RetroSeasons recaps past sports seasons through stories, photos, videos, and stats from every team, league, and stadium in history. Coverage includes the NBA, NFL, MLB and NHL, as well as vintage media from defunct teams and leagues.
The 2015–16 NBA season was the 70th season of the National Basketball Association. The regular season began on Tuesday, October 27, 2015 at the United Center, home of the Chicago Bulls, with their game against the Cleveland Cavaliers.
The regular season ended on April 13, 2016. Golden State’s Stephen Curry became the first unanimous MVP in league history. The playoffs started on April 16, 2016 and ended with the 2016 NBA Finals on June 19, 2016, with the Cleveland Cavaliers becoming NBA Champions for the first time in franchise history after defeating the Golden State Warriors in seven games and ending the city's 52-year sports drought. This would also be the final season for Kobe Bryant, Tim Duncan and Kevin Garnett.
The regular season began on Tuesday, October 27, 2015 at the United Center, home of the Chicago Bulls, who hosted a game against the Cleveland Cavaliers at 8:00 p.m. EDT, then the Atlanta Hawks hosted the Detroit Pistons at 8:00 p.m. EDT. Finally, the defending NBA champion Golden State Warriors hosted the New Orleans Pelicans at 10:30 p.m. EDT at the Oracle Arena. Christmas Day games were played on Friday, December 25, 2015. The regular season ended on Wednesday, April 13, 2016. The schedule was released at 6:00 p.m. EDT on August 12, 2015
The 2016 NBA playoffs was the postseason tournament of the National Basketball Association (NBA)'s 2015–16 season. The tournament ended with the Eastern Conference champion Cleveland Cavaliers defeating the Western Conference champion Golden State Warriors 4 games to 3 after the Warriors led the series 3 games to 1. In the NBA Finals, LeBron James was named NBA Finals MVP.
The Cavaliers swept their first two series and won the first two games of the Eastern Conference Finals against the Raptors to become the fourth team in NBA history to open a post-season with 10 straight victories. They matched the 2012 San Antonio Spurs, though the 1989 and 2001 Los Angeles Lakers had won their first eleven games en route to sweeping the first three rounds of the playoffs. Cleveland wound up repeating this feat the next year when they swept the conference opening round, semifinal round, and winning the first 2 conference final games. However, this feat would be surpassed by the 2017 Golden State Warriors who won 15 straight games.
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Final 3:39 of Game 7 of the 2016 NBA Finals | Cavaliers vs Warriors
We flashback to the final 3 minutes and 39 seconds of Game 7 of the NBA Finals where 2 of the best plays in NBA History transpired!
About the NBA:
The NBA is the premier professional basketball league in the United States and Canada. The league is truly global, with games and programming in 215 countries and territories in 47 languages, as well as NBA rosters at the start of the 2016-17 season featuring a record 113 international players from a record 41 countries and territories. For the 2016-17 season, each of the league's 30 teams will play 82 regular-season games, followed by a postseason for those that qualify.
The NBA consists of the following teams: Atlanta Hawks; Boston Celtics; Brooklyn Nets; Charlotte Hornets; Chicago Bulls; Cleveland Cavaliers; Dallas Mavericks; Denver Nuggets; Detroit Pistons; Golden State Warriors; Houston Rockets; Indiana Pacers; Los Angeles Clippers; Los Angeles Lakers; Memphis Grizzlies; Miami Heat; Milwaukee Bucks; Minnesota Timberwolves; New Orleans Pelicans; New York Knicks; Oklahoma City Thunder; Orlando Magic; Philadelphia 76ers; Phoenix Suns; Portland Trail Blazers; Sacramento Kings; San Antonio Spurs; Toronto Raptors; Utah Jazz; Washington Wizards.
The NBA offers real time access to live regular season NBA games with a subscription to NBA LEAGUE PASS, available globally for TV, broadband, and mobile. Real-time Stats, Scores, Highlights and more are available to fans on web and mobile with the NBA App.
For more information, as well as all the latest NBA news and highlights, log onto the league's official website at
LOS ANGELES (AP) Kobe Bryant scored 60 incredible points. He carried a miserable Los Angeles...
Kobe Bryant Amazing last 3 minutes in his FINAL GAME vs Jazz / LOS ANGELES (AP) Kobe Bryant scored 60 incredible points. He carried a miserable Los Angeles Lakers team to an improbable comeback victory.
