Would a Cleveland Cavaliers NBA Finals title without LeBron James be sweeter?
The NBA playoffs have officially reached the Conference Finals. The Cleveland Cavaliers punched their ticket by dominating the Detroit Pistons in Game 7. On Tuesday night, the Cavaliers will face the New York Knicks in a series that will decide who advances to the NBA Finals.
The Knicks have not reached the Finals since 1999. Cleveland finds itself back in familiar territory after making several deep playoff runs less than a decade ago. MORE: LeBron James free agency landing spots At that time, the Cavaliers were led by hometown superstar LeBron James.
He delivered Cleveland’s first professional sports championship in more than 50 years. A few years later, however, James left for Los Angeles. Mar 31, 2026; Los Angeles, California, USA; Los Angeles Lakers forward LeBron James (23) is defended by Cleveland Cavaliers guard James Harden (1) and forward Nae’qwan Tomlin (35) in the first half at Crypto.
com Arena. Mandatory Credit: Jayne Kamin-Oncea-Imagn Images Since then, the Cavaliers have worked to prove they can contend without the player who led them to their only NBA title and Finals appearances. James’ departures—especially the second—left many questioning whether Cleveland could remain relevant without him.
Fans, media members, and even some Ohio natives doubted the franchise could ever become a legitimate contender again. That narrative began to change last season when Cleveland won 64 games, captured its division title, and advanced to the Conference Semifinals. Still, the Cavaliers wanted more.