2018 NBA Finals
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| Dates | May 31 – June 8 | |||||||||
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| MVP | Kevin Durant (Golden State Warriors) | |||||||||
| Eastern finals | Cavaliers defeated Celtics, 4–3 | |||||||||
| Western finals | Warriors defeated Rockets, 4–3 | |||||||||
The 2018 NBA Finals was the championship series of the National Basketball Association's (NBA) 2017–18 season and conclusion of the season's playoffs. In this best-of-seven playoff, the defending NBA champion and Western Conference champion Golden State Warriors swept the Eastern Conference champion Cleveland Cavaliers in four games to repeat as champions for the first time in franchise history, having previously won in 2017. The series began on May 31, and ended on June 8 with the first NBA Finals sweep since 2007. Golden State Warriors small forward Kevin Durant was named the NBA Finals Most Valuable Player (MVP) for the second consecutive year, after averaging 28.8 points, 10.8 rebounds, and 7.5 assists in the series. Durant became the first and only player in the history of the Warriors franchise to win two consecutive NBA Finals MVP Awards and also the first and only player in the history of the NBA to have been named two NBA Finals MVP in the first two seasons with a team.
The Finals was the first time in any of North America's four major professional sports leagues that the same two teams met for the championship for four consecutive years.[1] Entering the series, the Warriors, who had home-court advantage over the Cavaliers, were noted by various sports media outlets as one of the biggest NBA Finals favorites in recent history.[2][3][4]
Game 1 of the Finals was close until the Cavaliers' J. R. Smith dribbled out the clock at the end of regulation after an offensive rebound with 4.7 seconds, thinking the Cavaliers were leading.[5] Instead, the score is tied at the end of regulation, leading to overtime, where the Warriors outscored the Cavaliers by 10 points to win. The Warriors then completed the sweep by winning the next three games by margins of as high as 23 points to claim the championship. The series broke the record set by the 2014 NBA Finals for highest average scoring differential per game (15.0) for an NBA Finals series.[6]
As of 2025, the 2018 Finals are the most recent NBA Finals to have a repeat champion and the most recent where the losing team was swept.
- ^ Stein, Marc (May 28, 2018). "Warriors Dispatch Rockets, Setting Up Fourth Finals Against Cavs". The New York Times. Retrieved May 29, 2018.
- ^ "2018 NBA Finals Odds: Warriors-Cavs IV". Sports Illustrated. May 30, 2018. Retrieved May 31, 2018.
- ^ Purdum, David (May 29, 2018). "Warriors open over Cavs in Vegas as largest Finals favorites in 16 seasons". Espn.com. ESPN. Retrieved May 31, 2018.
- ^ D'Andrea, Christian (May 29, 2018). "The Cleveland Cavaliers are historic NBA Finals betting underdogs". SB Nation. Retrieved May 31, 2018.
- ^ "Final full sequence that sent Cavaliers vs. Warriors to OT [Game 1, 2018 NBA Finals] | ESPN". Youtube. May 31, 2018. Retrieved May 13, 2025.
- ^ "The 2018 NBA Finals were Historically Good and Bad". June 12, 2018. Retrieved February 28, 2019.