LeBron James made his return to Cleveland in 2014 to bring a title back to Northeast Ohio, the area he grew up in. A city that has been so desperate for a title in any major sport.
He did just that Sunday night.
A series that had given us six games of essentially just blowouts, saved its best for last. The game was tight from start to finish, and left everybody watching on the edge of their seats, if not bringing them to their feet in awe of what was going on.
It was by no means easy at any point for the Cavaliers. Through three quarters of play, it appeared we might be seeing a Draymond Green redemption game happen before our eyes.
But as the game progressed, and the Splash Brothers never quite caught fire, there was no telling who was going to come out on top until the final seconds of the game. It was a colossal matchup between two amazing teams. One team that broke a record seeking a second consecutive title that seemed unbreakable in the Golden State Warriors. The other, a city so desperate for a championship with their native son leading the charge.
LeBron’s performance in this series —simply put— was nothing short of spectacular.
And could there have possibly been better or more impressive way for LeBron James to bring a championship to Cleveland than the way he did? The Cavaliers went into the NBA Finals facing a team in the Warriors that seemed untouchable almost all season. They had just come off of a Western Conference Finals series where they came back from a 3-1 deficit. They won 73 games in the regular season. They had the back-to-back, and first unanimous MVP in league history. They also led the Cavaliers 3-1 in the series, something that no team had ever been able to come back from in the history of the league.
LeBron said in his letter announcing that he was going back to Cleveland, “In Northeast Ohio, nothing is given. Everything is earned. You work for what you have. I’m ready to accept the challenge.”
Well, there could not have been a bigger challenge for LeBron to overcome than the one he just did, and he passed the test with flying colors. LeBron finished the series with a triple-double in Game 7, with 27 points, 11 rebounds, and 11 assists. He’s just the third player in NBA Finals history to have a triple-double in a Game 7, joining the great Jerry West and James Worthy. That’s damn good company to be in, and it will undoubtedly be considered one of the greatest NBA Finals performances of all-time. It was absolutely masterful.
Any narratives surrounding LeBron are gone. Anybody who continues to try and make him out to be something he’s not, or diminish what he has accomplished in his NBA career, is nothing but an unreasonable detractor, and likely not a true fan of the game of basketball. LeBron is a unique player, whose story is still being written. Sunday was just the latest chapter.
The Warriors could have had one of the most storied seasons (and pair of seasons, for that matter) in NBA history. After their triumphant comeback against an Oklahoma City Thunder team that boasts one of the best duos we have seen in the history of the league, it seemed that it was going to be theirs. It had to be theirs. The 73-win season wouldn’t be complete without the ring. It looked promising up 3-1, but the legend of LeBron James continues to write itself. This time, LeBron was playing the role of spoiler and hero at the same time.
Golden State will still be around. It was unfortunate to see them not play their best brand of basketball when they needed it most, but it was still a remarkable season. One that was tons of fun to watch. Their moves in free agency will be an interesting thing to monitor this offseason, but they will be able to keep their core group of guys intact. This season didn’t end the way that they would have hoped, but if we’re lucky, we might end up with a third consecutive NBA Finals with the Cavaliers and the Warriors.
All of that aside, the Cavaliers just had an NBA Finals for the ages. The city of Cleveland will undoubtedly show out on Wednesday, and put on a great parade that they’ve been waiting decades for. James told reporters after the game, “It’s going to be probably one of the biggest parties — I’m sorry, one of? It’s going to be the biggest party that Cleveland has ever seen ever.”
Cleveland will certainly be ready. They’ve waited over five decades, but it’s finally here.
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