This ball was issued for the 2017 NBA Finals when the Golden State Warriors played the Cleveland Cavaliers. The 2ꦚ017 Finals were the long-awaited clash of inevitability—when the league’s most dominant team met its greatest player, each at the height of their powers. For the third straight year, the Golden State Warriors and Cleveland Cavaliers squared off in the Finals,♏ but this time, the balance had shifted definitively with the addition of Kevin Durant to an already historic 73-win team.

Golden State defeated Cleveland in five gam﷽es, winning the series 4-1 to reclaim the championship and stake their claim as one of the most overwhelming teams in NBA history. Durant, vilified in some corners for his move to the Bay, silenced doubters by averaging 35.2 points, 8.2 rebounds, and 5.4 assists en route to his first Finals MVP.

Unlike 2016, when LeBron James and Kyrie Irving engineered the greatest comeback in Finals history, this series was defined by Golden State’s firepower. The Warriors entered the Finals 12-0 in🧸 the playoffs and kept rolling. In Game 1, they throttled Cleveland by 22 behind Durant’s efficient 38 points and a near triple-double from Stephen Curry. Their pace, movement, and defensive pressure overwhelmed a Cavaliers team still ꦜreliant on heroic efforts from its stars.

Game 3 provided Cleveland’s best shot—LeBron tallied 39 points, 11 rebounds, and 9 assists, while Kyrie dazzled with 38—but it was Du♛rant who stole the night, pulling up from deep over James to bury a go-ahead three in the final minute and seal the win. The shot, and the momentꦉ, felt like a passing of the torch.

Cleveland managed to stave off elimination w𒆙ith a record-setting offensive explosion in Game 4, but Golden State closed the door in Game 5 at home, with Durant scoring 39 and Curry adding 34.

The series symbolized more than just a title. It was the peak expression of the superteam era—skill, unselfishness, and overwhelming talent bundled into a 16-1 p♏ostseason run. For LeBron, it was another Herculean effort in a losing cause, his Finals averages (33.6 points, 12.0 rebounds, 10.0 assists) a testament t🥃o both his brilliance and the insurmountable task he faced. For the Warriors, it was validation—not just of their dominance, but of the controversial decision that made them nearly untouchable.