Listen to what Lebron said at today’s rally. He spent about 15 minutes talking about the value/contribution of each other member of the team individually. Said he would be nothing without his teammates and coaching staff. Said Irving is one of the best and may become the best point guard in the game. And noted he is only 24 and likely 3 years before his prime.
To me as a Cleveland area native, today was more about a local kid coming back home and doing good than it was anything about basketball. Many in the midwest who have seen best/brightest move away can identify with that. Was cool to see the Akron St. Vincent St Mary’s high school marching band right in front of Lebron in the parade.
Kyrie Irving had some great games in the Finals, that’s for sure. They couldn’t have won without his efforts. But he seems to also realize that the Cavaliers wouldn’t have been in the Finals to be begin with if LeBron had not returned to Cleveland. He said, “I’m very thankful that I have a guy like that that’s leading our team that I can continue to learn from. And when my time does come of being able to lead a franchise and see the landscape of how it’s supposed to be composed, I watched Beethoven tonight right now of LeBron James compose a game. He had a freakin’ triple-double in Game 7 of an NBA Finals game.” As a guy from SB Nation said, " LeBron helped take Kyrie to a title, and Irving seems to understand how incredible that is."
Congratulations to the Cavaliers , Cleveland , Akron, all of Ohio, and all the Cavaliers fans out there!
Crossposted with @saillakeerie . Agree with what you said. I’m originally from Pittsburgh but worked a couple of summers at Cedar Point during college, and enjoyed visiting Cleveland. I’m very happy for Cleveland!
@partyof5 Possibly. I believe some people rioted in Miami too when he said he was leaving for Cleveland. Luckily, likely a very small percentage of people in either city. There are knuckleheads everywhere.
I had a discussion with several friends when Lebron took his talents to South Beach. They all thought his brand was irrevocably tarnished. To me, memories are short. Particularly in sports. So titles would erase all ills (at least outside Cleveland). They also thought he could never come back to Cleveland. I pretty much knew if he came back and won (or even tried hard to win), he would likely be accepted by all but the most hardened of haters. Its the nature of sports. My team can get away with things your team cannot (at least in my eyes). Switch teams and the results are the opposite. Just much more willing to look the other way for someone helping us win than it is for someone trying to keep us from winning.
That’s part of the fun. Reminds me of the proposals for mock funerals down Boyleston Street in Boston (i.e. he’s dead to us now) when Johnny Damon left for the Yankees two years after winning the first Boston’s first world series in 86 years.