paragraph_text: The final playoff round, a best - of - seven series between the victors of both conferences, is known as the NBA Finals, and is held annually in June. The victor in the NBA Finals wins the Larry O'Brien Championship Trophy. Each player and major contributor -- including coaches and the general manager -- on the winning team receive a championship ring. In addition, the league awards the Bill Russell NBA Finals Most Valuable Player Award to the best performing player of the series.

paragraph_text: The highest - paid NBA players by season over the past twelve seasons have received contracts with salaries noted in the twenty - million - dollar range. In this twelve - year span, Kevin Garnett received $28,000,000, which was the highest salary payment of any NBA player, during the 2003 -- 04 season. Garnett has been the highest - paid NBA player per year in seven of the past twelve NBA seasons. Michael Jordan was the first NBA player to sign a contract worth over thirty million dollars in a season. During the 1997 -- 98 season, Jordan earned $33,000,000. Kobe Bryant become just the second player to reach this milestone when the 2013 -- 14 season began. LeBron James became the third in the 2016 -- 17 season. Stephen Curry became the first player to eclipse $40 - Million per year when he signed a record 5 year contract worth $201 - Million in 2017.

paragraph_text: The highest - paid NBA players by season over the past twelve seasons have received contracts with salaries noted in the twenty - million - dollar range. In this twelve - year span, Kevin Garnett received $28,000,000, which was the highest salary payment of any NBA player, during the 2003 -- 04 season. Garnett has been the highest - paid NBA player per year in seven of the past twelve NBA seasons. Michael Jordan was the first NBA player to sign a contract worth over thirty million dollars in a season. During the 1997 -- 98 season, Jordan earned $33,140,000, which still stands as the most any NBA player has earned on a 1 year contract, Jordan also holds the record for the second largest 1 year contract at $30,140,000 in the 96 - 97 season... Kobe Bryant become just the second player to reach this milestone when the 2013 -- 14 season began. LeBron James became the third in the 2016 -- 17 season. Stephen Curry became the first player to eclipse $40 - Million per year when he signed a record 5 - year contract worth $201 - Million in 2017, starting with $34,682,550 in the 2017 - 18 season and ending with the largest earnings in the 2021 - 22 season with a record payout of $45,780,966.

paragraph_text: The 2016 NBA Finals was the championship series of the National Basketball Association (NBA) 2015 -- 16 season and conclusion of the 2016 playoffs. The Eastern Conference champion Cleveland Cavaliers defeated the Western Conference champion Golden State Warriors 4 -- 3 in a rematch of the 2015 NBA Finals. It was the 14th rematch of the previous NBA Finals in history, and the first Finals since 2008 in which the number one seed in each conference met. It was the second straight rematch in back - to - back years, as the Miami Heat and San Antonio Spurs played each other in 2013 and 2014.

paragraph_text: The oldest person ever to play in the NBA was Nat Hickey, a coach who activated himself as a player for a game two days before his 46th birthday. The youngest player ever to play in the NBA was Andrew Bynum, who played his first game six days after his 18th birthday. The oldest active player is Sacramento Kings guard / forward Vince Carter, who is currently 40 years old. The youngest active player in the NBA is Indiana Pacers forward / center Ike Anigbogu, the 47th pick in the 2017 NBA draft, who is currently 19 years old and became the second college player to go from one year of college to the NBA while still playing at 18 years old.

