Of Championships Won, and Championships Lost.....

The NBA season is finally over. The Golden State Warriors have won their third championship in four years. My local Cleveland Cavaliers have lost to them for the third time in four years. Yet it seems like more than just the end of the season. It could be the end of an era. Lebron James, the

This is just a blanket. But my name is sewn
inside the real banner

Greatest Of All Time, may have played his last game for the Cavaliers.

Or maybe not. Time will tell.

What is certain is that it is very unusual for the same two teams to meet in the Finals for four consecutive years. Back in the day, the Lakers and the Celtics would meet often. But not four consecutive years. The story of the Cavs- Warriors series is filled with joy, sorrow, intrigue, and thoughts of what might have been.

The story begins like a storybook in the summer of 2014. Local hero, Lebron James, decided there's no place like home. He decided to return to the Cavaliers in a quest to bring the elusive Championship to Cleveland. He would be joining young Kyrie Irving. The Cavs also traded for All-Star, and the automatic double-double Kevin Love. The regular season and most of the playoffs went smooth. but then fate intervened.

Kevin Love was injured in the playoffs against Boston. Kyrie Irving went down in the Finals. The Cavs actually had a 2-1 lead in the series. But The Warriors changed strategy and the Cavs ran out of steam. The Warriors won in 6 games.

Nothing is given. Everything is earned.

The next season the Cavs changed coaches in the middle of the season, bringing in Ty Lue. The Cavs and Warriors met again. But this time no major injuries. However the Cavs found themselves down in the finals 3 games to 1. No team has ever come back from that deficit. NOBODY. But the Cavs dug down and made it to game 7 on the road. Game 7 was the greatest and most important basketball game I've ever seen. It was like Rocky vs. Apollo Creed. It was filled with amazing play like THEBLK, err, The Block, and The Shot. Cavs win a Championship! Absolute pandemonium breaks out in Cleveland!

The same teams met in the Finals in 2017. The major difference was former league MVP Kevin Durant decided to join the Warriors and look for a ready-made Championship. Adding Durant to the team that included Curry, Thompson, and the ugly irritant Draymond Green proved too much to overcome.  Warriors won 4 games to one.

The 2017-18 season was a bizarre one for the Cavaliers. They started the season with a roster that looked on paper, very deep and experienced. They added aging Hall of Famer Dwayne Wade. High scoring Isaiah Thomas and Jae Crowder. But the big difference was Kyrie Irving had requested a trade. Nobody really knows the whole story. But bottom line - He was gone. The Cavs discovered that the games aren't played on paper. They're played by real guys with real personalities. They just didn't mesh. They were terrible in fact. Trades were made to reshape the roster, and the Cavs made it to the Finals again.

With Lebron, and a collection of mediocre players, the Cavs lost to the Warriors, (and the officials). They were swept 4 straight games. There will be another parade in Northern California. Life will go on in Northern Ohio.

But when I look back on this era, I still have to say it was all worth it. Because of that one shining season in 2016. That one wonderful, glorious game 7. I was downtown when it happened, and I have never seen a reaction of pure joy with thousands if people before. People I know say it was the greatest night of their life. Years from now I will be able to tell stories about it.

So the question is - do multiple Championships lesson the memory or value of just one? I'll probably never have the chance to find out. But one thing is certain. The Cavs were 2016 NBA Champions. They can't take the memories away.