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| Dates | May 31 – June 8 | |||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 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 four games to zero. The Warriors became the 7th NBA franchise to win back-to-back championships, joining the Los Angeles Lakers, Boston Celtics, Detroit Pistons, Chicago Bulls, Houston Rockets, and Miami Heat. This year's 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 four years in a row.[1] Golden State Warriors small forward Kevin Durant was named NBA Finals Most Valuable Player (MVP) for the second straight year. Kevin 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 Warriors entered the series having home-court advantage with a regular season record of 58–24, compared to the Cavaliers' regular season record of 50–32. Entering the matchup, the Warriors were also noted by various sports media outlets as one of the biggest NBA Finals favorites in recent history.[2][3][4] The 2018 Finals began on May 31 and ended on June 8. 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.[5]
As of 2024, the 2018 Finals are the most recent NBA Finals to have a repeat champion.
- ^ 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.
- ^ "The 2018 NBA Finals were Historically Good and Bad". June 12, 2018. Retrieved February 28, 2019.