It’s been a long journey for the LeBron James and the city of Cleveland. After being drafted first overall by his hometown Cavaliers in 2003, it’s always been a goal of his to bring a championship to the city he grew up in.
In his first stint with Cleveland, he made the Finals once in 2007, where the San Antonio Spurs swept him. In the years to come, James decided to take his talents to South Beach and team up with Dwyane Wade and Chris Bosh with the Miami Heat.
The man who meant so much to the city before “The Decision” in 2010 was now looked upon as a traitor, and the whole city of Cleveland despised him. They burned his jerseys and Cavaliers’ owner Dan Gilbert penned a letter saying James made a “cowardly decision” and promised that Cleveland would have a championship before Miami.
Four years and two Miami championships later, James finds himself back in Cleveland, finding it in his heart to forgive and forget everything the city did after his departure. Instead of being bitter, he decided to continue to pursue his dream of bringing a championship to Cleveland, but he figured he needed some help.
Acting as somewhat of a general manager, James found a way to convince the Cavaliers to acquire Kevin Love, J.R. Smith and Iman Shumpert in his first year back in Cleveland , but that proved not enough as they lost in six games in the 2015 Finals to the Golden State Warriors.
To his credit, James did all he could to win a championship, but health issues weren’t on his side as Love was injured in the Boston series in the first round and Kyrie Irving broke his kneecap in Game 1 of the Finals. This season, he took it up a notch.
Heading into the Finals this year, James had a fully healthy team around him, but he would be facing a team with the 2-time NBA MVP, the reigning champion, and a team that had the best regular season record in NBA history at 73-9.
James and Cleveland faced a 3-1 deficit, and no team in Finals history had ever come back to win after falling down 3-1 in the Finals. Previous teams were 0-32 in their attempts.
With a win or go home Game 5 in opponent territory, James and Irving poured in 41 points each on a depleted Warriors team playing without suspended All-Star Draymond Green and center Andrew Bogut, lost to an injury in third quarter of the game. The Cavs took full advantage and pushed the series to a Game 6, heading back to Cleveland down 3-2. Back in Cleveland, James poured in another 41 points with Green back for the Warriors to force the biggest game of his career.
It was time for Game 7 on the road versus the best regular-season team in NBA history. There was so much on the line for James. Down 3-1, the media scrutinized him for the possibility of falling to 2-5 in the Finals while other players like Michael Jordan of the Chicago Bulls, and Magic Johnson and Kobe Bryant of the Los Angeles Lakers all had winning Finals records. James was playing for his legacy, for the chance to make history, and most importantly, for a championship in the city he grew up in that has experienced so much pain and sorrow in its 52-year drought of a sports championship.
He delivered.
In Game 7, James filled the stat sheet with a triple-double, making him only the third player in NBA history to have a triple-double in a Game 7, joining former Lakers Jerry West and James Worthy. James scored the last point of the game on a free throw and dropped to the floor full of emotion as the buzzer sounded, signaling not only the end of the game, but the deliverance of a title home.
Six years after “The Decision,’’ James has finally accomplished what he has been waiting for since playing as little boy at the park, bringing an NBA championship home to Cleveland, Ohio.
