020 Second Round Pick	To Orlando Magic Joe Harris 2017 Second Round Pick
February 18, 2016	To Cleveland Cavaliers[29] Second Round Pick	To Portland Trail Blazers Anderson Varejão^[1] First Round Pick
February 18, 2016	To Cleveland Cavaliers[29] Channing Frye	To Orlando Magic Jared Cunningham Second Round Pick

Free agents

Re-signed

Player	Signed	Former Team
Iman Shumpert[30]	Signed 4-year contract worth $40 million	Cleveland Cavaliers
Kevin Love[31]	Signed 5-year contract worth $110 million	Cleveland Cavaliers
LeBron James[32]	Signed 2-year contract worth $47.9 million	Cleveland Cavaliers
James Jones[33]	Signed 1-year contract worth $1.5 million	Cleveland Cavaliers
Matthew Dellavedova[34]	Signed 1-year contract worth $1.2 million	Cleveland Cavaliers
J. R. Smith[35]	Signed 2-year contract worth $10 million	Cleveland Cavaliers
Tristan Thompson[36]	Signed 5-year contract worth $82 million	Cleveland Cavaliers

Additions

Player	Signed	Former Team
Mo Williams[37]	Signed 2-year contract worth $4 million	Charlotte Hornets
Richard Jefferson[38]	Signed 1-year contract worth $1.5 million	Dallas Mavericks
Sasha Kaun[39]	Signed 2-year contract	CSKA Moscow
Jordan McRae	Signed 2-year contract	Delaware 87ers / Phoenix Suns

Subtractions

Player	Reason Left	New Team
Shawn Marion[40]	Retired	— (Retired)
Kendrick Perkins[41]	Signed 1-year contract worth $1.5 million	New Orleans Pelicans
David Blatt (Head coach)[42]	Fired	Darüşşafaka Doğuş

Awards, records and milestones

Awards

Recipient	Award	Date awarded	Ref.
LeBron James	Eastern Conference Player of the Week	November 23, 2015	[43]
LeBron James	Eastern Conference Player of the Week	January 11, 2016	[44]
LeBron James	NBA All-Star starter (12th appearance)	January 21, 2016	[45]
Tyronn Lue	NBA All-Star Game head coach	January 27, 2016	[46]
LeBron James	Eastern Conference Player of the Month (February)	March 3, 2016	[47]
LeBron James	Eastern Conference Player of the Week	March 7, 2016	[48]
LeBron James	Eastern Conference Player of the Week	March 28, 2016	[49]
LeBron James	Eastern Conference Player of the Week	April 4, 2016	[50]
LeBron James	Eastern Conference Player of the Month (March)	April 5, 2016	[51]
LeBron James	Eastern Conference Player of the Month (April)	April 15, 2016	[52]
LeBron James	All-NBA First Team	May 26, 2016	[53]
LeBron James	NBA Finals Most Valuable Player Award	June 19, 2016	[54]
LeBron James	Sports Illustrated Sportsperson of the Year	December 1, 2016	[55]
LeBron James	Associated Press Male Athlete of the Year	December 27, 2016	[56]

Records

• JR Smith set franchise records in:
  • Three-point field goals in a season: (204)
  • Three-point field goal attempts in a season: (510)
  • Turnover percentage in a season: (6.3%)
  • Three-point field goals in a postseason: (65)
• Tristan Thompson set a franchise record in:
  • Offensive rating in a season: (129.8)

Milestones

• On March 29, Tristan Thompson broke the franchise record of consecutive games with the Cavs, appearing in his 362nd consecutive game.
• The Cavs finished the season first in the Eastern Conference for the first time since 2010.
• The Cavs finished first in the Central Division for the second straight season.
• The Cavs became the first team in NBA history to come back from a 3–1 deficit and win the NBA Finals.
• The Cavs won the 2016 NBA Finals, ending the city's 52-year championship drought.
• LeBron James famously blocked Andre Iguodala in Game 7. This has been called one of the best plays of his career.
• LeBron James became the third player in NBA history to record a triple-double in Game 7 of the NBA Finals.
• James also became the first player in NBA history to lead both NBA Finals teams in all five statistical categories for the round.

