The city James jilted may have enjoyed the Mavericks win just as much as Dallas.
Miami Heat's LeBron James consoles teammate Dwyane Wade after game 6. (Photo: AP Photo/Lynne Sladky)
There may be celebration going on in Dallas on Monday after the Mavericks stunned the world by defeating the Miami Heat to win the NBA Finals 105-95, but chances are there is an even bigger celebration happening in Cleveland.
The city that was left hanging when its homegrown star LeBron James infamously announced to the world last summer he was taking his “talents to South Beach” was able to breathe a sigh of relief when the Mavs—not the Heat and James—hoisted the championship trophy.
James’ goal when he teamed up with Dwayne Wade and Chris Bosh in Miami was to win championships and lots of them. That still could happen but it didn’t happen in their first season together and that was reason for Cleveland to celebrate Sunday.
"Congrats to Mark C.& entire Mavs org.," Cleveland Cavaliers owner Dan Gilbert wrote in a Twitter message. "Mavs NEVER stopped & now entire franchise gets rings. Old Lesson for all: There are NO SHORTCUTS. NONE."
That message was intended for one person and one person only. But Gilbert wasn’t alone in celebrating the loss James suffered as he personally made a habit of fading during the fourth quarter of the finals games. Just look at the headlines on the Cleveland Plain Dealer’s website on Monday.
James, who grew up in nearby Akron and became beloved in Cleveland during his seven-years wearing a Cavs uniform, did little to heal wounds when asked Sunday night about the people who wanted to see him fail.
James has faced considerable national scrutiny for how he left Cleveland, but none was greater than in the city he left jilted.
“At the end of the day, all the people that were rooting for me to fail…at the end of the day, tomorrow they have to wake up and have the same life that [they had] before they woke up today,” he said. “They got the same personal problems they had today. And I'm going to continue to live the way I want to live and continue to do the things I want to do.”
Such arrogance just shows how out of touch James is. It is poor people who buy his jerseys, tennis shoes and everything else he hocks. Nice of James to insult them on the way out the door.
Contact Terrance Harris at terrancefharris@gmail.com or follow him on Twitter @Terranceharris
On Facebook
On Twitter
