By Brandon Apter, Sports Talk Philly editor 
The 2016-17 NBA season came to a close on Monday night as the Golden State Warriors defeated the Cleveland Cavaliers in the Finals, four games to one. Game five finished with a 129-120 score in favor of the Warriors, but you could tell by halftime that Golden State had the upper hand and was well on their way to their third championship in the last three seasons. They went 16-1 in the postseason and were undefeated at home.
Despite the NBA Finals ending with a 4-1 win in favor of the Warriors though, we got to see very entertaining basketball from some of the top players in the league. The biggest story of this year's NBA Finals was Kevin Durant getting his first ring after leaving Oklahoma City for Golden State this past offseason.
While many criticize his decision to chase a ring with a team that was already a serious title contender, it's hard to think that the Warriors win this series without his performance. Game five was no different as Durant carried his team on his back and put together a stellar performance en route to the championship. He finished last night's game with 39 points on 14-for-20 shooting to go along with seven rebounds and five assists, capping off an impressive NBA Finals that earned him the Most Valuable Player award.
"You can talk about whatever you want to talk about, but nobody comes in and cares about the game or loves the game as much as I do or works as hard as do I at the basketball game. You can talk about whatever happens on the outside, but inside those lines, I come to bring it every day," Durant told ESPN. "I work hard, I believe in myself, I believe in the game, I respect the game, I love the game, and I knew at some point in my life that it will come around for me."
Stephen Curry also had a big hand in Golden State's game five victory, scoring 34 points and dishing out 10 assists despite missing seven of his nine from beyond the arc. Andre Iguodala provided a great spark off the bench, tallying 20 points in 38 minutes, playing lock down defense and hitting a few big shots in between.
Sure, the Warriors and Kevin Durant winning his first title is the main headline here, but it shouldn't overshadow LeBron James' unreal performance during the five-game series. His supporting cast was inconsistent and the Cleveland reserves left plenty to be desired, but that didn't keep James from putting together an unbelievable Finals.
"I left everything on the floor every game," James said after the nine-point loss to Golden State on Monday.
Not much more can be said. LeBron scored 41 points to go along with 13 rebounds and eight assists in game five and finished the NBA Finals averaging a triple-double (33.6 ppg, 12.0 rpg, 10.0 apg) and shot 56.4 percent from the floor. He's the first player in NBA history to average a triple-double in the championship round. A lot can be said about LeBron's legacy in this series, despite losing 4-1, because it seems like it took the Warriors getting Kevin Durant to beat LeBron and the Cavaliers.
"A lot of guys cried because they wanted it bad," Cavs coach Tyronn Lue admitted after Game 5, adding that he broke down himself. "And that's all you can ask. If you give all your effort and all the fight and all the heart you got, it doesn't necessarily mean you're going to win, and that's what's tough about sports. I credit our guys. I thought they gave everything they had, and we fought, we competed and we never gave in, but they beat us."
Golden State added Kevin Durant this offseason while the Cavs added Kyle Korver and Deron Williams, both of whom contributed very little in the Finals series against the Warriors. Korver averaged 4.4 points per game in the series while Williams averaged 1.0 points on 12.5 percent shooting. The bench let the Cavs down, but their stars alongside James were also inconsistent, giving Cleveland little chance to keep pace with a Warriors team armed with a variety of shooters that can hurt you all over the court. Kevin Love shot under 40 percent in the Finals and scored just six points in game five while Kyrie Irving had four costly turnovers in a game where every mistake seemed to end up with the Warriors scoring at the other end. JR Smith shot 9-for-11 in game five but was non-existent in the first two games of the series.
If Cleveland plans to return to the finals, it may not take a whole lot of adjustments. Their reserve unit needs to be reworked first and foremost, but don't look for them to acquire a superstar in order to challenge the Warriors.
With the NBA season officially concluded, focus is turned to the NBA Draft, which takes place on June 22 in Brooklyn, New York.
