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Cleveland Cavaliers guard Mo Williams celebrates after Game 7 of the NBA Finals in Oakland, Calif., on Sunday, June 19, 2016.
(AP Photo)
Cleveland guard Mo Williams said the Cavaliers didn't give up hope that they could win the NBA Finals even when they trailed the Golden State Warriors 3-1 in the best-of-seven championship series.
The Cavaliers completed their unique comeback with a 93-89 victory on Sunday night, making Williams an NBA champion for the first time in his 13th pro season.
"Unbelievable," Williams told Fox Sports Ohio in the locker room after the game. "Words can't explain."
Williams capped a frustrating season with the championship. Chondromalacia, an inflammation of the cartilage under the kneecap, limited Williams to 41 regular-season games, and his 8.2-point scoring average was his lowest since his rookie season.
Cleveland Cavaliers guard Mo Williams shoots against the Golden State Warriors during Game 7 of the NBA Finals in Oakland, Calif., on Sunday, June 19, 2016.
But in the winner-take-all game for the NBA title, Williams was one of the three players that Cleveland coach Tyronn Lue used off the bench, spelling point guard Kyrie Irving for 4:45 and scoring a basket.
"Mo's been in big situations before," Lue said. "He's been an All-Star. He's played in the Eastern Conference Finals. We just talked about it amongst myself and my coaching staff just about giving Mo a chance. He came out, and he's been preparing. He's been working hard for the moment."
Williams reached the NBA All-Star Game in 2009 during his first tour with Cleveland. Traded during the 2010-11 season with Jamario Moon to the Los Angeles Clippers for Baron Davis and a first-round draft pick that turned into Irving, Williams has played for the Utah Jazz, Portland Trail Blazers, Minnesota Timberwolves and Charlotte Hornets since returning to Cleveland as a free agent this season.
In his 818 NBA games, Williams has averaged 13.2 points and 4.9 assists.
Williams joined Jason Caffey and Robert Horry as former Alabama players on NBA championship teams.
Horry, a prep star at Andalusia, played for seven NBA championship teams - more than any other player who wasn't a Boston Celtic. Six players have more than seven NBA championship rings, and all of them spent their entire NBA careers with the Celtics. Horry's championships came with the Houston Rockets in 1994 and 1995, the Los Angeles Lakers in 2000, 2001 and 2002 and the San Antonio Spurs in 2005 and 2007.
Caffey, a prep star at Davidson in Mobile, played for the Chicago Bulls' title team in 1997. Caffey also was on Chicago's 1996 title-winner, but an injury caused him to miss the playoffs.
The Cavaliers brought the first league championship in one of the four major professional sports to Cleveland since the Browns won the NFL title in 1964.
"We had the whole city behind us," Williams said. "We had the whole northeast Ohio behind us."