OAKLAND, Calif.: The burden of history was heavy, so it was no wonder that LeBron James’ tears came so quickly.
He dropped to the court, his head in his hands, and cried before the celebration began.
He wept during an embrace with Kevin Love, the first teammate he found after the Cavaliers captured Cleveland’s first championship since the 1964 Cleveland Browns.
He broke down as he cradled the trophy on the victory stand in Oracle Arena, his sons LeBron Jr. and Bryce at his side on Father’s Day.
The latter will be the lasting image I will take from the Cavaliers’ 93-89 triumph over the defending champion Golden State Warriors in Game 7 of the NBA Finals Sunday night.
The accompanying soundtrack will be Cavs fans and family members gathered at one end, alternately chanting “MVP!” and “Let’s Go Cavs!” when it was over.
“Those emotions came out of me, just leading 14 guys and understanding what our city’s been through over the last 50-plus years since Jim Brown,” James said of the Browns’ Hall of Famer. “Then also people just counting me out. Throughout my 13-year career, I’ve done nothing but be true to the game, give everything I’ve got to the game, put my heart, my blood, sweat, tears into the game, and people still want to doubt what I’m capable of doing.”
James channeled it all — the city’s history, the perception of the Warriors as the league’s new darlings, the belief that the Cavs would be swept after they fell behind 2-0. He seemed determined to prove that at age 31 he’s still the best player in the world, despite the Warriors’ Stephen Curry being voted the league’s two-time MVP.
Proof of that was glaringly obvious.
Curry might be the league’s best shooter, but he wasn’t even that in the Finals, hitting 40 percent from the field and 3-point range and firing up brazen shots in the fourth quarter of a tight game. Had the Warriors won, Klay Thompson or Draymond Green might have been Finals MVP.
Instead James took home that honor, averaging 29.7 points, 11.3 rebounds and 8.9 assists in the Finals. With 27 points, 11 rebounds and 11 assists, he recorded only the third triple-double in a Finals Game 7, joining Jerry West (1969) and James Worthy (1988).
James averaged 36.3 points, 11.7 rebounds and 9.7 assists as the Cavs won the final three games. Probably not coincidentally, he put up those numbers after Thompson suggested James might have gotten his feelings hurt in a trash-talking altercation with Green in Game 4 that resulted in James stepping over Green and Green punching James in the groin and drawing a one-game suspension.
But the city’s tale of woe was clearly on James’ mind. As he sat in the interview room holding daughter Zhuri with his sons alongside, he mentioned Earnest Byner’s fumble, John Elway’s drive and Jose Mesa’s meltdown, along with the Cavs getting swept by the Spurs in 2007 and losing 4-2 to the Warriors a year ago.
Cavs coach Tyronn Lue didn’t see James get emotional, saying he was on the bench crying himself. But Lue said James deserved what he earned Sunday night.
“He’s a hard worker. He’s been the face of the NBA for 13 years. He’s always been on top,” Lue said. “To leave Miami to come to Cleveland to give the city a championship just shows you who he is.
“The reason why I say he deserves it is because of the person that he is. He’s a giver. He’s always looking to take care of people. He’s always been nice to everyone. If anyone deserves it, LeBron James definitely deserves it.”
Kyrie Irving, 24, said he was glad he was there to witness what James had done.
“When my time does come of being able to lead a franchise and see the landscape of how it’s supposed to be composed, I watched Beethoven tonight. He had a freakin’ triple-double in Game 7 of an NBA Finals,” Irving said.
“There will still be naysayers, but I know it doesn’t matter to him. It doesn’t matter to me. All that matters is we’re champions and our whole team is etched in history.”
James’ night wasn’t all about tears. He had a cigar ready to smoke on the interview table and had to tell Zhuri, “No, mama,” when she fingered it. The locker room was drenched in Moet & Chandon Brut Rose and reeked of cigars. The Cavs’ plane stopped in Las Vegas to party on the way home.
Then there is Wednesday’s parade, of which James may have long dreamed.
After all the hard work and the disrespect and the monstrous effort he put forth in the final three games, James may be in his element there, reveling in the adulation. There may be no more tears, at least in public.
“It’s going to be the biggest party that Cleveland has ever seen ever,” he said. “So if you guys still have a little money left over in your budget, you guys better make a trip to Cleveland and get a little piece of it.”
Marla Ridenour can be reached at mridenour@thebeaconjournal.com. Read her blog at www.ohio.com/marla. Follow her on Twitter at www.twitter.com/MRidenourABJ.