Hawks fans taunt Cavaliers with ‘LeBron will leave you’ chant

Fans in Atlanta took to some creative heckling during the Hawks’ 123-107 loss to the Cavaliers Friday night.

A perfect sports heckle is truly a work of art. Every once in a while a masterpiece will rise from the doldrums of “you suck” and stand out amongst the great roasts of all time.

Last night in Atlanta, Hawks fans chanted something so vicious, so cold-blooded, so spot-on that it must be entered into the pantheon of great sports heckles.

“LeBron will leave you.”

So simple. So cutting. So perfect.

What makes this a great sports heckle is that it takes away all need for Atlanta to be good. It doesn’t matter that the Cavs are a championship contender and the Hawks are the worst team in basketball. It doesn’t matter that the Hawks lost the game 123-107 to a short-staffed Cavs after their trade deadline moves. It doesn’t matter what happens today, or tomorrow, or this season because Atlanta fans got to the heart of Cleveland’s greatest fear.

“LeBron will leave you.”

That fear is why Cleveland completely retooled their team at the trade deadline to add a mix of veteran talent and young rotation players while holding on to their greatest asset: the 2018 first-round pick from Brooklyn.

“LeBron will leave you.”

The future in Cleveland is uncertain. The unknown is scary. Atlanta knows what it is. It sucks. That’s why any possible “look at the scoreboard” comebacks would fall flat. Atlanta (fans) are okay with who they are. The Cavaliers are afraid of what they might become.

“LeBron will leave you.”

Cavs general manager Koby Altman recently said he feared the team was “marching to a slow death” before their trade deadline moves. Their deadline deals may have given the team a new lease on life for this season, but Death comes for us all, and the hooded reaper appears in different forms for each of us. We know not when he will knock on our doors.

“LeBron will leave you.”

Next: Did the Cavs improve enough to convince LeBron to stay?

It will happen. Maybe not this year. Maybe not next year. But eventually, he’ll be gone. The savior, the chosen one, King James will someday not play for the Cleveland Cavaliers. They’ve put all their hope in this one man, and someday in the not-too-distant future, he will be gone. What will they become without him?

“LeBron will leave you.”

The Cavs and their fans can take some solace in the fact that LeBron is there now. All is well today. The team has a new direction and will make a run at their fourth-straight NBA Finals appearance in the coming months. But no matter what happens, that voice will always be there. Telling them they’re not good enough. They won’t be able to hold on. They’re going to be alone again.

“LeBron will leave you.”