References

1. "Cavaliers become first team to rally from 3–1 series deficit in NBA Finals". ESPN. June 27, 2016. Archived from the original on 2016-06-27.
2. Brian Windhorst; McMenamin, Dave (January 23, 2016). "David Blatt and the unwinding of his Cleveland tenure". ESPN. Archived from the original on May 2, 2018.
3. Golliver, Ben (January 22, 2016). "LeBron James-David Blatt disconnect forced Cavs to make coaching change". Sports Illustrated. Archived from the original on May 2, 2018.
4. Vardon, Joe (April 11, 2016). "LeBron James clearly coveted the No. 1 seed for the Cleveland Cavaliers". cleveland.com. Archived from the original on May 2, 2018.
5. "Pistons vs. Cavaliers - Game Summary - April 17, 2016 - ESPN". ESPN.com. Retrieved February 17, 2022.
6. "2016 NBA Eastern Conference First Round - Pistons vs. Cavaliers". Basketball-Reference.com. Retrieved February 17, 2022.
7. Zillgitt, Jeff. "Kyrie Irving leads Cavs in first-round sweep over Pistons". USA TODAY. Retrieved February 17, 2022.
8. "2016 NBA Eastern Conference First Round - Pistons vs. Cavaliers". Basketball-Reference.com. Retrieved February 17, 2022.
9. "2016 NBA Eastern Conference First Round - Pistons vs. Cavaliers". Basketball-Reference.com. Retrieved February 17, 2022.
10. "LeBron James, Cavs sweep Hawks to return to Eastern Conference Finals | Sporting News". www.sportingnews.com. Retrieved February 24, 2022.
11. "2016 NBA Eastern Conference Semifinals - Hawks vs. Cavaliers". Basketball-Reference.com. Retrieved February 24, 2022.
12. "2016 NBA Eastern Conference Semifinals - Hawks vs. Cavaliers". Basketball-Reference.com. Retrieved February 24, 2022.
13. Cato, Tim (May 27, 2016). "LeBron goes to 6th straight Finals with Game 6 win". SBNation.com. Retrieved March 1, 2022.
14. "2016 NBA Eastern Conference Finals - Raptors vs. Cavaliers". Basketball-Reference.com. Retrieved March 1, 2022.
15. "Warriors reach 73 wins in blowout to set new single-season record". sports.yahoo.com. Retrieved March 1, 2022.
16. Cacciola, Scott (June 17, 2015). "Golden State Warriors End N.B.A. Title Drought With Victory Over Cavaliers". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved May 12, 2018.
17. Cacciola, Scott (June 19, 2016). "Cavaliers Defeat Warriors to Win Their First N.B.A. Title". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved May 12, 2018.
18. Arnovitz, Kevin (June 20, 2016). "LeBron James named unanimous Finals MVP after Cavs' Game 7 win". ESPN. Archived from the original on May 12, 2018.
19. Sharp, Andrew; Golliver, Ben (September 19, 2017). "Reliving LeBron James's Block in Game 7 of the 2016 NBA Finals". Sports Illustrated. Archived from the original on May 12, 2018.
20. McLaughlin, Eliott C. (June 20, 2016). "'Finally, we did it!': Cavs' title ends 52 years of Cleveland sports agony". CNN. Retrieved March 1, 2022.
21. Matistic, Ben (August 7, 2017). ""Cleveland, This is for You."". Commit to Serve. Retrieved March 1, 2022.
22. "LeBron James declares himself 'the greatest player of all time' because of championship with Cavaliers". CBSSports.com. Retrieved March 1, 2022.
23. "LeBron brought Cleveland a title with one of the greatest Finals performances ever". For The Win. June 20, 2016. Retrieved March 1, 2022.
24. "2015-16 Cleveland Cavaliers Roster and Stats".
25. "Cavaliers Acquire Draft Rights to Cedi Osman and Rakeem Christmas from Minnesota". nba.com/cavaliers. June 25, 2015. Retrieved June 25, 2015.
