Who Is The Best Finals Runner Up From The 2010s?
Who is the best Finals runner up from the 2010s?
Every single NBA season, the season ends with the NBA Finals. The best team from the West and the best team from the East face off for the trophy. Each series is unique and brings something new for NBA fans to see and talk about. But after each series there is a winner, and a loser. Today I will be finding the best runner-up from the Finals during the 2010s.
#3 – 2017 Cleveland Cavaliers
Many people sleep on this Cavaliers team, mainly because of the way the 2017 Finals went. But the Cavs were taking apart teams in the Eastern Conference as they went 51-31 during the regular season. In the playoffs, they went 12-1 against the Eastern Conference en route to a 3rd straight Finals appearance. And then they met the Golden State Warriors. This was the year where we actually were seeing the Cavs Big 3 be dominant. In 2015 injuries plagued them, in 2016 they were healthy for the 2nd half of the season, but it was mostly Lebron and Kyrie Irving. But now Lebron was averaging 32 points, Kyrie was averaging 25 and Kevin Love was giving you a solid double-double.
The Cavs also had some great shooters around the big 3 like Kyle Korver, J.R. Smith, and Channing Frye. The Cavs actually led the playoffs that year in offensive rating. Above the Warriors with KD, Steph. Klay and friends. They had a better offense than that team.
The main problem with this team was defense, and that really hurt them against the weapon loaded Golden State Warriors with shooters and lethal scorers everywhere. In the playoffs the Cavs were better than advertised in the regular season, but it was nothing special.
But the 2017 Cavs were one of the best teams in the Lebron Cavs era, if not the best. This team was great, but was overshadowed by the stacked Warriors. I think that the Cavs would have beaten most Western Conference contenders that season that were not the Warriors.
#2 – 2013 San Antonio Spurs
In every single normal basketball scenario, the 2013 San Antonio Spurs are NBA champions. In every single one. It’s really unfair that they’re on this list, but they did it to themselves. They were 30 seconds away from beating the 66 win Miami Heat with the best version of Lebron James we have seen.
The Spurs were a great offense that season as they ranked 4th in points and 1st in assists during the regular season.
You can’t really say much more about this Spurs team. The only difference between this team and the 2014 Spurs was hunger, and the pain of losing 2013 of course. They had Hall of Famers in Tim Duncan and Tony Parker leading the way, along with role players like Kawhi Leonard and Danny Green. This team was well-coached and played well together. They just didn’t win the championship because of incredible, historic play from the Miami Heat. The 2013 Spurs should have been NBA Champions.
#1 – 2016 Golden State Warriors
This one is pretty obvious. This team went 73-9 which is the record for most wins in a season, beating the 95-96 Chicago Bulls. They had the unanimous MVP in Steph Curry, and were looking unstoppable.
Obviously with injuries and suspensions, many people believe that the Warriors would have closed out this series and avoided the 3-1 comeback. But, it happened and the rest is history.
Along with unanimous MVP Curry, you had Klay Thompson, the best version of Draymond Green who could also shoot the ball, Andre Iguodala, Shawn Livingston, Andrew Bogut, and Leandro Barbosa. This team was not as star-studded as the 2017 and 2018 Warriors, but they played good, team basketball. They were great on offense with their shooting and ability to move the ball. They were blowing teams out and Steph didn’t play in most 4th quarters during the season. They were again one of the best defensive teams in the NBA. So, yeah. This team was very good. No matter how they went out.
The 2016 Warriors were:
1st in Points
2nd in Blocks
1st in Assists
4th in Rebounding
1st in 3-PT%
1st in 3-PT’s Made
1st in FG%
1st in FG’s Made
This team was dominant in all aspects of the game. They just get remembered the wrong way because of the incredible play of Lebron James and company during Games 5, 6, and 7 of that series. With a ring, the Warriors would very easily be considered the best team of all-time. Many still consider them to be up there with the great teams. But, they just don’t get remembered.
What do you think? Which Finals runner-ups would be on your top-3 list? Is there a runner-up better than the 2015-16 Golden State Warriors? Leave all of your comments down below.
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