The 2016 Cleveland Cavaliers faced off against the Raptors in the Eastern Conference Finals.
The Cleveland Cavaliers couldn’t reach the Eastern Conference Finals in the 2024-25 season despite ending the regular season with the best record in the East. Even though the Cavaliers have now been eliminated in the Conference semifinals in back-to-back seasons, it’s worth noting that they’ve reached the Conference Finals eight times in their history. The list of those appearances goes as follows:
1976
The Cavaliers posted a 49-33 record during the 1975-76 regular season and finished in first place in the Central Division based on their defensive prowess. Despite averaging only 101.7 points per game, the second-worst mark in the league in the regular season, they held opponents to only 99.2 PPG, the second-best mark in The Association. Cleveland would win the Eastern semifinals against the Washington Bullets by a 4-3 tally, but their playoff run ended in the Eastern Finals following a 4-2 loss to the Boston Celtics.
1992
The Cavaliers finished second in the Central Division in 1991-92 with a 57-25 record, and some of their standout players were Mark Price, Brad Daugherty, and Larry Nance. Cleveland ranked in the Top 10 in both offense (108.9 ppg) and defense (103.4 ppg against) during the regular season and dispatched both the New Jersey Nets (3-1) and Boston Celtics (4-3) in the first two rounds. Their championship dreams ended abruptly in the Conference Finals after losing by a 4-2 score against the Chicago Bulls.
2007
This was not only the first time LeBron James led the Cavaliers to the Conference Finals, but also the first time the franchise reached the NBA Finals. Led by LeBron and Zydrunas Ilgauskas, the Cavaliers posted a 50-32 record in the regular season and got past the Washington Wizards (4-0), New Jersey Nets (4-2) and Detroit Pistons (4-2) en route to their first-ever Finals appearances. The Cavaliers’ lack of experience was noticeable, though, and the San Antonio Spurs swept them in the 2007 NBA Finals.
2009
The Cavaliers would return to the Eastern Conference Finals in 2008-09, the final year of LeBron James before his departure to Miami, but they fell short once again. Despite posting an impressive 66-16 record during the regular season and owning the best defense in the league by a wide margin (allowing just 91.4 points per game), Cleveland would lose in the Conference Finals. They swept the Detroit Pistons and Atlanta Hawks in the first two rounds, but they lost in the East Finals to the Orlando Magic by a 4-2 score.
2015
LeBron James returned to Cleveland for vengeance after a four-year stint with the Miami Heat that produced two NBA titles and two NBA Finals appearances, and he was determined to bring the first-ever Larry O’Brien Trophy to Cleveland. Playing alongside Kyrie Irving and Kevin Love, the Cavaliers cruised through the regular season with a 53-29 record and only lost two games in the first three rounds of the 2015 NBA Playoffs. They dispatched the Boston Celtics (4-0) in the first round, defeated the Chicago Bulls (4-2) in the Semifinals and swept the Atlanta Hawks (4-0) in the East Finals. They couldn’t get the job done, however, after losing to the Golden State Warriors by a 4-2 score in the NBA Finals.
2016
The Cavaliers’ “Big Three” of James, Irving and Love aimed to finish the job in the 2015-16 season and delivered the goods in the regular season, posting a 57-25 record despite a midseason coaching change while ending as a Top 10 unit on both ends of the court. They swept the Detroit Pistons and the Atlanta Hawks in the first two rounds of the playoffs and dispatched the Toronto Raptors by a 4-2 in the Eastern Conference Finals. Unlike in 2014-15, however, the Cavaliers would get the job done and stormed back from a 3-1 deficit to win the title in a thrilling series. To this day, this is considered one of the best NBA Finals series in league history. It was the Cavaliers’ first-ever title and LeBron’s third of his career.
2017
The Cavaliers couldn’t defend their title in the 2016-17 season, but they recorded a third straight NBA Finals appearance. After posting a 51-31 record in the regular season, good for second in the East, Cleveland cruised against the Indiana Pacers and Toronto Raptors, sweeping both series to reach the Eastern Conference Finals. They defeated the Boston Celtics by a 4-1 score in the East Finals, but the Cavaliers couldn’t record back-to-back titles after losing to the Golden State Warriors by a 4-1 score in the finals.
2018
The 2017-18 season was the final season of LeBron James in the franchise, and it was also the last time the Cavs managed to reach not only the NBA Finals but even the Conference Finals. After going 50-32 in the regular season and getting past the tough challenge of the Indiana Pacers in the first round (4-3), the Cavaliers would sweep the Raptors (4-0) to set a matchup against the Boston Celtics (4-3) in the Eastern Conference Finals. Once again, and just like it happened in 2016-17, the Cavaliers would run out of gas in the Finals and would end up losing to their nemesis, the Warriors, by a 4-0 sweep.
