The Cavaliers clinched their playoff berth for the fourth consecutive season since
LeBron James' return to Cleveland for the
2014β15 season. In the playoffs, the Cavaliers defeated the
Indiana Pacers in seven games in the First Round, then swept the top-seeded
Toronto Raptors in four games in the Semi-finals, before finally defeating the
Boston Celtics in seven games in the conference finals. Cleveland reached the
NBA Finals for the fourth straight season, despite having an injury filled roster throughout the span of the 2017-2018 season, but were swept by the defending NBA champions
Golden State Warriors in four games, the first Finals sweep that occurred since
2007, when the LeBron-led Cavs were also swept by the
San Antonio Spurs. It was the fourth year in a row the two teams had faced off in the Finals, and the eighth consecutive season in which James had made it to the
championship round. It was also James' final season with the Cavaliers, as he opted out of his contract during the subsequent offseason and again left the Cavaliers to sign with the
Los Angeles Lakers, his second time leaving his hometown team after doing so in
2010 to join the
Miami Heat.[4]
With the loss in the Finals for the second consecutive year, the Cavaliers had become the first team since the
then-New Jersey Nets in 2003, the team led by Hall of Famer
Jason Kidd, to lose back-to-back Finals.
This marked the last season the Cavaliers made the playoffs until their
2022β23 season.
During the middle of July, star point guard
Kyrie Irving β citing serious concerns about the team's future and strains in his relationship with teammate
LeBron James β informed the team of his desire to be traded out of Cleveland.[10][11] Around that time, his list of teams he wanted to be traded to included the
Miami Heat,
Minnesota Timberwolves,
New York Knicks, and
San Antonio Spurs.[10][12] While James was against the idea of trading his teammate and asked the team not to trade him,[13] Irving reportedly threatened to have knee surgery and sit out regular season games if he wasn't traded.[14] The Cavaliers hired their new general manager,
Koby Altman, on July 24, 2017 amidst the chaos surrounding Irving.[15]
The team played their first regular season game of the year on October 17, 2017 against the Boston Celtics, when Celtics small forward
Gordon Hayward gruesomely injured his leg in the first quarter. The Cavaliers would go on to defeat the Celtics, 102β99.[21]
On January 2, 2018, Thomas made his Cavaliers debut, scoring 17 points in 19 minutes played in a 127β110 win against the
Portland Trail Blazers.[22] Despite this auspicious start, Thomas and the team soon began to struggle, leading to locker room unrest, including a number of public criticisms of the team by Thomas.[23][24] During Thomas' brief time playing for Cleveland, the Cavaliers amassed a record of 7β8.[25]
On February 8, 2018 β just before the NBA trade deadline β the Cavaliers radically changed their roster in a little more than an hour.[26][27] First, the Cavaliers traded Thomas, power forward
Channing Frye, and their own first-round pick (which was top-three protected) to the
Los Angeles Lakers for power forward
Larry Nance Jr. and shooting guard
Jordan Clarkson.[25][28][29] Next, the Cavaliers engaged in a three-team trade with the
Sacramento Kings and the
Utah Jazz. The Cavaliers received point guard
George Hill and shooting guard
Rodney Hood.[30][31] The Kings received
Joe Johnson,
Iman Shumpert, the Miami Heat's 2020 second-round pick, and $3 million in cash considerations.[30] The Jazz received Crowder and
Derrick Rose.[32][33] Finally, the Cavaliers traded Wade to the
Miami Heat for a heavily protected 2024 second-round pick.[28][34] Multiple writers argued at the time that the trades made the Cavaliers significantly better.[35][36][37]
On March 19, 2018, the team announced that head coach
Tyronn Lue would be taking a leave of absence from the team due to health issues including "chest pains and other troubling symptoms, compounded by a loss of sleep."[38] It would later be revealed that his situation involved job-related anxiety.[39] In his absence, associate head coach
Larry Drew coached the team.[38]
The Cavaliers finished the regular season with a record of 50β32, good for a fourth-place finish in the
Eastern Conference.[42]
Postseason summary
In the first round of the playoffs, the fourth seeded Cavaliers faced the fifth-seeded
Indiana Pacers. A
year before, the
Cavaliers had swept the
Pacers in the first round.[43] This time around, the Cavaliers won the series in seven games.[44] In Game 7, James put up 45 points, nine rebounds, and seven assists in a 105β101 win.[44]
The Cavaliers advanced to face the top-seeded
Toronto Raptors, the
same team that they defeated in the 2017 Eastern Conference semi-finals.[45] Cleveland swept Toronto, leading to an Eastern Conference finals matchup against the second-seeded
Boston Celtics for the second consecutive year.[46][47]