And with sweat and confetti all over his gold uniform for the final time, he expressed humble thanks to his fans and family for their loving support over two decades.
"What else can I say?" Bryant asked. "Mamba out."
Now that's a Hollywood ending to a remarkable career.
Bryant utterly dominated his final game Wednesday night, wrapping up 20 NBA seasons with one last offensive showcase in the Lakers' 101-96 victory over the Utah Jazz.
He scored 23 points in the fourth quarter, posting his first 50-point game since February 2009 and rallying the Lakers from a 15-point deficit to win the final game of the worst season in franchise history.
It was messy, ridiculous and magical - even to the man who did it so many times over 20 years.
"It's hard to believe it happened this way," Bryant said. "I'm still shocked about it."
With the entire Staples Center crowd standing, Bryant made a 3-pointer with 59 seconds left. He hit another with 31 seconds to play, putting the Lakers ahead 97-96. He finished with an assist before checking out for good with 4.1 seconds left in just the Lakers' 17th win of the season.
"The perfect ending would have been a championship," Bryant said with a smile. "But tonight was (me) trying to go out, play hard and try to put on a show as much as I possibly could. It felt good to be able to do that one last time."
Bryant and his teammates conspired for one last omnivorous scoring performance by the third-leading scorer in NBA history. He played 42 minutes and took a career-high 50 shots, his teammates attempting to set him up for points on nearly every possession.
Kobe came up with the fifth highest-scoring game of his career. He became the oldest player to score 50 points in an NBA game.
The entire night was a tribute to Bryant, who is retiring after 20 seasons, five championship rings and 18 All-Star selections with the Lakers, who honored him before and after the game. Bryant is just the fifth player in NBA history to play 20 seasons, and the first with just one team.
"I think the most important part is that we all stayed together throughout," Bryant said to the crowd. "You'll always be in my heart, and I sincerely, sincerely appreciate it. Thank you from the bottom of my heart. I love you guys."
He also had a few laughs after finishing his 1,346th regular-season game with 33,643 career points.
"The thing that had me cracking up all night long is, I go through 20 years of everybody screaming to pass the ball," Bryant said with a grin. "And then the last night, they're like, `Don't pass it!"'
It was daylong tribute with thousands of fans thronging the downtown streets around Staples Center and chanting his name from early afternoon. Fans
Aaron Gordon, Zach Lavine, Will Barton, and Andre Drummond enter the 2016 Dunk contest hoping...
2016 NBA Slam Dunk Contest - Aaron Gordon vs Zach LaVine / Aaron Gordon, Zach Lavine, Will Barton, and Andre Drummond enter the 2016 Dunk contest hoping to be crowned champions.
Congrats to Aaron Gordon and Zach Lavine you both did amazing.
Take a look back at one of the best dunk contests in the history of All-Star Weekend between Zach LaVine and Aaron Gordon!
About the NBA:
The NBA is the premier professional basketball league in the United States and Canada. The league is truly global, with games and programming in 215 countries and territories in 47 languages, as well as NBA rosters at the start of the 2015-16 season featuring 100 international players from 37 countries and territories. For the 2015-16 season, each of the league's 30 teams will play 82 regular-season games, followed by a postseason for those that qualify.
The NBA consists of the following teams: Atlanta Hawks; Boston Celtics; Brooklyn Nets; Charlotte Hornets; Chicago Bulls; Cleveland Cavaliers; Dallas Mavericks; Denver Nuggets; Detroit Pistons; Golden State Warriors; Houston Rockets; Indiana Pacers; Los Angeles Clippers; Los Angeles Lakers; Memphis Grizzlies; Miami Heat; Milwaukee Bucks; Minnesota Timberwolves; New Orleans Pelicans; New York Knicks; Oklahoma City Thunder; Orlando Magic; Philadelphia 76ers; Phoenix Suns; Portland Trail Blazers; Sacramento Kings; San Antonio Spurs; Toronto Raptors; Utah Jazz; Washington Wizards.
The NBA offers real time access to live regular season NBA games with a subscription to NBA LEAGUE PASS, available globally for TV, broadband, and mobile. Real-time Stats, Scores, Highlights and more are available to fans on web and mobile with the NBA App.
1 Comment
I sincerely appreciate the research work, and the information being shared. It is important and interesting history.
I sincerely appreciate the research work, and the information being shared. It is important and interesting history.