The 2015 NBA Finals was the championship series of the National Basketball Association's (NBA) 2014–15 season and the conclusion of the season's playoffs. In this best-of-seven series, the Western Conference champion Golden State Warriors defeated the Eastern Conference champion Cleveland Cavaliers in six games, winning their first championship since 1975, and fourth overall. The Warriors' Andre Iguodala was voted the NBA Finals Most Valuable Player (MVP), after he averaged 16.3 points, 5.8 rebounds, 4.0 assists, and was the main defender on LeBron James for the series. He became the first and only player to win the award without starting every game of the series. Iguodala received seven out 11 votes; the other four went to James, who played in his fifth consecutive Finals appearance. The series began on June 4 and ended on June 16.
In the opening game, the Warriors won in overtime, a game which saw Kyrie Irving's knee injury. In another tight game decided in overtime, the Cavaliers, aided by James's offense, withstood the injuries of the Cavaliers' principal players Irving and Kevin Love and won Game 2 before ultimately taking a 2–1 series lead. Entering Game 4, the Warriors head coach Steve Kerr inserted Iguodala into the starting lineup and moved Draymond Green to the center position. With this new lineup, Warriors went on to win three straight games to clinch the NBA championship.
In a losing effort, James became the first player in NBA Finals history to lead both teams in points, rebounds, and assists for the entire series, after averaging 35.8 points, 13.3 rebounds, and 8.8 assists per game. A first-time NBA champion, Stephen Curry was the last NBA MVP to win an NBA championship in the same season until Shai Gilgeous-Alexander with the Oklahoma City Thunder in 2025.
This was also the last NBA Finals to be played on a Thursday–Sunday–Tuesday scheme, with the schedule format being changed beginning the following Finals.
Background
Golden State Warriors
The Warriors entered the 2014–15 season after replacing Mark Jackson with Steve Kerr as head coach. This was Kerr's first ever head coaching job. After retiring as a player in 2003, he served as a broadcast analyst from 2003 to 2007 and 2010 to 2014, and as general manager of the Phoenix Suns from 2007 to 2010. Revamping Golden State's offense, Kerr employed elements of the triangle offense from his playing days with the Chicago Bulls under Phil Jackson, the spacing and pace of Gregg Popovich from his playing days in San Antonio with the Spurs, and the up-tempo principles Alvin Gentry used in Phoenix when Kerr was the general manager.
In Kerr's first year, the Warriors finished with the best regular season record at 67–15, including an incredible 39–2 in home games. Kerr became the winningest rookie head coach in NBA history, passing Tom Thibodeau and his 62 wins with the Chicago Bulls in 2010–11. Point guard Stephen Curry set the NBA record for three-pointers made in a regular season with 286, eclipsing his own record set in 2012–13. Curry also won the NBA Most Valuable Player Award for the 2014–15 season. He and fellow guard Klay Thompson, known as the Splash Brothers, finished first and second in the league in three-pointers made, respectively, and combined to make 525 threes, surpassing their previous league record for a duo by 41, while also converting an impressive 44% of those shots. During the season, the backcourt mates both started in the NBA All-Star Game and were each named to the All-NBA team, the first time in decades that either has been achieved by guards on the same team. Golden State advanced to the Finals after sweeping the New Orleans Pelicans in the first round of the playoffs, defeating the Memphis Grizzlies in six games during the second round, and eliminating the Houston Rockets in five games in the conference finals.
Cleveland Cavaliers
The Cavaliers entered the 2014–15 season after firing Mike Brown and replacing him with David Blatt as head coach, signing free agent forward LeBron James, and trading for forward Kevin Love. James previously played for Cleveland from 2003 to 2010, leading the Cavaliers to their only previous Finals appearance in 2007. James then played for the Miami Heat from 2010 to 2014, leading the Heat to two NBA championships in 2012 and 2013. During the 2014 NBA draft on June 26, 2014, Cleveland held the first overall pick and used it to select Andrew Wiggins. Later on August 23, a three-team trade was completed involving the Cavaliers, the Minnesota Timberwolves, and the Philadelphia 76ers. As part of the deal, Cleveland dealt Wiggins and Anthony Bennett and received Love.
James, Love, and guard Kyrie Irving became known as the Big Three. The Cavaliers got off to a shockingly bad start that led to intense media scrutiny and caused many to question Blatt's job security, going 19–20 in their first 39 games, which included a stretch where they were 2–10 in 12 games, starting with a December 25 road loss to Miami. Injuries to James and "chemistry issues," with James "still learning how to play with his new teammates and vice versa," were considered the primary reasons for the underwhelming start. A number of trades turned the season around. The Cavaliers acquired J.R. Smith and Iman Shumpert from the Knicks in exchange for draft picks while sending Dion Waiters to the Thunder. They then acquired Timofey Mozgov. James's return to the Cavaliers' lineup (following a 2-week layoff) on January 12 completed the turnaround. The Cavaliers closed out the season on a high note, going 34–9 for a 53–29 regular season record and the Central Division title, the second best record in the Eastern Conference behind the Atlanta Hawks. The Cavaliers advanced to the Finals after sweeping the Boston Celtics in the first round of the playoffs, defeating the Chicago Bulls in six games during the second round, and sweeping the Hawks in the conference finals.
