“It Smells Like Champagne”: LeBron James’ Ex-Teammate Reveals Warriors’ Attitude Tilted NBA Championship Odds

Throughout its long history, the NBA has witnessed some wild moments — massive comebacks, legendary performances, and Michael Jordan’s flu (food poisoning) game. But there is only one comeback that truly stands as a one-of-a-kind moment. When the Cavaliers, led by LeBron James, came back from a 3-1 deficit against the Warriors to win the title in 2016.

The Cavs were on the verge of losing for the second straight year to the Dubs, but LBJ, Kyrie Irving, JR Smith, and the rest of the Cleveland squad managed to string together three straight victories, with the Game 7 win coming in Golden State’s backyard. The loss still rocks Warriors’ fans to this day.

Recalling this never-happened-before comeback was retired NBA star Mo Williams, who was a member of that 16 Cavs team. Speaking on the Draymond Green Show, he recalled the moment when they knew the tide had shifted in the series.

“You did us a favor,” said Mo to Draymond Green about him being out for Games 5 and 6. “By you not being in Game 5, that really gave us confidence. We got past Game 5. That was the game y’all really could have put us away.”

Still, a win in Game 5 wasn’t the moment that shifted things. It was something the Dubs said when they played Cleveland in a matchup during Christmas earlier that year.

“The motivation we got going back for Game 6 was going back home, we remembered Christmas, we played on Christmas that year. Y’all came in here talking about ‘It still smells like Champagne up in here.’ We never forgot that,” he admitted. 

The phrase haunted the Cavs players, and they felt it necessary to defend their home turf as much as possible. The Cavs might have lost the series in seven (which they obviously didn’t), but there was no way they were going to lose at home in the Big C.

“So coming back for Game 6, all we saying, hey man they ain’t celebrating in the queue,” Mo added.

LeBron, in particular, was on another level in the 2016 Finals. He dominated both ends of the floor, leading the series in points, rebounds, assists, steals, and blocks. His back-to-back 41-point games in Games 5 and 6 were legendary, and that chase-down block in Game 7 is still burned into everyone’s memory.

Kyrie matched LBJ’s energy with some of the most clutch performances of his career. His handles, shot-making, and confidence gave the Cavs the offensive spark they needed. The go-ahead three over Steph Curry in Game 7 is the kind of shot kids dream of hitting in their driveway. Together, Kyrie and LeBron were unstoppable when it mattered most.

No one gave the Cavaliers a chance after they went down 3-1, especially against a 73-win Warriors team. But they didn’t just come back—they made history. That comeback wasn’t just about basketball; it was about belief, timing, and two superstars rising at exactly the right moment. And when it was all over, Cleveland had its first title. To this day, the story feels almost too perfect to be real.

About the author

Joseph Galizia

Joseph is a Las Vegas based actor and circus performer. For the last seven years he's had the pleasure of covering sports for multiple outlets, including the Lifestyles section of Sports Illustrated. In that time, he's conducted over 50 interviews with athletes, filmmakers, and company founders to further cement his footprint in the journalism world. He's excited to bring that skillset to the SportsRush, where he'll be covering the NBA news cycle.

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