The Cleveland Cavaliers are NBA Champions. The people of Cleveland no longer have to be plagued by mentions of the year 1964. LeBron James is well aware of this and has a word for his critics.
First thing’s first. LeBron has earned the right to gloat a little bit. Few athletes have ever been scrutinized as much as he’s been throughout his career, especially since going to Miami in 2010.
While he’s earned the right to gloat, what does it really accomplish?
For starters, it shows that LeBron hears the criticism from the trolls. That’s fine right now, because they don’t have a lot to say. Next year, they might. Maybe the Warriors will storm back and beat Cleveland. Maybe it will be Oklahoma City or San Antonio. Maybe another team from the East (likely Toronto or Boston) will step up and end LeBron’s reign atop the conference.
Whether it happens in 2017 or some point further down the road, the reign of King James will eventually come to an end. It’s happened to every great person the world has ever known. Father time is undefeated. When that happens, the trolls will be even louder than usual, as they now know that LeBron hears them.
The bottom line is LeBron James has the championship now.
He outplayed Steph Curry in the NBA Finals and beat the seemingly invincible Golden State Warriors. He also led a team to a road victory in Game 7 of the NBA Finals (something that hadn’t been done since 1978) and led his team to a finals victory after trailing 3-1, something that had never been done.
A metaphorical middle finger may feel nice but in the end, doesn’t accomplish much. What happened in this year’s finals is really the best mic drop that any player can have.