After losing in the first two games of the series,[48][49] the Cavaliers battled back to tie the series at 2β2.[50][51] The Celtics won Game 5 and the Cavaliers won Game 6, setting up a pivotal Game 7 at the
TD Garden.[52][53] Despite playing without
Kevin Love β who suffered a concussion during Game 6 that prevented him from playing in the final game of the series[54] β the Cavaliers won Game 7, 87β79, to win the conference finals and advance to the
NBA Finals for the fourth consecutive season.[55] Additionally, James made the NBA Finals for the eighth straight season.[56]
For the fourth straight year, the Cavaliers played the
Golden State Warriors in the
NBA Finals.[57] The Cavaliers and the Warriors became the first teams to make the finals for the fourth consecutive season since the
1984β85 Los Angeles Lakers.[58] The Warriors entered the series as heavy favorites.[59][60]
Game 1
The fourth quarter of Game 1 ended in controversial fashion.[61] With the Cavaliers up 104β102 at
Oracle Arena, Golden State small forward
Kevin Durant was called for a
charging foul when driving against LeBron James. When the referees reviewed the play to confirm that James' feet were outside of the restricted area, they opted to invoke a little-known rule and reverse the charge call into a
blocking foul.[62][63] Durant made both free throws to equal the score at 104.[64] After a James layup and an
and-one by Warriors point guard
Stephen Curry, the Cavaliers had the ball down 107β106 with 23.5 seconds remaining in regulation.[62]
During the ensuing possession, Golden State shooting guard
Klay Thompson fouled George Hill with 4.7 seconds left, sending Hill to the free-throw line.[62] The NBA's "Last Two Minute Report" later confirmed that Warriors forward
Draymond Green had fouled James with 12.1 seconds to go in the game.[65] If Green's foul had been noticed in real time, James β who shot 10-for-11 from the line in Game 1 β would have taken the free throws, rather than Hill.[65] Hill tied the game at 107 by making his first free throw, then missed the second attempt.[62] The L2M Report revealed that Green committed a lane violation on the second free throw.[65] If it had been called in real time, Hill would have been able to retake the free throw.[65]
Cavaliers shooting guard
J. R. Smith recovered the rebound and then dribbled out the clock, appearing to have forgotten the score as well as the fact that Cleveland still had one timeout to call.[62][66] The Warriors easily won the game in overtime, 124β114, leading numerous commentators β including current and former players[67] β to accuse Smith of having cost the Cavaliers the game,[66][68][69] as well as having wasted James' performance of 51 points, eight rebounds, and eight assists.[70] Smith later claimed that he knew the game was tied, an assertion belied by the visual evidence as well as the testimony of Tyronn Lue.[66][71]
After the game, James punched a blackboard with his right hand in an expression of his frustration with the team's level of play.[72] The impact of the punch broke his hand.[72] James played through the injury for the rest of the series without revealing it to the media or the general public, and news of the event did not emerge until after the series had ended.[72][73]
Game 2
Golden State beat Cleveland handily in Game 2, 122β103.[74] Playing through an eye injury that he suffered during Game 1, James posted 29 points, nine rebounds, and 13 assists.[74]
Game 3
In Game 3 at
Quicken Loans Arena, the Cavaliers raced out to an early 14β4 advantage and led for the entire first half, but the Warriors trimmed the host's lead to six by halftime.[75] Stephen Curry and Klay Thompson struggled for most of the contest: each of the
Splash Brothers only scored 11 points, with Curry in particular shooting just 3-of-16 from the field.[75] Nevertheless, the Warriors claimed a 110β102 victory, thanks in large part to Kevin Durant's 43 points and 13 rebounds.[75] Durant sealed the victory with a long three-pointer with 49.8 seconds left to extend the Warriors' lead to six.[76]
Game 4
Golden State held a nine-point lead at halftime, 61β52.[77] The Warriors β as they had throughout the season[78][79] β built their lead further in the third quarter and entered the last period of play with an 86β65 advantage.[80] LeBron James departed the game with 4:03 left in the fourth quarter, with small forward
Cedi Osman replacing him.[81] James received a standing ovation from the crowd.[80] His final stat line included 23 points, seven rebounds, and eight assists.[77] Over the course of the series, James averaged 34 points, 8.5 rebounds, and 10 assists.[81]
With their 108β85 victory, the Warriors sealed their sweep of the Cavaliers and their third championship in four seasons.[77] Kevin Durant received the
Bill Russell NBA Finals Most Valuable Player Award for the second consecutive year.[77] James' record in NBA Finals series fell to 3β6.[81] The Cavaliers became the ninth team to be swept in the NBA Finals.[82] Incidentally, the last team to suffer that fate was also the
Cavaliers, when they lost to the
San Antonio Spurs in four games in the
2007 NBA Finals.[81]