This is an archived article that was published on sltrib.com in 2016, and information in the article may be outdated. It is provided only for personal research purposes and may not be reprinted.
Not much science went into my published pick of the Cleveland Cavaliers to win the NBA Finals over Golden State, but it will stand as the most memorable prediction of my career.
My only view of Game 7 was the ABC telecast, but it became the most meaningful sporting event of my life.
That's saying a lot. Yet because of LeBron James' performance, the quality of the opponent and the magnitude of the championship for the city of Cleveland, this game will be unforgettable.
Why did I pick the Cavs? Just to be different, and just to give myself another reason to cheer for Cleveland. Clearly, I believed the Cavs had a chance to win the series — although I thought they would have to do it in six games, rather than win Game 7 at Oracle Arena.
But for them to pull off this victory, considering the way things looked after Games 2 and 4? That's epic stuff.
So much is demanded of LeBron, and he lived up to all of it Sunday with 27 points, 11 rebounds and 11 assists, including 12 points in the fourth quarter of a 93-89 win. It was asking a lot for him to come back to his home area of Cleveland and deliver a championship, especially against the 73-9 Warriors, but he did it. This story will be tough to top in any pro sport for a long time to come.
And even though Stephen Curry led the Warriors to the 2015 title and the best regular-season record in NBA history, his shortcomings in this series will stain his second MVP year. We'll never know how much Draymond Green's suspension and Andrew Bogut's knee injury (and continued absence) in Game 5 affected the series' outcome, but the Warriors still had everything in their favor as Game 7 unfolded Sunday. Every time Golden State launched a 3-point attempt in the fourth quarter, you just figured the shot would go in and the Warriors would do what they had done all season — win, in the end, as they did twice against the Jazz at Vivint Smart Home Arena and in a bunch of other venues.
Yet somehow, the Warriors kept missing and the Cavs kept battling. James was brilliant, doing everything he could at just the right time. He drew a foul on a 3-point attempt when Cleveland's offense was struggling in the fourth quarter. He delivered a 3-pointer that sent the Cavs ahead. And he blocked Andre Iguodala's layup after trailing the play.
That comeback symbolized Cleveland's effort. And even with no personal ties to the town or its teams, I found myself enjoying this championship more than any I can remember as Cleveland claimed the city's first major title in 52 years.
My strongest connection to Cleveland is once having a friend on the Browns coaching staff in the mid-1990s — he lived through the move to Baltimore — and attending two games in the old Municipal Stadium, once playing catch on the field before a Monday Night Football game, in front of the Dawg Pound. That was enough exposure to the Browns' history and the fans' loyalty to make me feel like part of the city's sports history.
Since then, I've seen the Cavs, Browns and Indians play in their new venues, while Utah high school alumni including Brant Boyer, Zach Sorensen, Paul Kruger and Nate Orchard have joined Cleveland teams. And I've done periodic stories — notably, when James bolted to Miami and when the Cavs made the 2015 Finals — about how much Cleveland fans deserve good things to happen.
Even in the last 10 seconds Sunday, when James missed his first free-throw attempt after absorbing a hard foul, I couldn't have been the only Cleveland fan calculating what could go wrong. It was pretty simple, really: James would miss again, Curry or another Warrior would hit a 3-pointer and Golden State would win in overtime. And then some name would be attached to another Cleveland disaster, such as The Drive or The Fumble, moments that remain indelible for loyal Cleveland fans.
At last, they were rewarded Sunday, when James' free throw basically clinched the championship. Nobody's pretending an NBA title will solve all of any city's problems, but it should make a lot of people in Cleveland feel good about themselves and their city, and that's a great thing.
Twitter: @tribkurt