Channing Frye Reflects on Cavaliers’ 2016 Championship Win
Channing Frye, a former player for the Cavaliers, remains confident about the 2016 championship team that made history by overcoming a 3-1 deficit against the Warriors. In an interview with Bleacher Report, Frye asserted that the outcome of Game 5 wouldn’t matter, as he believes the Cavaliers were destined to win regardless of the Warriors’ lineup.
He even joked about Draymond Green, saying, “If he had been there, we would still have put that belt on them. If he hadn’t grown two more arms and six more inches, no.” Frye’s lighthearted confidence underscores the Cavaliers’ determination during that intense finals.
It’s been a decade since Cleveland achieved that remarkable comeback, which saw both LeBron James and Kyrie Irving score 41 points and hit a total of nine three-pointers in one game.
During this famous finals series, Green faced a pivotal moment when he committed a critical foul and found himself suspended for Game 5. He had to watch the action unfold nearby at the Oakland Coliseum, barred from entering the arena.
Without Green on the court, the Cavaliers seized the opportunity, winning Game 5 by a score of 112-97. They continued their momentum, also taking Game 6, 115-101, and clinching the title in Game 7 with a close 93-89 victory, marking LeBron James’ first championship with Cleveland.
Frye noted that the Cavaliers had an edge as the Warriors lost key players like Andrew Bogut and Festus Ezeli, allowing Cleveland to be more aggressive in their approach to the game.
Without a significant defensive presence, and with Green sidelined, the advantage shifted heavily in favor of James and Irving. Frye remarked, “I don’t know what happened to those boys. They went to the moon,” expressing his surprise at how the game unfolded.
He likened the playstyle of James and Irving to something out of a cartoon—fast and unpredictable. “With all due respect to Golden State, it was like two gladiators,” Frye said, capturing the intense energy of those pivotal moments.
