The 2016 NBA Finals is my favorite basketball series I’ve ever not really watched. I’ve said it before, but LeBron is my GOAT. (Hi, Mom, if you’re reading! Just as a reminder, GOAT stands for “Greatest of All Time.” My saying this is basically my calling him better than Michael Jordan, Bill Russell, Wilt Chamberlain, etc. That’s not a small thing to say!) In 2016, I hadn’t quite gotten there yet. But I badly wanted him to be good enough for me to call my GOAT. I wanted it so much that the series made me too anxious to watch. I could only pace and get updates from a gamecast and my father.
Normal behavior from a 29-year-old fan of another team. We can unpack that another time.
But yeah, I wanted him to win. And I didn’t think he could. The Warriors went 73-9, they were up 3-1, they were going back to Oracle. Not the soulless people kennel they built in San Francisco, the original environment back when Golden State fans were considered the best in the league. Remember those days? A lot of them are Valkyries fans now. Watch them. My point is the deck was stacked against the Cavaliers, against LeBron, and I gave up.
And, somehow, LeBron won. A suspension helped, a Kyrie three helped, and JR Smith causing just enough delay on a transition layup helped, but to me this was LeBron’s victory. In Miami, it would have seemed like a disappointment if he hadn’t won a championship. Or won multiple, really. In contrast, that second Cleveland team seemed like his creation. His triumph.
I’m sure that made a lot of Warriors fans feel great. Sorry about that. If it makes you feel any better, LeBron James said this:
Timestamp 41:25, if the video doesn't take you there. To quote LeBron James about the 2016 Warriors, “They were the better team.”
The Warriors had a 3-1 lead in 2016 and the better team, according to LeBron
And they lost. lol
Okay, it’s not that funny but it’s a little funny. LeBron stans (and who knows, maybe that will be me one day) are probably going to highlight this series even more after he is retired. The time LeBron inspired his guys to take down what could have been the greatest team of all time. They just knew they had it after game five, LeBron says.
Anyway, his retirement should be somewhere in the mid 2030s, unless he wants to be the first NBA player to play with his grandson. We all have time to prepare for that narrative.
And if I want to, I have time to build it.