26. "Cavs Acquire Second Round Pick from Pacers". nba.com/cavaliers. July 23, 2015. Retrieved June 23, 2015.
27. "Cavaliers Complete Trade with Portland". nba.com/cavaliers. July 27, 2015. Retrieved June 27, 2015.
28. "Cavaliers Acquire Protected Second Round Pick From Orlando". nba.com/cavaliers. January 12, 2016. Retrieved January 12, 2016.
29. "Cavaliers Acquire Channing Frye". nba.com/cavaliers. February 18, 2016. Retrieved September 15, 2016.
30. "Cavaliers Re-sign Guard Iman Shumpert". nba.com/cavs. July 9, 2015. Retrieved July 9, 2015.
31. "Cavaliers Re-sign Forward Kevin Love". nba.com/cavaliers. July 9, 2015. Retrieved July 9, 2015.
32. "Cavaliers Re-sign Forward LeBron James". nba.com/cavaliers. July 10, 2015. Retrieved July 25, 2015.
33. "Cavaliers Re-sign James Jones". nba.com/cavaliers. July 25, 2015. Archived from the original on June 27, 2016. Retrieved July 25, 2015.
34. "Cavs Re-sign Guard Matthew Dellavedova". nba.com/cavaliers. July 27, 2015. Retrieved July 27, 2015.
35. "Cavs Re-sign Guard J.R. Smith". nba.com/cavaliers. September 2, 2015. Retrieved September 2, 2015.
36. "Cavs Re-Sign Forward Tristan Thompson". nba.com/cavaliers. October 22, 2015. Retrieved October 22, 2015.
37. "Cavs Sign guard Mo Williams". nba.com/cavs. July 10, 2015. Retrieved July 10, 2015.
38. "Cavs Sign Forward Richard Jefferson". nba.com/cavs. August 5, 2015. Retrieved August 5, 2015.
39. "Cavs Sign Center Sasha Kaun". nba.com/cavs. September 9, 2015. Retrieved October 22, 2015.
40. "Marion to retire at end of season". ESPN. January 21, 2015. Retrieved January 21, 2015.
41. "Pelicans Sign Kendrick Perkins". nba.com/pelicans. July 28, 2015. Retrieved July 28, 2015.
42. "Warriors Sign Free Agent Center Anderson Varejao". NBA.com. February 22, 2016. Retrieved February 22, 2016.
43. "LeBron James Named Eastern Conference Player of the Week - November 23, 2015". NBA.com. Retrieved July 23, 2020.
44. "LeBron James Named Eastern Conference Player of the Week - January 11, 2016". NBA.com. Retrieved July 23, 2020.
45. "LeBron James Named 2016 NBA All-Star Starter". NBA.com. Retrieved July 23, 2020.
46. "Tyronn Lue will coach the Eastern Conference All-Stars". Retrieved July 23, 2020.
47. "LeBron James Named Kia NBA Eastern Conference Player of the Month: February 2016". NBA.com. Retrieved July 23, 2020.
48. "LeBron James Named Eastern Conference Player of the Week - March 7, 2016". NBA.com. Retrieved July 23, 2020.
49. "James, Thompson named Players of the Week". NBA.com. March 28, 2016. Archived from the original on May 5, 2016. Retrieved July 23, 2020.
50. "For the 53rd time, yes, LeBron player of week". Retrieved July 23, 2020.
51. "LeBron James Named Kia NBA Eastern Conference Player of the Month: March 2016". NBA.com. Retrieved July 23, 2020.
52. "LeBron James wins East player of the month for April, making it three in a row". April 15, 2016. Retrieved July 23, 2020.
53. "Curry, James lead 2015-16 All-NBA First Team". NBA.com. May 26, 2016. Archived from the original on May 28, 2016. Retrieved July 23, 2020.
54. "LeBron James named 2016 NBA Finals MVP". Retrieved July 23, 2020.
55. "Crowning The King: LeBron James is Sports Illustrated's 2016 Sportsperson of the Year". Retrieved July 23, 2020.
56. "Cleveland Cavaliers' LeBron James named AP Male Athlete of Year". Retrieved July 23, 2020.

Notes

1. ^ Varejão never played a single game for Portland.

External links

• What Will 2015-2016 Look Like for the Cavaliers