In the 2015 NBA Finals, the Cleveland Cavaliers and Golden State Warriors met in a series that lasted six games. The Warriors got the best of the Cavaliers that year, and they finished the job with a road victory in Cleveland, allowing them to celebrate at what was then known as Quicken Loans Arena.
The following season, some feathers were ruffled over some comments about champagne. Former Cavs guard Mo Williams, a member of Cleveland’s 2016 championship team, recently told Warriors veteran Draymond Green that the champagne comments in question served as motivation for the Cavs to get a win in Game 6 of the 2016 NBA Finals when Cleveland was facing elimination at home.
“The motivation we got going back for Game 6 was the whole time going back home, we was just — we remember Christmas,” Williams explained. “… Y’all came in there, talking about, ‘Oh, it still smell like champagne up in here.’ We never forgot that. We never forgot it. ‘Oh, it still smell like champagne.’ And we like, ‘Damn, that’s how they feel?’
“So, coming back for Game 6, all we’re saying, ‘Aye, man, they ain’t celebrating in the Q.’ That was all we were saying. And you already know, all you need is something. … That was the biggest thing.”
There are a couple of details worth clearing up. After the Warriors beat the Cavs in the 2015 NBA Finals, the two teams played twice in the following regular season. The first game took place on Christmas at Golden State, and the second game took place in January at Cleveland. It seems like the champagne comments were actually made around the time of the January game.
For context, it appears that it was Warriors star Stephen Curry who made the comments.
“It’ll be fun,” Curry said before the January game in 2016. “Obviously, walking into the locker room, there will be good memories. Hopefully, it still smells a little bit like Champagne. We can enjoy that experience, but obviously, they’re playing well right now and have pretty good momentum going.”
As soon as Curry made those comments, it sparked a little bit of drama.
“Sources are telling cleveland.com that members of the Cavaliers have taken exception to the quote and viewed it as ‘disrespectful,’” wrote insider Chris Haynes around the time of the quote.
At one point, Curry took to social media and encouraged people to read the full quote, as parts of it were seemingly shortened by some outlets.
— Stephen Curry (@StephenCurry30) January 18, 2016
Ultimately, Curry’s quote was clearly enough for the Cavs to want to prevent the Warriors from celebrating in Cleveland again in 2016.
In the 2016 NBA Finals, Golden State took a 3-1 lead and therefore had three chances to clinch the championship.
Golden State’s first chance to finish the job came in Game 5 in a home game for the Warriors, but with Green suspended for that contest, they couldn’t get the job done, sending the series back to Cleveland for Game 6.
In Game 6, with the Cavs motivated following Curry’s comments months earlier, Cleveland earned another big win to extend the series and force a Game 7.
In that Game 7, fans know exactly what happened, with the Cavs stunning the Warriors in Golden State to earn their first championship in franchise history.