From the depths of despair, Lebron James led the Cleveland Cavaliers to their first ever NBA championship last night. The Cav’s snatched victory from Steph Curry’s Golden State Warriors to win Game 7 93-89 and secure a historic finals win.
The Cavaliers had been 3-1 down in the 7 game finals, but went on to win the final three games back-to-back to seize victory. It is the first time in NBA history that the feat has been pulled off.
Lebron, who will star in the next ‘Space Jam’ movie, had previously been criticised for his performances in the play-offs. In the Cavaliers winning streak, however, he produced performances that silenced critics and must now push him into the GOAT conversation. In games 5, 6 and 7 he hit 40, 41 and 27 points, setting the example for his band of Cavs brothers to follow.
The Cavaliers play-off victory comes at the end of a season in which Steph Curry’s Golden State Warriors recorded the most ever wins in NBA history. Golden State achieved 73 wins and only 9 losses, surpassing Michael Jordan and the Chicago Bull’s tally of 72 wins back in 1996.
NBA Golden Boy Curry, however, did not produce the scintillating displays that have come to be expected of him in the finals. Instead, Lebron stepped up to that mark. It is worth remembering that Bron Bron was heavily criticised by Cavs supporters for leaving their franchise for the Miami Heat in 2010. He went on to win two NBA championships there, before making the decision to head back to Cleveland.
He will now be received as a legend in that city. It is the first major title won by any Cleveland team since 1964, ending the city’s so called ‘sports curse.’ Here are a few tweets to reflect what this will have done to Lebron’s already iconic status.
For Curry’s Golden State Warriors, however, who had won the previous NBA championship, the dramatic nature of their loss will come as a staggering blow. Curry expressed some uncharacteristic anger towards the end of the series, both towards Lebron and officials, which seemed a reflection of the fact the championships was slipping from his grasp.
It remains to be seen how he will respond to this low-point in his blossoming career, and this kinda hilarious song and visual…
For now, it is Lebron’s greatness that will seize the headlines.
A brilliant end to an epic series.
Words: @sjriptweets