Cavaliers vs. Warriors III: Which team won the most high school state championships?

Video: 2017 NBA Finals Way Back When
Zack Poff and Myckena Guerrero look back at Cavs and Warriors before they made it big.

Being the most highly-anticipated NBA Finals pairing in recent memory (maybe ever?), Cleveland vs. Golden State III is getting the all-angles treatment in terms of analysis and breakdowns.

So we decided to add one more angle to the wall-to-wall coverage.

Which roster accounted for the most state championships while in high school?

We know that LeBron James is considered to be one of the greatest high school basketball players of all-time, winning three state championships at St. Vincent-St. Mary (Akron, Ohio) from 2000-03.

But is his trophy haul enough to overcome an accomplished group of Warriors? See the breakdown below.

Quick caveat here – several players went to non-traditional schools that don't compete for state championships. Kevin Durant, Patrick McCaw, J.R. Smith and Tristan Thompson went the independent academy route for all or part of their careers.

In addition, Cleveland's Edy Tavares (Cape Verde) and Golden State's Zaza Pachulia (Republic of Georgia) developed their game outside of the United States. Cleveland Cavaliers
State titles – Player, School, Graduation Year
3 – LeBron James, St. Vincent-St. Mary (Akron, Ohio), Class of 2003
2 – Kyrie Irving, Montclair Kimberley Academy (Montclair, N.J.)/Patrick School (Hillside, N.J.), 2010
1 – Channing Frye, St. Mary's (Phoenix, Ariz.), 2001
1 – Richard Jefferson, Moon Valley (Phoenix, Ariz.), 1998
1 – Kevin Love, Lake Oswego (Ore.), 2007
Did not win a state championship
Kay Felder, Pershing (Detroit, Mich.), 2012
Dahntay Jones, Steinert (Hamilton, N.J.), 1998
James Jones, American (Hialeah, Fla.), 1999
Kyle Korver, Pella (Iowa), 1999
Iman Shumpert, Oak Park-River Forest (Oak Park, Ill.), 2008
J.R. Smith, St. Benedict's Prep (Newark, N.J.), 2004
Edy Tavares, International
Tristan Thompson, St. Benedict's Prep/Findlay Prep (Henderson, Nev.), 2010
Deron Williams, The Colony (Texas), 2002
Derrick Williams, La Mirada (Calif.), 2009

Golden State Warriors
State titles – Player, School, Graduation Year
2 – Draymond Green, Saginaw (Mich.), Class of 2008
2 – Damian Jones, Scotlandville (Baton Rouge, La.), 2013
2 – Shaun Livingston, Richwoods (Peoria, Ill.)/Peoria (Ill.), 2004
2 – James Michael McAdoo, Norfolk Christian (Norfolk, Va.), 2011
1 – Klay Thompson, Santa Margarita (Rancho Santa Margarita, Calif.), 2008
Did not win a state championship
Matt Barnes, Del Campo (Fair Oaks, Calif.), 1998
Ian Clark, Germantown (Tenn.), 2009
Stephen Curry, Charlotte Christian (Charlotte, N.C.), 2006
Kevin Durant, National Christian Academy (Fort Washington, Md.)/Oak Hill Academy (Mouth of Wilson, Va.)/Montrose Christian (Rockville, Md.), 2006
Andre Iguodala, Lanphier (Springfield, Ill.), 2002
Kevon Looney, Hamilton (Milwaukee, Wis.), 2014
Patrick McCaw, Christian Brothers (St. Louis, Mo.)/Montrose Christian, 2014
JaVale McGee, Detroit Country Day (Beverly Hills, Mich.)/Providence Christian (Fremont, Mich.)/Hales Franciscan (Chicago, Ill.), 2006
Zaza Pachulia, International
David West, Garner Magnet (Garner, N.C.)/Hargrave Military Academy (Chatham, Va.), 1999

Final tally: Warriors 9, Cavaliers 8.

Of course, this will have no bearing on the actual series but it was fun going back and looking at some heroic state championship performances by this year's NBA Finals participants.

Green was particularly clutch in 2007 and 2008 in leading Saginaw to back-to-back state titles. As a junior in 2007, he produced a near triple-double in the Class A championship game, going for 27 points, eight rebounds and seven assists in a 79-57 win over Redford of Detroit.

A year later, he lit up another Detroit team in Pershing with 21 points and 19 rebounds in the final for the school's second state crown in a row.

Thompson is another Warrior with a legendary championship game performance on his resume. He closed out his career at Santa Margarita in 2008 with 37 points – including seven 3-pointers – in a 72-55 win over Sacramento in California's Division III state championship game.

Game 1 of the NBA Finals tips Thursday from the Oracle Arena in Oakland at 6 p.m. PDT.