When Was the Last Time the Cleveland Cavaliers Won a Title?

The Cleveland Cavaliers are set to open the NBA postseason on Saturday against the Toronto Raptors. And after three years of early playoff exits, this may be the current core's final chance to win a title before being broken up.

Time flies in sports, and in life, and there may be younger Cavaliers fans who don't fully remember the last and only title won by the franchise.

Even those who witnessed it may have forgotten some of the finer details.

Remembering the first and only Cavaliers NBA title

The Cavaliers, led by LeBron James, finally reached the mountaintop in the 2015-16 season to take down the mighty Golden State Warriors in seven games. This came a year after a frustrating Finals loss to the same Warriors when injuries became a major factor for the Cavs.

But 2016 was a special season and was capped off in arguably the most dramatic way possible.

🚨 CLUTCH GAME 7 FINALS MOMENTS 🚨

2016: Kyrie Irving pull-up triple with under a minute left to complete the Cavs 3-1 comeback pic.twitter.com/e8qgvWyeFu
— NBA (@NBA) June 21, 2025

LeBron had "The Block," Kevin Love made "The Stop," and Kyrie Irving took the lead with "The Shot." In typical Cleveland fashion, there was no lack of drama to finally bring home a championship.

The Cavs were led by the Big three of James, Irving, and Love, but there was a whole cast of supporting role players who truly made the team special. Tristan Thompson, Richard Jefferson, Iman Shumpert, J.R. Smith, Channing Frye, and of course Matthew Dellavedova were memorable names in the pursuit of the title. Even Timofey Mozgov joined in on the fun in a limited role.

The James-led Cavaliers were an absolute juggernaut and perhaps the only team capable of beating the Warriors at their peak. As fans may recall, this defeat stung so hard the Warriors decided to go out and acquire Kevin Durant.

The next two Finals appearances ended in disappointment, but fans in 2026 would be grateful just to get to the Eastern Conference Finals, let alone win a title.

The new stars leading the way are Donovan Mitchell, James Harden, Evan Mobley, and Jarrett Allen, while fans are waiting to see if the likes of Max Strus, Sam Merrill, Jaylon Tyson, Dennis Schroder, or perhaps Keon Ellis can step up in ways similar to Jefferson, Frye, Shumpert, Smith, and Dellavedova. Perhaps Thomas Bryant will emerge as a Thompson-esque figure to add physicality in the paint.

The 2016 title team will go down in Cleveland sports history as a legendary bunch. Fans are hoping the 2026 version can capture the same magic and end the current title drought after one decade.

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