Regardless, the decision by one of the game's greatest players shook the National Basketball Association landscape and created a super team that became overnight villains given their sheer depth of top talent. They managed to come back from 3-1 past year, but this time it was different.
And as Sports Illustrated writer Ben Golliver noted, LeBron James will certainly need something more to compete with the Warriors, who have Kevin Durant, Stephen Curry, Klay Thompson, and Draymond Green all remaining with the team for years to come and all at their peak.
"They have an incredible team. So, this is the culmination of a year where they grew together and learned each other's games and got better and better all year, and it was just phenomenal to be part of". Nobody wanted him. A lot of people didn't expect these guys to be where they are today.
"I hear all the narratives throughout the season that I was joining, I was hopping on bandwagons, I was letting everybody else do the work", Durant said.
"I told him we're tied up now and we're going to try to do this thing again but I'm going to celebrate this one tonight".
The Cavaliers were not going to win this series. I broke down so I couldn't really finish my speech. This is Lue first Finals loss being the head coach for the Cavs, so this is a new position he hasn't been in. Kyrie Irving was one of those players, as he played game five on an injured knee.
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"Somebody asked me about it a couple months ago, a hypothetical, if a championship were to happen, what would I do", Curry said.
James took a moment after Game 5 to reflect on his legacy with fondness.
Durant, an eight-time All-Star who only needed a ring to cement his superstar status, scored 39 points in a championship-clinching 129-120 victory and averaged 35.2 points and 8.4 rebounds in these Finals. James was dominant in the paint and was shooting well from the perimeter, but it still wasn't enough to beat the Warriors. "Crazy to think about the conversations we had this summer and going into the year about how we can both mesh and do what we do and see it come to life in this series".
Despite being on the losing side, James was one of the stars of the Finals, scoring 41 points in Monday's game. James is confident that the Cavs will be back and ready to play for another title.
Cleveland's inability to give the Warriors much of a fight has already sparked talk that James, who left the team in 2010 for Miami before returning four years later, could consider another move during 2018 free agency.
They're plotting how on earth they can beat a team that's got all the ingredients for a dynasty.
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