LeBron James tallied a brilliant triple-double as the Cavaliers ended Cleveland’s 52-year wait for a title in a shock upset over the defending champion Golden State Warriors.
James was spectacular in a series that saw the Warriors need to just secure one win from the final three games to take home the NBA title for the second season in a row.
After a record-setting 73-win regular season and a unanimous MVP ballot for star man Stephen Curry, the Warriors entered the Finals as heavy favourites.
When they went 3-1 up and needed one win to secure another Larry O'Brien nobody would have bet against them winning another - especially with two of those games coming at home.
But James and the Cavaliers rallied to overcome the odds against a team that some had prematurely announced as the greatest of all-time.
James top scored in a thrilling game seven for the Cavs with 27 points, adding 11 rebounds, 11 assists and three blocks and was named Finals MVP after a spectacular series.
The victory not only justified James' decision to return to his former club after four successful years with the Miami Heat, it was the kind of victory that will secure his name in the pantheon of the game's greatest.
It was the third title of his career but the first in Cleveland.
James, an Akron, Ohio native, had been drafted by the Cavaliers as an 18-year-old in 2003. Quickly become one of the games best players, he led the Cavaliers to the Finals in 2007 - the first of what most thought would be the start of a dominant era for the team.
But by 2010 the club had grown stale and James shocked the US to form a 'super-team' alongside Dwyane Wade and Chris Bosh in Miami in 2010, winning two titles in four years.
He shocked all again when he announced in 2014 that he would return to the Cavs to bring home a title in a lengthy open letter to fans.
James and the Cavs reached the Finals last season but fell short to the dominant Warriors.
Steve Kerr's team - playing a fast brand of uptempo 'small ball' - continued their dominance this season, posting the greatest regular season of all-time.
They bettered the 1995-96 team of Michael Jordan, Scottie Pippen and Dennis Rodman to secure 73 wins and just nine losses in a season of transcendent play.
They had three players on the All-Star team and Curry was named unanimous MVP, the first time that happened in league history.
Cleveland got the top seed but had an indifferent season where they rarely played at their peak - they fired former coach David Blatt after 41 games, replacing him with assistant Ty Lue.
In the first two games of the Finals, the Warriors then trounced the Cavaliers, winning by 15 and 33 - many declared the series over then.
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Cleveland pulled a game back at home but Golden state then won game four to take a 3-1 lead. The Warriors needed just one win to take home the title, while the Cavaliers would have to do something that only 10 teams had managed in history, come back from 3-1 down to win a play-off series.
James locked in.
He scored 41 points in game five and again in game 6 before Sunday night's triple double.
James has had many doubters over the year, but few will able to argue against the magnitude of this victory.
Moments after hitting the two free throws that secured the win, James openly wept as the buzzer blasted.
He said: "I'm coming home with what I said I was going to do."
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