Golden State Warriors Win First NBA Championship Since 1975

The Oakland-based Champions defeated LeBron James’ Cleveland Cavaliers in six games.

The Golden State Warriors won the 2015 NBA Finals in a 105–97 victory over the Cleveland Cavaliers. It's their first championship since 1975.

Ezra Shaw / Getty Images

For the Warriors and their fans, the Game 6 decision was the exclamation point on a dream-come-true season for the long-luckless team.

After finishing their season 67–15 with an average of 110 points per game, 26-year-old point guard Steph Curry was named league MVP.

The Warriors swept the New Orleans Pelicans in four games, then defeated the Memphis Grizzlies in six to face the Houston Rockets in the Western Conference Finals. A five-game run through the Rockets put them in their first NBA Finals series since 1976, where they faced the Cleveland Cavaliers, led by 4x MVP LeBron James.

The Cavs team, which already lacked significant depth, was rocked by the loss of point guard Kyrie Irving, who suffered a fractured kneecap in the first game of the series. The Cavs were already without three-time All-Star Kevin Love, whose season ended with a shoulder injury.

And yet, despite the depleted roster, the Cavaliers, specifically LeBron James, gave the flashy Warriors a run for their money for the second and third games of the series. James averaged over 45 minutes in the first five games of the series. Australian point guard Matthew Dellavedova played a prominent role in tripping up the Warriors — specifically Curry — on their path to the Championship.

The Warriors shot TK% on field goals and TK% on three-pointers in the Game 6 victory. Curry shot an unbelievable 101 three-pointers in 594 total points during the Warriors' 21 playoff games. Curry's right-hand man, Klay Thompson, had a relatively quiet playoffs run, shooting 40% on threes. Andre Igoudala, who was tasked with guarding the explosive LeBron James during the finals, was arguably the most important piece to the Warriors Finals puzzle.

The Warriors will return to Oakland with the team's first championship since 1975. A Bay Area team last clinched a championship on their home field in 1974, when the A's won the World Series.

A parade, which will likely be held Friday morning, is reportedly planned to be held in Oakland, home of the Warriors since 1971.