Cleveland Cavaliers fans are more than thrilled over Tuesday night’s ring ceremony.
On Tuesday night, the NBA season began in Cleveland, OH as the Cavaliers will host the New York Knicks. It is also a time to celebrate last season, when the Cavaliers won the 2016 NBA Finals.
After being down 3-1 to the Golden State Warriors, they rallied back to win three consecutive games, capturing the NBA championship for the first time in franchise history. It set up a summer of celebration for the title-less franchise.
So, on Tuesday, the title defense began in Cleveland. However, before the Cavs players and other employees received their championship rings. This is a moment fans had waited for all summer and, fully embraced it at Quicken Loans Arena and on social media.
How awesome is it to see OUR ring ceremony instead of having to watch the other team enjoy theirs? #cavs #ALLin216
— Terry Rabbitts (@AkronSportsGuy) October 25, 2016
Getting blinded by these @cavs rings on #NBAONTNT 😍😍😍#DefendtheLand #cavs
— gill (@omgitsgill) October 25, 2016
Cleveland is ELECTRIC tonight! #Cavs #Tribe
— The Break Room (@BreakRoomShow) October 25, 2016
I'm so happy for my guys #cavs
— lamesha (@its_jus_mesha) October 25, 2016
https://twitter.com/babee_ruth1/status/791053978549293056
So happy for King James right now. #Cavs
— Wade B (@Wade_B5) October 25, 2016
https://twitter.com/alyssamorales8/status/791053937595994113
https://twitter.com/MrDee25/status/791053883388858368
https://twitter.com/meliisssss_/status/791057884209639425
Congratulations #Cavs great ring ceremony, now #indians it's your turn. #BeatTheCubs.
— Martha Lopez 👩💻 (@littlemarthai) October 25, 2016
https://twitter.com/OSUTINO/status/791057114479333376
https://twitter.com/lord_Freezy/status/791056543131242497
We got one ring time to start the road to the next #Cavs
— Cesár Raul (@_CesarTheGreat) October 25, 2016
LEBRON JAMES GETS HIS 3RD RING #CAVS #BIGRINGS
— Mike Buckley (@MichaelBuckle17) October 25, 2016
I'm bawling along w/ LeBron watching the ring ceremony. #Cavs
— rev recluse (@revRecluse) October 25, 2016
https://twitter.com/MarioTLouis/status/791055216422457344
Fans are clearly hyped for their team receiving championship rings on Tuesday night. It had been months in the making and something special for everyone. The Cavaliers even moved up the ring ceremony for fans wanting to watch the Cleveland Indians in Game 1 of the World Series.
The Cavs will now go into title defense mode for the next handful of months. They’ll have to fend off the likes of the Boston Celtics and Toronto Raptors in the Eastern Conference, something they didn’t find too difficult last year. The same could be said for 2014-15 as well.
However, the Warriors will look to challenge for another title out of the Western Conference. they beat the Cavaliers in 2014-15, but fell short in Game 7 in June. They’ll have to get by the San Antonio Spurs first, which isn’t the same team that won over 60 games last season. So, could the Western Conference be open for Steve Kerr’s team once again?
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The 2016 NBA season should be another exciting one with the Cavs as the reigning champions. Fans will look for another title to come back to Cleveland as well. With players like LeBron James, Kyrie Irving, and Kevin Love still around, this may be feasible.