In Cleveland, It's Good To Be King

By Mark Bacon

The Curse succumbed to the legend of LeBron James. The native son who arrived in fame and left in shame has returned to deliver a championship that Northeast Ohio fans went through sporting hell to receive. For James, it's good to be King.

For 52 years, Cleveland experienced consistent misery. The heartache was so familiar that people could condense each agonizing moment into a two-word label. The Drive. The Shot. The Fumble. The Decision. But in place of the city’s professional title drought is now its greatest achievement: A unprecedented rally after trailing the NBA Finals three games to one to an opponent that won more games than any team in league history.

If you aim to soothe a half-century of soul-wrenching aches, this is the way to do it. With a 93-89 victory in Game 7 at Oracle Arena, the Cavaliers became the first team to win the Finals after trailing 3-1. It’s the most unlikely comeback the NBA has ever seen, orchestrated by a 31-year-old superstar who has earned an immovable place among the game’s most revered legends.

A flawed hero to fail the first time, then leave and embarrass and anger the city and come back, older, wiser and a better winner. The James who fell short as a young adult would not be denied as a hardened man.

James’ teammate Kyrie Irving also launched himself into the annals of history, with the flick of a wrist, and smashed a 52-year curse. Irving’s three-pointer with 53 seconds left lifted the Cavaliers to a 93-89 victory in front of a stunned sellout crowd inside Oracle Arena. “History was made tonight,” Irving said. “This was one for the books. Literally one for the books.”

“Just knowing what our city has been through, Northeast Ohio has been through, as far as our sports and everything for the last 50-plus years,” James said. “You could look back to the Earnest Byner fumble, [John] Elway going 99 yards, to Jose Mesa not being able to close out in the bottom of the ninth to the Cavs went to The Finals — I was on that team — in 2007, getting swept, and then last year us losing, 4-2. And so many more stories. And our fans, they ride or die, no matter what’s been going on, no matter the Browns, the Indians, the Cavs and so on, and all other sports teams. They continue to support us. And for us to be able to end this, end this drought, our fans deserve it. They deserve it. And it was for them.”

Winning a championship in Cleveland is equivalent to winning at least three most anywhere else. To put this in perspective: On Sunday, James and his longtime veteran teammate James Jones became the 69th and 70th players to win three NBA titles. Of those 70, only three — three! — players did not collect some of their rings playing for the Boston Celtics, Los Angeles Lakers, Michael Jordan’s Chicago Bulls or Tim Duncan’s San Antonio Spurs: James, Dwyane Wade and Jones.

Basically, there have been four dynastic movements in NBA history, and if you weren’t fortunate to board those trains, good luck hogging championships. It’s safe to say James represents a fifth movement. To do it in Cleveland, to do it by beating the all-time great Warriors, to do it in a league in which so few franchises win championships, James has rewritten the first paragraph of his legacy.

In the defining game of his career, James posted a triple-double Sunday: 27 points, 11 rebounds and 11 assists. He was a menace on defense, protecting the rim as if his family lived in the basket. Kyrie Irving, who was brilliant in the Finals, scored 26 points and hit the biggest shot of the game to give the Cavaliers a 92-89 lead.

Last night wasn’t the most well-played game, but it was what you’d expect from a Game 7 of the NBA Finals. It was hard-fought yet imperfect, a competition and not a beauty pageant. In recent history, when the Finals end with a for-it-all final showdown, the games are more battles of endurance than thrilling, free-flowing basketball. This one followed that pattern, appropriately.

After six games decided by double-digit margins, after a series of seesawing control, it was fitting that this game was not a classic as much as it was two wobbly teams continuing to punish each other and doing everything it could to stay on its feet. Neither team led by more than eight. There were 11 ties and 20 lead changes.

When he left six years ago, some fans burned their replica James jerseys. Now, all is forgiven. King James is home. Cleveland is a winner. It's good to be King.

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