paragraph_text: LeBron James James with the Cavaliers in October 2017 No. 23 -- Cleveland Cavaliers Position Small forward League NBA (1984 - 12 - 30) December 30, 1984 (age 33) Akron, Ohio Nationality American Listed height 6 ft 8 in (2.03 m) Listed weight 250 lb (113 kg) Career information High school St. Vincent -- St. Mary (Akron, Ohio) NBA draft 2003 / Round: 1 / Pick: 1st overall Selected by the Cleveland Cavaliers Playing career 2003 -- present Career history 2003 -- 2010 Cleveland Cavaliers 2010 -- 2014 Miami Heat 2014 -- present Cleveland Cavaliers Career highlights and awards 3 × NBA champion (2012, 2013, 2016) 3 × NBA Finals MVP (2012, 2013, 2016) 4 × NBA Most Valuable Player (2009, 2010, 2012, 2013) 14 × NBA All - Star (2005 -- 2018) 3 × NBA All - Star Game MVP (2006, 2008, 2018) 12 × All - NBA First Team (2006, 2008 -- 2018) 2 × All - NBA Second Team (2005, 2007) 5 × NBA All - Defensive First Team (2009 -- 2013) NBA All - Defensive Second Team (2014) NBA Rookie of the Year (2004) NBA scoring champion (2008) J. Walter Kennedy Citizenship Award (2017) 2 × AP Athlete of the Year (2013, 2016) 2 × Sports Illustrated Sportsperson of the Year (2012, 2016) USA Basketball Male Athlete of the Year (2012) 2 × Mr. Basketball USA (2002, 2003) Naismith Prep Player of the Year (2003) McDonald's All - American Game MVP (2003) 3 × Ohio Mr. Basketball (2001 -- 2003) Stats at NBA.com Stats at Basketball-Reference.com Medals (hide) Men's basketball Representing the United States Olympic Games 2008 Beijing Team 2012 London Team 2004 Athens Team FIBA World Championship 2006 Japan FIBA Americas Championship 2007 Las Vegas

paragraph_text: Kobe Bryant Bryant with the Lakers in 2015 (1978 - 08 - 23) August 23, 1978 (age 40) Philadelphia, Pennsylvania Nationality American Listed height 6 ft 6 in (1.98 m) Listed weight 212 lb (96 kg) Career information High school Lower Merion (Ardmore, Pennsylvania) NBA draft 1996 / Round: 1 / Pick: 13th overall Selected by the Charlotte Hornets Playing career 1996 -- 2016 Position Shooting guard Number 8, 24 Career history 1996 -- 2016 Los Angeles Lakers Career highlights and awards 5 × NBA champion (2000 -- 2002, 2009, 2010) 2 × NBA Finals MVP (2009, 2010) NBA Most Valuable Player (2008) 18 × NBA All - Star (1998, 2000 -- 2016) 4 × NBA All - Star Game MVP (2002, 2007, 2009, 2011) 11 × All - NBA First Team (2002 -- 2004, 2006 -- 2013) 2 × All - NBA Second Team (2000, 2001) 2 × All - NBA Third Team (1999, 2005) 9 × NBA All - Defensive First Team (2000, 2003, 2004, 2006 -- 2011) 3 × NBA All - Defensive Second Team (2001, 2002, 2012) 2 × NBA scoring champion (2006, 2007) NBA Slam Dunk Contest champion (1997) NBA All - Rookie Second Team (1997) Naismith Prep Player of the Year (1996) Nos. 8 & 24 retired by Los Angeles Lakers Career statistics Points 33,643 (25.0 ppg) Rebounds 7,047 (5.2 rpg) Assists 6,306 (4.7 apg) Stats at Basketball-Reference.com Medals (hide) Men's basketball Representing United States Olympic Games 2008 Beijing Team 2012 London Team FIBA Americas Championship 2007 Las Vegas Team

paragraph_text: Dwyane Tyrone Wade Jr. (/ dweɪn / dwain; born January 17, 1982) is an American professional basketball player for the Cleveland Cavaliers of the National Basketball Association (NBA). After a successful college career at Marquette, Wade was drafted fifth overall in the 2003 NBA draft by the Miami Heat. He was named to the All - Rookie team and the All - Star team the following twelve seasons. In his third season, Wade led the Heat to their first NBA championship in franchise history and was named the 2006 NBA Finals MVP. At the 2008 Summer Olympics, Wade led the United States men's basketball team, commonly known as the ``Redeem Team '', in scoring, and helped them capture gold medal honors in Beijing, China. In the 2008 -- 09 season, Wade led the league in scoring and earned his first NBA scoring title. With LeBron James and Chris Bosh, Wade helped guide Miami to four consecutive NBA Finals from 2011 to 2014, winning back - to - back championships in 2012 and 2013. In 2016, Wade departed the Heat in free agency to play for his hometown Chicago Bulls, then leaving them after one season to join the Cavaliers.

paragraph_text: A Portuguese international, Ronaldo was named the best Portuguese player of all - time by the Portuguese Football Federation in 2015. Ronaldo made his senior international debut in August 2003, at age 18. He is Portugal's most capped player of all - time with over 140 caps, and has participated in seven major tournaments. He is Portugal's all - time top goalscorer. He scored his first international goal at Euro 2004 and helped Portugal reach the final. He took over full captaincy in July 2008, leading Portugal to their first - ever triumph in a major tournament by winning Euro 2016, and received the Silver Boot as the second - highest goalscorer of the tournament. One of the most marketable sportsmen, he was ranked the world's highest - paid athlete by Forbes in 2016 and 2017, as well as the world's most famous athlete by ESPN in 2016 and 2017.

