On June 16, 2015, the Golden State Warriors hoisted the Larry O’Brien Trophy on the court at Quicken Loans Arena.
The Cavs lost the series four games to two.
Today the 2016 NBA Finals series stands at 3-2 in favor of Golden State.
The Warriors look to repeat their celebration exactly one year later, while the Cavs look to spoil Golden State’s anniversary.
LeBron James did not make much of the fact today marks one year since the Warriors won the title, telling reporters, “I don’t think we even thought about it. It’s always one year to the date of something. You can say that about anything. I mean, (Tuesday) was one year to date that my son turned 8, and yesterday he turned 9. So it happens every year, it’s one year to the date to something. We don’t think about that stuff. We just get prepared to play.”
Warriors head coach Steve Kerr said he didn’t have to tell his team about the opportunity they had. “I don’t think I have to remind them. We have great memories from last year, memories that will remain forever. I remember all the championship celebrations that I was lucky enough to enjoy as a player. But more than anything, they want to feel it again. Whether it’s here or in Oakland, it doesn’t matter. Biggest thing is not thinking about last year or thinking about celebrating or thinking about anything other than what we have to focus on.”
Draymond Green returns to action after serving his one-game suspension and is aware that his team can make history. “We’ve got an opportunity to do something that I don’t know if it’s ever been done to where someone — maybe it has with the Lakers and Celts and all those guys — wins a championship on someone else’s floor two years in a row. We’ve got that opportunity. It’s a fun one. It will be tough.”
In so many ways, this NBA season and postseason has had historic milestones passed.
LeBron seems to pass a different player on the all-time scoring list and all-time playoff scoring list just about once every three games.
We all witnessed Kobe Bryant in his final season, riding off into the sunset with a 60-point performance.
The Warriors hold the record for most three-pointers and most wins in a regular season. They came back down 3-1 in the Western Conference Finals.
Now the Cavs have a chance to make history and become the first team to ever overcome a 3-1 deficit in the NBA Finals.
If the Cavs can pull off this amazing upset, it would be the first championship in franchise history. The team has existed since 1970.
We’ve heard time and time again about “ending the drought” in Cleveland, and hoping to break the 52-year curse.
It would only be fitting for the Cavs to break it in remarkable fashion and take perhaps the most difficult route to pull it off.
Dark clouds have loomed over Northeast Ohio today, with torrential downpours and abrupt thunderstorms.
If Clevelanders take that to be an omen, my suggestion is to interpret it as “It’s always darkest before the dawn.”
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