Looking back at NBA Finals rematches
Some good news for the Cleveland Cavaliers as they face the Golden State Warriors for the second straight June: in the history of NBA Finals rematches occurring in consecutive seasons, seven of 13 previous instances had the team that lost the first meeting coming back to win the title in the second.
Spurs/Heat, 2013-14
A year after a fairly epic seven-game series in which the Miami Heat topped the San Antonio Spurs, Miami came into the 2014 Finals running low on gas. No image encapsulated that better than LeBron James being helped off the floor after cramping up in Game 1 - even though an air-conditioning malfunction at AT&T Center may have contributed to it.
Either way, the Heat never really recovered, falling to the Spurs in five games.
Bulls/Jazz, 1997-98
The only example in the last 47 years of one team winning both matchups. The Utah Jazz of Karl Malone, John Stockton, and Jerry Sloan were good, but not as good as the Chicago Bulls' quartet of Michael Jordan, Scottie Pippen, Dennis Rodman, and Phil Jackson.
Legend has it Jordan was extra motivated in '97 because he was angry Malone had been named NBA MVP. The following season, Jordan's series-winner in Game 6 was his last bucket as a Bull.
Pistons/Lakers 1988-89
A year after losing a hard-fought seven-game series to Magic Johnson and the Los Angeles Lakers in 1988, Isiah Thomas and the Detroit Pistons stormed back the next year to sweep L.A. in four straight.
Lakers/Celtics, 1984-85
Representing one of the NBA's all-time greatest rivalries, the Los Angeles Lakers and Boston Celtics - led by Magic Johnson and Larry Bird, respectively - reached towering heights when they traded championships in the mid-1980s. The Lakers' win was also their first against the Celtics in nine Finals tries, and their clinching victory in Game 6 was the only time a visiting NBA team celebrated a title on the Boston Garden floor.
76ers/Lakers, 1982-83
After losing two Finals to the Lakers in three years, the Philadelphia 76ers bounced back in 1983 behind Moses Malone and Julius Erving to sweep L.A. and claim what still stands as the Sixers' last NBA championship.
SuperSonics/Bullets,1978-79
There's a lot going on in this video, from the late-1970s TV graphics to the collar on Lenny Wilkens' shirt. The celebration was sweet for the Seattle SuperSonics, however, as they avenged their defeat the previous season to the Washington Bullets.
Knicks/Lakers, 1972-73
Before the 2016 Warriors or the 1996 Bulls, the 1972 Lakers of Wilt Chamberlain and Jerry West were considered one of the greatest teams in NBA history. After winning the Finals over the New York Knicks, they returned the next season only to have New York turn the tables on them - in what remains the Knicks' last championship.
Other rematches: Celtics over the Lakers in 1962-63, 1965-66, and 1968-69; Celtics and St. Louis Hawks splitting titles in 1957-58, and 1960-61; Minneapolis Lakers over Knicks in 1952-53.