paragraph_text: The 2011 NBA Finals was the championship series of the 2010 -- 11 season of the National Basketball Association (NBA) in which the Western Conference champion Dallas Mavericks defeated the Eastern Conference champion Miami Heat 4 games to 2 to win their first NBA championship. The series was held from May 31 to June 12, 2011. German player Dirk Nowitzki was named the Finals MVP, becoming the second European to win the award after Tony Parker (2007) and the first German player to do so. The series was a rematch of the 2006 NBA Finals, which the Heat had won in six games.

paragraph_text: The oldest person ever to play in the NBA was Nat Hickey, a coach who activated himself as a player for a game two days before his 46th birthday. The youngest player ever to play in the NBA was Andrew Bynum, who played his first game six days after his 18th birthday. The oldest active player is Atlanta Hawks guard / forward Vince Carter, who is currently 41 years old. The youngest active player in the NBA is Indiana Pacers forward / center Ike Anigbogu, the 47th pick in the 2017 NBA draft, who is currently 19 years old and became the second college player to go from one year of college to the NBA while still playing at 18 years old.

paragraph_text: Cleveland finished the regular season with a 57 -- 25 record, capturing the Central Division title and the top playoff seed in the Eastern Conference. They then advanced to the Finals after sweeping both the Detroit Pistons in the first round and the Atlanta Hawks in the second round, and defeating the Toronto Raptors in the Eastern Conference Finals in six games. The Cavaliers were the first team in history to go to two consecutive NBA Finals with rookie head coaches.

paragraph_text: The highest - paid NBA players by season over the past twelve seasons have received contracts with salaries noted in the twenty - million - dollar range. In this twelve - year span, Kevin Garnett received $28,000,000, which was the highest salary payment of any NBA player, during the 2003 -- 04 season. Garnett has been the highest - paid NBA player per year in seven of the past twelve NBA seasons. Michael Jordan was the first NBA player to sign a contract worth over thirty million dollars in a season. During the 1997 -- 98 season, Jordan earned $33,000,000. Kobe Bryant become just the second player to reach this milestone when the 2013 -- 14 season began. LeBron James became the third in the 2016 -- 17 season. Stephen Curry became the first player to eclipse $40 - Million per year when he signed a record 5 - year contract worth $201 - Million in 2017.

paragraph_text: Bryant currently ranks third both on the league's all - time post-season scoring and all - time regular season scoring lists. He has been selected to 15 All - NBA Team (eleven times to the All - NBA First Team) and 12 All - Defensive Team (nine times to the All - Defensive First Team). He was selected to play in the NBA All - Star Game on 18 occasions, winning All - Star MVP Awards in 2002, 2007, 2009 and 2011 (he shared the 2009 award with Shaquille O'Neal). He also won the NBA Slam Dunk Contest in 1997. He has had 1 eighty - point game, 6 sixty - point games (including his final game), 26 fifty - point games, and 134 forty - point games in his career. Kobe had been also in a three way tie with Stephen Curry and Donyell Marshall for most three pointers with 12 in a game until November 8, 2016 when Curry set a new record with 13. In his final game on April 13, 2016, at 37 years old, he became the oldest player to score 60 in a single game and set the highest point total in the 2015 - 16 regular season.

paragraph_text: The highest - paid NBA players by season over the past twelve seasons have received contracts with salaries noted in the twenty - million - dollar range. In this twelve - year span, Kevin Garnett received $28,000,000, which was the highest salary payment of any NBA player, during the 2003 -- 04 season. Garnett has been the highest - paid NBA player per year in seven of the past twelve NBA seasons. Michael Jordan was the first NBA player to sign a contract worth over thirty million dollars in a season. During the 1997 -- 98 season, Jordan earned $33,140,000, which still stands as the most any NBA player has earned on a 1 year contract, Jordan also holds the record for the second largest 1 year contract at $30,140,000 in the 1996 - 97 season. Kobe Bryant become just the second player to reach this milestone when the 2013 -- 14 season began. LeBron James became the third in the 2016 -- 17 season. Stephen Curry became the first player to eclipse $40 - Million per year when he signed a record 5 - year contract worth $201 - Million in 2017, starting with $34,682,550 in the 2017 - 18 season and ending with the largest earnings in the 2021 - 22 season with a record payout of $45,780,966.

