LeBron James led the Cleveland Cavaliers of 2016 and did what probably no other team in the history of the NBA could do – beat a 73-9 team in the Playoffs and win a playoff series after going down 3-1.
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And yes, they did it in the Finals. Least arguably, is one of the greatest NBA Finals of all time. It had the Golden State Warriors, the #1 team in the West, with the best regular-season record in the history of the game, going against the team which they had defeated just a year ago for the first of their 3 championships in 4 years.
Cavs did have the best record in the East (57-25) but were still far inferior to a team that had 16 wins more than them in a tougher conference. But remember the quote in The Alchemist, “When you really desire something from the heart and soul, all the universe conspires you to achieve it.”?
That’s what happened for LeBron James and Co who came back from a 3-1 deficit and won the Cleveland franchise their first-ever title. Be it because of Draymond Green’s suspension in Game 5 or whatever else, the Cavs were going to win that championship any which way.
And a New York Knicks fan still remembers that day as well as anyone in Cleveland because she lost it emotionally for the only in her long, legendary broadcasting career.
Doris Burke choked up while interviewing a weeping with joy LeBron James
One of the ever-present courtside voices in the game, NBA announcer and analyst, Doris Burke is also one of the biggest fans of the game. She talked to Miami Heat’s Duncan Robinson on his podcast last year and revealed which instance made her choke up despite being objective and emotionally balanced throughout her 31-year media career.
“I do remember one moment where I did lose a little bit of balance, or I lost my composure, and only my closest friends picked up on this, and Mike Breen’s stat man,” Burke said. “When Cleveland won Game 7, Duncan, and LeBron fell to the floor and is weeping, and his shoulders are going up and down because I think he’s crying; he’s crying. Literally, I’ve got to interview him, and I’m getting choked up because of this emotion I’m seeing with this guy, and the first question I asked him, you could actually hear my voice crack.”
“It had nothing to do with I was rooting for them. In that moment, the human moment of, ‘Oh my God, this man is losing his mind because he’s won this championship for the place he grew up in,’ yeah I remember that. I was like, ‘Oh my God, I hope nobody noticed.’”
James averaged 29.7 points, 11.3 rebounds, and 8.9 assists in the series, while Irving chipped in with a crucial 27.1 PPG. The King lifted his 3rd Championship as well as the 3rd Finals MVP for the insanity that he led the Cavaliers to pull off.
The things that followed that greatest upset had the Warriors getting a major help with Kevin Durant joining them, which would win them 2-straight championships against the Cavaliers in the next two seasons.
