who won the nba finals in the last four years
Golden State Warriors
title: 2017 NBA Finals text: 2017 NBA Finals The 2017 NBA Finals was the championship series of the National Basketball Association (NBA)'s 2016–17 season and conclusion of the season's playoffs. The Western Conference champion Golden State Warriors defeated the defending NBA champion and Eastern Conference champion Cleveland Cavaliers 4 games to 1. This Finals was the first time in NBA history the same two teams had met for a third consecutive year. The Cavaliers sought to repeat as champions after winning the championship in 2016, while the Warriors won the first meeting in 2015. Golden State earned home court advantage with a 2016–17 regular season title: Cleveland Cavaliers text: a "Big Three" with James, Love, and Irving. The Lebron-led Cavaliers made four consecutive finals appearances in from 2015 to 2018, all against the Golden State Warriors, winning in 2016. The 2016 NBA Championship marked the Cavaliers' first title in franchise history, as they became the first team to come back from a 3–1 deficit to win the Finals. It was also Cleveland's first championship in major professional sports since the 1964 Browns, signaling the end of the so-called Cleveland sports curse. The Cavaliers' roster went through many changes in the 2017–18 season, most notably the trade of Irving to title: 2012 NBA Finals text: straight championship, losing to the Spurs 4-1 in a rematch of the previous season's finals. The Spurs had defeated the Thunder in the Western Conference finals prior to the NBA finals. After the Heat lost the 2014 Finals, LeBron James to returned to the Cleveland Cavaliers to join with Kyrie Irving and Kevin Love. James led the Cavaliers to four straight NBA Finals from 2015-2018, all against the Golden State Warriors. The Cavaliers won only one Championship during this stretch, in 2016 in which the Cavaliers beat the Warriors in seven games, rallying from a 3–1 series deficit for the title: National Basketball Association text: James announced that he would return to the Cleveland Cavaliers. James led the Cavaliers to their second Finals appearance, where they lost to the Golden State Warriors in six games. The following year, in a rematch, the 2016 NBA Finals concluded with the Cavaliers defeating the Warriors in seven games to win their first NBA Championship. The dominance of those two teams continued in 2017, when the Warriors, having signed Kevin Durant as a free agent, took the third straight Finals matchup between the two teams in five games, with Durant named Finals MVP, and again in 2018 when they title: Cleveland Cavaliers text: of 2017, ranks as the longest in NBA history for a single season and second overall. Between 2010 and 2014, however, the team won the top pick in the NBA draft lottery three times, first in 2011 where they selected Kyrie Irving, and again in 2013 and 2014. LeBron James returned to the Cavs in 2014 and led the team to four straight NBA Finals appearances. In 2016, the Cavaliers won their first NBA Championship, marking Cleveland's first major sports title since 1964. The 2016 NBA Finals victory over the Golden State Warriors marked the first time in Finals history