With the 2025 NBA season in the books, bringing us into the dead part of the offseason, what better to do than reminisce about the so-called “glory days” of the NBA that was ten years ago?
From a financial shift that laid the groundwork for the league’s future to the prime version of superstars idolized by this generation of fans, a decade ago, the NBA ushered in an era many won’t ever forget. Let’s look back at the association in its entirety, from players and teams to contracts.
2015-16 was the end of an era and a passing of the torch to the next one. With icons like Kobe Bryant and Tim Duncan on their way out of the league, the NBA would face one of its biggest cultural changes in decades.
Era Defining Finals
Fresh from a dominant regular season and championship run, the Golden State Warriors were quietly building what was soon to be one of the most dominant dynasties in sports history. The unanimous MVP Steph Curry was making waves as the now infamous three-point revolution was being built behind his legendary play style. However, Curry and the Warriors’ legacy wouldn’t be nearly as prominent without their rivalry with the Cleveland Cavaliers. Matching up in four straight championship series, not a single season passed that people weren’t excited to see LeBron James and Kyrie Irving suit up against the juggernauts from South Beach.
Though ultimately the Warriors would handle business in three of the four title matchups, this season brought arguably the most legendary championship series of all time. Down 3-1 to a team that had just gone 72-9 in the regular season, nobody expected Cleveland to perform like they did in the finals. Coming back from a 3-1 series deficit to force a game seven, the Cavaliers would go on to beat the Warriors in a movie-like game seven, capped off by the now-famous chase down block by James and dagger three-pointer by Irving. Many view this series as the defining moment of the mid-2010s era of basketball, for good reason.
Contracts Galore
As the 2016 offseason rolled around, Commissioner Adam Silver announced an increase in the league-wide salary cap, which jumped to $94 million. As a result, general managers around the league took all the available money and ran with it. League-wide, mediocre role players were signing lucrative deals worth money that no GM would have offered them the season before.
Notable free agent signings from 2016
– Kent Bazemore (4 years, $70.5 million)
– Timofey Mozgov (4 years, $64 million)
– Nicolas Batum (5 years, $120 million)
– Chandler Parsons (4 years, $94 million)
– Bismack Biyombo (4 years, $72 million)
– Allan Crabbe (4 years, $75 million)
– Ryan Anderson (4 years, $80 million)
Without a doubt the most confusing offseason in years, most teams would see these contracts hinder their future, with many of the players underperforming for their value. Timofey Mozgov comes to mind as one of the worst from the listed batch of players. Mozgov signed with the Cleveland Cavaliers in hopes of building a strong frontcourt rotation alongside Toronto native Tristan Thompson. The Russian big man would have a mediocre season before eventually fizzling out of the league just a couple of seasons after his contract signing.
This would go for every team that decided to splurge that summer. With average players sitting on huge contracts, teams couldn’t reach their full potential when it came to winning games. Developing bigger roles in part due to their contract, coaches were forced to play these players who simply weren’t worth the money.
Teams would have to suffer the effects of these putrid contracts for years to come. Limiting their future free agencies, player development and trade deadline moves, the 2016 offseason is popular for all the wrong reasons.
A generation of beloved superstars
It’s become a trend for Gen Z social media users to reminisce about 2016 for its pop culture, music and arts. Alongside many trends and cultural moments from the years surrounding 2016, basketball fans alike place the era on a high pedestal simply because their favourite players were at the peak of their powers during that time.
Players in their prime from 2015-16
– LeBron James
– Steph Curry
– Kevin Durant
– James Harden
– Russell Westbrook
– Kawhi Leonard
– Chris Paul
– Damian Lillard
Aside from James and Curry leading the charge in their respective conferences, every other player listed above was likely a Gen Z basketball fan’s favourite player. Kevin Durant was fresh off an MVP season with the Oklahoma City Thunder, torching teams night by night with his cold-blooded shooting that every kid mimicked. Durant would proceed to make one of the most heartbreaking decisions in basketball history by betraying his former team and best friend, Russell Westbrook, later that summer. Signing with the Warriors, Durant would become the most hated figure in all of basketball, leaving behind a legacy in OKC that would never be looked at the same. Before signing with the Warriors, Durant would enjoy a dominant calendar year, posting averages of 28.2 points, 8.2 rebounds and 5 assists per game.
Playing alongside Durant was soon to be MVP Russell Westbrook. An explosive point guard who would deliver iconic poster dunks night in and night out, Westbrook captivated the NBA landscape with a demonstration of loyalty to a franchise and a unique off-court personality. Many fans would take such a liking to Westbrook because he was the counterpart to conference rival Steph Curry. The two guards were opposites on the floor. Westbrook was a hyper-athletic rim rocker who wasn’t a particularly good shooter, while Curry was breaking shooting records on a nightly basis. Due to Curry playing on a seemingly unbeatable team, NBA fans rallied behind Westbrook as the point guard to dethrone the Warriors’ guard at the top of the conference.
Rivalling both the Thunder and the Warriors in the Western Conference was a player who was looked to carry a franchise with aging greats. After winning back-to-back defensive player of the year awards, Kawhi Leonard became the chosen one for the Sanantonio Spurs. Arguably one of the greatest defenders at his peak, Leonard gained popularity for a reason that differed from other star athletes. The Spurs forward was never seen with a smile on his face. Dunking on players or ensuring the other team’s best player had a miserable night with his defence, Leonard did everything with no emotion. To a non-basketball fan, that may sound boring, but NBA fans became more intrigued by his mysterious nature and nonchalant behaviour. Leonard would rival James and Durant for the title of best forward in the league, proving that he was somebody to be reckoned with on both sides of the ball.
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In retrospect, the 2015-16 NBA season was filled with cinematic storylines, a final that will be remembered for decades, an offseason that would shape the future of franchises for the worse and fan-favourites playing out of their minds. No matter how you look at it, the NBA a decade ago shaped how the league operates today. Rules, culture and playstyle all changed beginning in the era many call “the peak of basketball.”