For the fourth straight year, the Golden State Warriors and Cleveland Cavaliers will battle in the NBA Finals.
Here are five key stats heading into the series.
4 – Not only will the Finals rematch be the first time in NBA history that the same teams have met four straight years with the title on the line, it will also be the first time across America’s four major sports league, including the NFL, MLB and NHL.
The Warriors and Cavaliers join the Los Angeles Lakers (1982-85), Boston Celtics (1957-66; 1984-87) and Miami Heat (2010-14) as the only NBA teams to reach four consecutive Finals.
8 – LeBron James will be playing in his eighth straight NBA Finals, with the first four coming with Miami and the past four with the Cavaliers.
He’s just the fifth player in NBA history to reach eight consecutive Finals and the only not part of the 1950s and 60s Celtics.
LeBron is going to his NINTH NBA Finals. pic.twitter.com/7WDkKO5uAy
— SB Nation (@SBNation) May 28, 2018
67.2 – Outside of LeBron’s scoring average of 34.0 points in the playoffs, the rest of the Cavaliers are scoring 67.2 points per game, with Kevin Love the only other player in double figures at 13.9.
Golden State, meanwhile, are averaging 80.1 points outside of their leading scorer, Kevin Durant, and have a total of four players averaging double figures.
130 – The Warriors have been dominant in third quarters during the playoffs, outscoring their opponents by 130 points which is the largest differential in any single quarter during the shot-clock era, according to ESPN Stats & Information.
The next closest team is the 1985 Lakers, who had a differential of plus-105 in second quarters.
As we enter the 3rd quarter of the day, we must be aware of that @warriors run...
— ESPN Stats & Info (@ESPNStatsInfo) May 29, 2018
Golden State has outscored opponents by 130 in the third quarter of these playoffs, the largest point differential in any single quarter by a team in the playoffs in the Shot-Clock Era pic.twitter.com/E6LSx1NfZl
612 – No one in playoff history has scored more points heading into the Finals than LeBron’s 612.
James, who has accumulated that mark in 18 games, is ahead of Hakeem Olajuwon, who had 594 points in 18 games in 1995.
The @cavs and @warriors will meet in the NBA Finals for the 4th straight season.
— ESPN Stats & Info (@ESPNStatsInfo) May 29, 2018
Warriors won 2 of the previous 3 series but now must stop LeBron James who has scored 612 points in the Playoffs, the most by any player in a single postseason prior to the Finals in NBA history pic.twitter.com/0NxGHgbQvC