Tristan Thompson reminisces about Cavaliers winning 2016 title: ‘When we won, all I could think about was the fans’

During a conversation with Darius Garland for Cleveland Magazine, Tristan Thompson reminisced about the Cleveland Cavaliers winning the 2016 NBA Finals. 

The Cavaliers beat the Golden State Warriors in the 2016 NBA Finals in seven games, becoming the first team in league history to erase a 3-1 series deficit in the NBA Finals. 

“It means everything,” Thompson said. “When I got drafted here, the one thing everyone was always talking about was a 52-year drought with no championship. Of course, with the Browns going to Baltimore and winning [a Super Bowl], that hurt a lot of this city’s heart. So for me, the motivation was win a championship. When we won, all I could think about was the fans. I remember meeting people, like, guys in their 60s, and they’re like, you know, in tears, saying, ‘Thank you. I’m able to be alive and see the city win a championship.’ So those are the memories that I cherish the most. 

“Obviously, Cleveland’s home to me. Been here since I was 19. I’m 33 now. So it’s been a long time. I’ve been around the block, and I keep showing up. Cleveland’s everything to me. It’s a part of me. It’s a part of my DNA, and I’m happy to still be here with you and watch you grow and blossom into the star that you are.”

LeBron James returned to the Cavaliers in the offseason of 2014 after spending four seasons with the Miami Heat.

The King teamed up with Kyrie Irving and Kevin Love and led Cleveland to its first NBA championship. 

“My favorite memory is winning in Oracle [Arena], winning game seven,” Thompson said. “I remember the final timeout. It was like 1:20 left, and I think we might have been up three. Remember, I’m old. So my memory is a little fried sometimes. I think there was less than a minute left. There was a timeout. We were up, and I remember our section was like, ‘Let’s go, Cavs!’ The Cleveland people literally took over the whole arena. And like, one thing about Oracle, the way that arena is set up, the sound bounces off the metal frame, so it gets really loud in there. And [the Golden State fans] were, like, dead silent, quiet. They were shocked. That was dope.”