In Game seven of the NBA Finals on Sunday night, the Cleveland Cavaliers did what had never been done before by coming back from a 3-1 series deficit to defeat the Golden State Warriors. While it would be easy to place the blame squarely on league MVP Stephen Curry and Klay Thompson, it would be entirely unfair to not give credit to LeBron James and Kyrie Irving, who both turned spectacular performances all series.
Immediately after the game, there was an outpouring of support from fans of the game everywhere, current and former players alike.
Salute to my brother @KingJames .. 3x Champion!!! #Brotherhood
— DWade (@DwyaneWade) June 20, 2016
Congrats @KingJames @KyrieIrving and the rest of the @cavs unbelievable series. Well deserved #champs #enjoy
— Kobe Bryant (@kobebryant) June 20, 2016
Amazing series for a fantastic season. Love this game!!
LBJ MVP without doubt, but Kyrie had some ridiculous moments.— Manu Ginobili (@manuginobili) June 20, 2016
unbelievable series to watch, congrats to cleveland. very well deserved. lebron and kyrie were next level good.
— Blake Griffin (@blakegriffin32) June 20, 2016
Congratulation to BRON BRON and the cleveland Cavaliers , the city has been waiting long long time #KingJames pic.twitter.com/uQDn6OWyZq
— SHAQ (@SHAQ) June 20, 2016
LeBron James with this championship sealed his legacy as one of the five greatest players to ever play this game!
— Earvin Magic Johnson (@MagicJohnson) June 20, 2016
Congrats even came from the President of the United States, Barack Obama, who is a noted fan of sports and especially basketball.
What a game and what a series for the @Cavs. Happy to see @KingJames bring it home for Cleveland!
— President Obama (@POTUS) June 20, 2016
While there was very deservedly so immense amounts of praise for the Cavaliers, many questions were asked of the Warriors and Stephen Curry didn’t back down from taking responsibility.
While without a championship to cap it off, it would be very easy to discredit what the Warriors accomplished this season, finishing with a 73-9 regular season record, there was still much recognition and appreciation for the Dubs.
Congratulations to the Warriors on an unforgettable, record-breaking season. pic.twitter.com/ugOnNKEUei
— NBA on ESPN (@ESPNNBA) June 20, 2016
Proud of our men! #DUBNATION #WARRIORS … That was an insane season. Can't deny it. Proud proud proud. Heart. Fight and Passion.
— Ayesha Curry (@ayeshacurry) June 20, 2016
The Carolina Panthers had some fun on twitter and offered their condolences after going through a similar ordeal in the NFL playoffs.
.@warriors We know how you feel, friend. First round is on us.
— Carolina Panthers (@Panthers) June 20, 2016
In the coming days and weeks there will surely be much discussion on what went wrong for the Warriors and what they could have done differently to avoid making history in the finals for all the wrong reasons. For the time being though, despite the wounds being very fresh, fans cant lose perspective on what was a historic season and one that will probably have an impact on basketball for many years to come.
The Warriors lost to a team boasting one of the five best basketball players ever and a young superstar who looked to finally come into his own. There is no shame in that at all. The Cleveland Cavaliers deserve all the praise they are sure to get, but the Warriors own accomplishments over the past nine months cant be overlooked. With a core of Stephen Curry, Klay Thompson, and Draymond Green, the Warriors aren’t going anywhere any time soon.