LeBron James brings title home to Cleveland

James surely still has plenty of motivation to win another title, but at the very least, he seems vindicated for his stunning move to return to the Cavs.

Cleveland Cavaliers guard J.R. Smith created one of the more memorable moments in postgame interview history when he discussed his parents after the Cavs’ game seven triumph over Stephen Curry and the Golden State Warriors.

Back in October, Jackson native and Murrah alumnus Mo Williams sat at his locker before the Cleveland Cavaliers took on the Memphis Grizzlies at the FedEx Forum in Memphis.

Writing for TheMMQB.com, Browns cornerback Joe Haden penned a first-person account of watching the Cavs capture Cleveland’s first championship since Jim Brown graced the gridiron. “We’ve finally got a champion in northeast Ohio”, Haden wrote in a guest feature for The MMQB. “Examples of how we show how proud we are to be Cleveland natives. That’s what we’re trying to do”.

No team has ever rallied from a 3-1 deficit to win the NBA Finals. He also made history as the first player in the National Basketball Association to lead both teams in points, rebounds, assists, steals, and blocks in the finals. The other two teams are the 1951 New York Knicks (against the Rochester Royals) and the 1966 Los Angeles Lakers (against the Boston Celtics). The Cleveland Indians haven’t won a World Series since the 1940s.

LeBron James came home with the trophy he promised, and the championship Cleveland has coveted for 52 years. But that mark has now been scrubbed clean, and by winning another Finals MVP, he joins Magic Johnson, Shaquille O’Neal, and Tim Duncan in the elite club of people who’ve done so three times.

Meanwhile, the Warriors looked rattled Thursday night. It was the first ejection of his career.

It was not enough to offset subpar games from Steph Curry, Klay Thompson and the rest of his teammates. “I’ve been in a lot of dark spots in my life and if it wasn’t for them I wouldn’t have been able to get out of it”, an emotional Smith said Sunday night following the Cavaliers Game 7 win over the Golden State Warriors.