Tag: Cleveland Is King

‘Cleveland Is King’ book excerpt: When LeBron James led Cavs to Game 7 win and NBA title

This is an excerpt from page No. 26 of the book ‘Cleveland Is King’ on LeBron James leading Cavs to Game 7 win and 2016 NBA championship.

I worked with Triumph Books to publish “Cleveland Is King” in 2016 after the Cleveland Cavaliers won the NBA Championship. This book went on to make the New York Times Best-Sellers list. Below is an excerpt from the final submission for the book recapping LeBron and the Cavs Game 7 victory over the Golden State Warriors.

Page No. 26: “Crowned” 

Cleveland, this is for you. The simple words of LeBron James that boomed through the national airwaves following Game 7 of the NBA Finals met the masses gathered in his city’s streets with the grace of Shakespearean prose. James had defined his wonder of will on basketball’s biggest stage, and delivered on a promise to rise above 52 years of defeat with one glorious victory.

From Calvary Cemetery in Cleveland to Akron General Hospital, the spirit of every soul ever born to the The Land of Northeast Ohio smiled proudly on its favorite son. On June 19, 2016, the kid from Akron had made them all champions.

“I’m coming home with what I said I was going to do,” LeBron James said after helping his Cavaliers become the first team to rally from a 3-1 series deficit to win the NBA Finals. “I can’t wait to get off that plane, hold that trophy up and see all our fans at the terminal.”

James capped off an MVP performance in the NBA Finals with a 27-point, 11-assist and 11-rebound triple double. He played all but one of the 48 minutes required to decide the greatest Game 7 in NBA history. As the final buzzer signaled an end to the 93-89 battle, Tyronn Lue sobbed on the Cleveland Cavaliers bench while James collapsed to the very hardwood he had just conquered.

His team had defeated a collection of Warriors from Golden State who very much deserved the title they bravely fought to defend. On this night, however, Cleveland was king–and its city would rejoice forever.

“It’s not even a relief, it’s excitement for us–as a team, as a franchise, as a city, as a community,” LeBron said. “To be able to continue to build up our city, continue to be an inspiration to our city, it means everything and I’m happy to be a part of it.”

With 53 seconds remaining, Kyrie Irving rose up to hit the biggest shot in Cavs franchise history when he connected on a 25-foot three-pointer with Stephen Curry defending to provide his team with a 92-89 advantage. The heroic dagger from the Cavaliers point guard who suffered a season-ending injury on the same court 12 months earlier gave Irving his 26th point of the contest.

“I was just thinking that the next team that scores has a great chance of winning that championship, and I hope we can be that team that’s on that end,” Irving said about his go-ahead three-pointer.

It was the second triple he buried on the night, to go along with six rebounds, bettering the 17 points totaled by the two-time MVP he started opposite. Irving would finish the series with averages of 27 points, four rebounds and four assists on over 40 percent shooting from beyond the arc. If not for his superstar teammate, it was an effort worthy of the trophy bearing Bill Russell’s name.

It’s a fools-errand to attempt to describe what LeBron James actually did throughout the 2016 NBA Finals—especially during Games 5, 6 and 7. We all witnessed it. We all saw it. He gave us all memories unique to the emotions that raced through our veins as we watched. James turned professional sports into a fairytale as he furiously chased a championship he promised to deliver.

He gave children and adults alike all reason to hope, and all reason to dream. He played like the Chosen One, he led like the King, and he continued to make his case as one of the very best to ever play the game he so very much loves. If history requires numbers to quantify his brilliance, LeBron offered 29.7 points, 11.3 rebounds and 8.9 assists throughout the series to earn the Finals MVP Award. He poured his heart on the floor for 42 minutes per night, smashing chase-down blocks off the backboard that seemed to shatter both the glass and spirit of his championship-caliber opponent.

Standing in the crossroads of defeat, trailing the 73-win Warriors 3-1, James made the wish of a Cleveland resurgence appear more real with every shot he fired. He relentlessly pursued a dream his city so desperately shared, and inspired his teammates to continue the fight in face of adversity. James would believe in Kevin Love and the All-Star forward delivered in the deciding moment by collecting 14 rebounds and finishing with a game-high plus/minus rating of +19 in Game 7.

