Cleveland Cavaliers Championship Wins & NBA Finals History

The Cleveland Cavaliers entered the 2025 NBA playoffs as the No. 1 seed in the Eastern conference with hopes of winning a championship for the second time in franchise history.

Cleveland finished with 64 wins, the second-highest total in the league. This team's success has prompted many to ask where this team ranks among the best in Cavaliers history.

This is the team's second-highest win total in history and it marks just the third time in history the team has won 60+ games in a single season. But this team is hoping to make another first for the franchise: Win 60 regular season games and make the NBA Finals.

As the playoffs roll on, let's take a look back at the last (and first) NBA championship for the Cleveland Cavaliers.

Full List of Cleveland Cavaliers' NBA Championships

The Cavaliers have won just one NBA championship in franchise history. But it was so much bigger than basketball for the city of Cleveland.

The Cavs were in the midst of a monumental run, which saw the team reach the NBA Finals four-straight years (alongside the Golden State Warriors). Unfortunately for them, they came up short on three occasions. But on June 19, 2016, Cleveland ended more than a half-century of heartbreak.

It was Cleveland's first major sports championship since 1964. It was as much an exorcism as a victory. After enduring "The Drive," and "The Fumble," and "The Shot," and 'Jose Mesa's Collapse' and 'The Decision,' Cleveland was desperate for a win.

LeBron James gave it to them. But like all relationships, it got complicated.

James left the Cavaliers in 2010, joining the Miami Heat and creating a 'superteam' with Dwyane Wade and Chris Bosh. When he returned to Cleveland in 2014 he vowed to bring the city a title (or more).

He fell short in 2015, losing to the Golden State Warriors in six games. The following year, the Cavs were down 3–1 against the Warriors (a team that won a record 73 games in the regular season). It seemed like another 'close-but-no-cigar' moment for the city.

But James (and point guard Kyrie Irving) wasn't finished yet.

James and Irving both scored 41 in game five to cut the deficit to 3–2. James dropped 41 again in game six (including 18-straight throughout the third and fourth quarters), along with an iconic chasedown block on MVP Steph Curry. As a result, the Cavs became the first team in NBA history to force a game seven in the Finals after being down 3–1.

Game seven was a close contest throughout as the game sported 20 lead changes, but Cleveland played lockdown defense in the final five minutes, holding Golden State scoreless. This included an incredible stand from Cavs forward Kevin Love, who switched onto Curry and forced him to take a contested three-pointer.

When it ended, the buzzer sounded at Oracle Arena and Cleveland was no longer cursed.

Cleveland Cavaliers' NBA Finals Appearances

The Importance of LeBron James to the Cleveland Cavaliers

The man they call "King James" is the single most important player in the history of the Cavaliers franchise and it isn't particularly close.

James owns practically every major statistical category in Cavaliers history, including: points, assists, rebounds, steals and minutes played. He won two MVP awards while with the team, brought Cleveland to five Finals and brought the franchise its lone championship.

And he did all of it after being the No. 1 selection in the 2003 NBA draft, while also being anointed as the next Michael Jordan.

In the end, he delivered on all expectations and isn't just the greatest player in Cavaliers history, but might very well be the greatest player in NBA history to boot.