Road to the Finals
Cleveland Cavaliers (Eastern Conference champion) Golden State Warriors (Western Conference champion) 2nd seed in the East, 7th best league recordRegular season 1st seed in the West, best league recordDefeated the 7th seeded Boston Celtics, 4–0First roundDefeated the 8th seeded New Orleans Pelicans, 4–0Defeated the 3rd seeded Chicago Bulls, 4–2Conference semifinalsDefeated the 5th seeded Memphis Grizzlies, 4–2Defeated the 1st seeded Atlanta Hawks, 4–0Conference finalsDefeated the 2nd seeded Houston Rockets, 4–1
Regular season series The Cavaliers and Warriors tied the regular season series 1–1, with each team winning its home game.
Series summary Game Date Road team Result Home team Game 1 June 4 Cleveland Cavaliers 100–108 (OT) (0–1) Golden State Warriors Game 2 June 7 Cleveland Cavaliers 95–93 (OT) (1–1) Golden State Warriors Game 3 June 9 Golden State Warriors 91–96 (1–2) Cleveland Cavaliers Game 4 June 11 Golden State Warriors 103–82 (2–2) Cleveland Cavaliers Game 5 June 14 Cleveland Cavaliers 91–104 (2–3) Golden State Warriors Game 6 June 16 Golden State Warriors 105–97 (4–2) Cleveland Cavaliers
Game summaries
For the first time in NBA Finals history, the first two games went into overtime. After Golden State had fallen behind 2–1 in the series, Kerr moved swingman Andre Iguodala into the starting lineup and brought center Andrew Bogut off the bench. The Warriors' small lineup, which came to be known as the Death Lineup, helped turn the series around. Golden State won the series in six games, claiming their first title since 1975 and their fourth in franchise history. The Warriors played small ball in the Finals to a greater extent than any prior champion. Combining regular season and playoff games, Golden State finished 83–20, the third-best record ever behind the Chicago Bulls in 1995–96 (87–13) and 1996–97 (84–17).
Iguodala was named the Finals MVP, becoming the first and only player to win the award without having started every game in the series. He averaged 16.3 points, 5.8 rebounds, and 4.0 assists per game in the series. Iguodala was also tasked with guarding Cleveland star LeBron James, who made only 38.1% of his shots when Iguodala was in the game, but still averaged 35.8 points, 13.3 rebounds, and 8.8 assists per game. James received four of the 11 votes for Finals MVP even though Cleveland lost by an average of 14 points in the final three games. Stephen Curry was just the sixth player to win his first league MVP and his first NBA title in the same season; the last player to accomplish this feat was Shaquille O'Neal in 1999–2000. Kerr became the first rookie coach to win a title since Pat Riley in 1981–82.
The Warriors were the first team since the 1990–91 Bulls to win a title with a roster that did not have any players with Finals experience. James and teammate James Jones made their fifth consecutive trip to the Finals, having qualified the previous four seasons with the Miami Heat, though Jones did not play in the 2011 Finals. It was the first time since 1998 that the Finals did not include the Los Angeles Lakers, San Antonio Spurs, or Heat. This was also the first NBA Finals since then not to have featured Kobe Bryant, Tim Duncan, or Dwyane Wade.
Game 1
The Warriors defeated the Cavaliers 108–100 in overtime, taking Game 1 and the 1–0 series lead. The Cavaliers got off to a strong start, opening up a 29–15 lead before settling for a 10-point lead after the first quarter. In the second quarter, the Warriors went on a big run and led 46–41. Cleveland then went on a 10–2 run to close out the first half, capped off by a J. R. Smith three-pointer with .7 seconds left to take a 51–48 halftime lead. The second half was a back-and-forth affair, with neither team able to gain separation. Late in the fourth quarter, Timofey Mozgov hit two free throws to tie the game at 98. Golden State ran a play for Stephen Curry out of a timeout. Curry beat Kyrie Irving to the basket and went for a go-ahead layup, but Irving blocked the shot, and the Cavaliers called timeout after Smith secured the rebound. The Cavaliers had two chances to win in the final seconds of regulation. James' potential game-winning jumper was off, and then Iman Shumpert got the offensive rebound and threw a shot at the buzzer, but also missed, sending the game to overtime. In overtime, the Warriors dominated with a 10–0 run consisting of seven free throws and a three-pointer by Barnes. Cleveland's only score in the extra period was James' layup with 9.5 seconds left as the Cavaliers shot 1/12 and committed 3 turnovers in the game's final 5 minutes.
Only three players scored for the Cavaliers after halftime: James, Irving, and Mozgov. The trio combined for 83 of the Cavaliers' 100 points. James had a career NBA Finals high of 44 points, while attempting a postseason career-high 38 shots, and Curry led Golden State with 26 points. The Warriors' bench outplayed the Cavaliers' bench, outscoring them 34–9, with all nine Cavaliers bench points coming from Smith. Andre Iguodala led the Warriors' bench in scoring with 15 points. Irving suffered a knee injury in overtime and was forced to leave the game early. The following day, he was diagnosed with a fractured left kneecap that would require surgery and was ruled out for the rest of the Finals, joining Kevin Love, who suffered a dislocated shoulder against the Celtics in the first round of the playoffs, and Anderson Varejão.
Game 2