LeBron implored J.R. Smith to keep shooting, Iman Shumpert to keep defending, Tristan Thompson to keep scrapping, and they all showed up alongside their leader. More than he did it for legacy and legend, LeBron did it for them, and he did for us, reminding all who witnessed his finest achievement that victory is always within reach for those who dare to believe.

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‘Cleveland Is King’ book excerpt and player profile on LeBron James after 2016 NBA title

I worked with Triumph Books to publish “Cleveland Is King” in 2016 after the Cleveland Cavaliers won the NBA Championship. This book went on to make the New York Times Best-Sellers list. This is an excerpt from the player profile on LeBron James in that book.

I worked with Triumph Books to publish “Cleveland Is King” in 2016 after the Cleveland Cavaliers won the NBA Championship. This book went on to make the New York Times Best-Sellers list. Below is an excerpt from the player profile on LeBron James on page 50 of that book.

“Cleveland Is King” – published in 2016:

In a small college gym located in Teaneck, New Jersey, the No. 1 overall player in America offered a series of crossover dribbles before pulling up to bury a midrange jumper during the early minutes of the first half. With the swagger of New York City dangling from his outstretched shooting hand, Lenny Cooke held his release as the crowd gathered inside the Adidas ABCD camp erupted in applause. The marquee event’s defending MVP shuffled back down the court like a conquering hero, while his young defender from somewhere in Ohio dusted off a shot that had just dotted his eye.

At that moment, in July of 2001, a sixteen-year-old named LeBron James could’ve gone one of two ways. His opponent, Cooke, was the best prospect produced by the New York City playgrounds in over a decade. He was a superstar already; a can’t-miss talent who was simply biding his time before the NBA came calling. James, meanwhile, was from the basketball equivalent of nowhere, representing a city named Akron known more for its tires than its talent. If he didn’t beat the kid from New York that day, nobody would’ve blamed him. But a young LeBron refused to back down.

Over the next several minutes, James would put not only himself, but also his city on the national map for good. He’d respond to Cooke’s early offense by eventually outscoring him 21-9 in an individual duel as the game entered its final possession. Trailing by two points, while being guarded by Cooke, LeBron emerged from the backcourt dribbling down the right side of the floor. He’d lift off from just beyond the three-point line, letting a shot go as the buzzer expired that found nothing but the bottom of the net. The long-range bomb would propel James past Cooke, and he’d return to Ohio with the title of best player in America for the very first time.

Thirteen July’s later, when James returned from the Miami Heat to the Cleveland Cavaliers, he reminded the audience gathered outside an event celebrating his signing that he was still just a kid from Akron. Standing then, in 2014, as a corporate mega-brand worth billions, and arguably the most popular athlete in the world, it was hard for most observers to grasp the concept. When he added that he wasn’t supposed to be here, we thought of a 6-8 frame and Einstein-level basketball IQ that inspired some to collectively snicker in response. But the truth is, Lenny Cooke was once where LeBron James wanted to be. And unlike the series of tragic mistakes that Cooke would make to derail a promising professional career before it ever started, James is the kid who did everything right.

Standing now in the wake of his greatest professional conquest, it’s important we remember where it is that LeBron came from even if we believe we never forgot. Like Cooke, and thousands of other talented young prospects before him, James could’ve been a statistic. The son of a poor, single mother on welfare, he beat the odds. He not only identified people who had his best interest at heart, but he also listened and acted upon their advice. Instead of acquiring NBA fortunes only to waste it away on extravagance, he invested his earnings, put his team and community in a position to succeed, and is on his way to joining a class of billionaires upon retirement. And along that path to greatness, both on and off the floor, he accepted a challenge for the same community he first put on the national map at ABCD camp to deliver a moment of championship glory that had eluded the area for 52 years.

Down 3-1 to the Golden State Warriors, James dusted himself off from a series of jumpers that Stephen Curry and Klay Thompson used to dot his eye just like the best player in America once did 15 years earlier. At that moment, LeBron and his Cavaliers could’ve gone one of two ways. But when he got up, he’d deliver a basketball championship to a city that never experienced one before. LeBron James the person did that, as much as LeBron James the player, and we owe it to that kid from Akron to always remember as much.

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