paragraph_text: Player Salary Team LeBron James $30,963,450 Cleveland Cavaliers Al Horford $26,540,100 Boston Celtics DeMar DeRozan $26,540,100 Toronto Raptors James Harden $26,540,100 Houston Rockets Kevin Durant $26,540,100 Golden State Warriors Russell Westbrook $26,540,100 Oklahoma City Thunder Mike Conley, Jr. $26,540,100 Memphis Grizzlies Dirk Nowitzki $25,000,000 Dallas Mavericks Carmelo Anthony $24,559,380 New York Knicks Damian Lillard $24,328,425 Portland Trail Blazers

paragraph_text: Benjamin David Simmons (born 20 July 1996) is an Australian professional basketball player for the Philadelphia 76ers of the National Basketball Association (NBA). A versatile forward, he played college basketball for one season with the Louisiana State University (LSU) Tigers, when he was named a consensus first - team All - American and the USBWA National Freshman of the Year. He was selected with the first overall pick in the 2016 NBA draft by the 76ers.

paragraph_text: Jordan's individual accolades and accomplishments include six NBA Finals Most Valuable Player (MVP) Awards, ten scoring titles (both all - time records), five MVP Awards, ten All - NBA First Team designations, nine All - Defensive First Team honors, fourteen NBA All - Star Game selections, three All - Star Game MVP Awards, three steals titles, and the 1988 NBA Defensive Player of the Year Award. He holds the NBA records for highest career regular season scoring average (30.12 points per game) and highest career playoff scoring average (33.45 points per game). In 1999, he was named the greatest North American athlete of the 20th century by ESPN, and was second to Babe Ruth on the Associated Press' list of athletes of the century. Jordan is a two - time inductee into the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame, having been enshrined in 2009 for his individual career, and again in 2010 as part of the group induction of the 1992 United States men's Olympic basketball team (``The Dream Team ''). He became a member of the FIBA Hall of Fame in 2015.

paragraph_text: Players who are not automatically eligible but wish to be drafted must declare their eligibility no later than 60 days before the draft. After this date, ``early entry ''players may attend NBA pre-draft camps and individual team workouts to show off their skills and obtain feedback regarding their draft positions. Under the CBA, a player may withdraw his name from consideration from the draft at any time before the final declaration date, which is 10 days before the draft. However, the NCAA adopted a rule that took effect in August 2009 that requires players at its member institutions to withdraw no later than May 8 to retain their college eligibility; the first draft affected by this rule was the 2010 draft. In 2011, the NCAA shortened its timeline for players to withdraw and retain eligibility to one day before the start of the spring signing period for men's basketball, which occurs in April. The NCAA changed its withdrawal rule again in 2016, effective with that year's draft; its withdrawal deadline is now in late May, specifically 10 days after the final day of the annual NBA Draft Combine.

paragraph_text: In 2006 -- 07, James's averages declined to 27.3 points, 6.7 rebounds, 6 assists, and 1.6 steals per game. Some analysts attributed the fall to a regression in his passing skills and shot selection, which stemmed from a lack of effort and focus. The Cavaliers finished the season with 50 wins for the second consecutive year and entered the playoffs as the East's second seed. In Game 5 of the NBA Conference Finals, James notched 48 points with 9 rebounds and 7 assists, scoring 29 of Cleveland's last 30 points, including the game - winning layup with two seconds left, against the Pistons. After the game, play - by - play announcer Marv Albert called the performance ``one of the greatest moments in postseason history ''and color commentator Steve Kerr described it as`` Jordan-esque''. In 2012, ESPN ranked the performance the fourth greatest in modern NBA playoff history. The Cavaliers went on to win Game 6 and claim their first - ever Eastern Conference championship, earning them a matchup with the San Antonio Spurs in the NBA Finals. During the championship round, James struggled, averaging 22 points, 7.0 rebounds, and 6.8 assists per game on just 35.6 percent shooting, and Cleveland was eliminated in a sweep.

Question: When did the highest paid NBA player in 2016 first go to the finals?
Answer: 2006 -- 07