#CavsRank Moments 1: The Buzzer

“IT’S OVER! IT’S OVER! CLEVELAND IS A CITY OF CHAMPIONS ONCE AGAIN! THE CAVALIERS ARE NBA CHAMPIONS!” – Mike Breen

“GOODNIGHT OAKLAND!!! IT’S OVER! IT’S OVER! THE 52 YEAR DROUGHT IS OVER! THE CAVALIERS HAVE WON THE NBA CHAMPIONSHIP!” – Fred McLeod

“EVERYBODY STAND UP AND CHEER!” – Austin Carr

No matter which feed you were watching… no matter where you were watching… no matter with whom you were watching… this moment was The Moment you hoped for… dreamed of… maybe even wondered if you’d ever see happen. The final Moment in our #CavsRank countdown is, without a doubt, the defining moment thus far — not only in Cavalier history, but quite probably in Cleveland sports history. Fittingly, we finish it on the day that the first Championship banner is raised and rings are distributed to every member of the Cavalier organization. What better way to celebrate the birth of a new campaign than with a glorious remembrance of how the last one ended.

On The Court Reaction (EvilGenius)

With the Cavs up by four (93-89), and a scant 6.5 seconds remaining on the game clock, the wine and gold braced for one final defensive stop of the Golden State Warriors. But, while there still remained the marginal danger of the possibility of a four point play to allow the Dubs to tie things up (barring the most bone-headed foul in history), the feeling of certainty that the Cavaliers would finally win the title was at hand.

Andre Iguodala (possibly still shell-shocked from being on the receiving end of one of the greatest defensive plays in NBA history), attempted to inbound the ball over Kyrie Irving and get it to Steph Curry in an optimal position to knock down a quick three. The Cavs (despite Jeff Van Gundy’s cautions to the contrary) had Iman Shumpert doggedly covering Curry as he wove around for position. Steph got the ball, took a dribble, then tried to execute a step-back three from just to the left of the top of the arc. Shump put his hands skyward and stayed clear of any close contact with the unanimous League MVP (you could almost hear LeBron screaming “Don’t foul! Do NOT FOUL!” in Shump’s general direction).

The high arcing shot left Curry’s hands with still five seconds left (which might have felt like an eternity if it had fallen), and seemed destined to nestle in the twine 25 feet away. However, this time (as it had for the majority of the final four minutes of this game), Steph’s shot drew nothing but the iron of the back of the rim. The ball caromed off to the right where Marreese Speights out-tipped LeBron for the rebound, then dribbled frantically back out beyond the arc in the right corner. LeBron just let him try his desperation heave… knowing it was already too late for the Warriors.

Speights (who at that moment might have wished for the umpteenth time since Game 4 that he hadn’t contributed his baby bottle emoji to the bonfire of vengeance unleashed by the King), also saw his triple strike iron as the clock hit zeroes… the red lights went off… and the Final buzzer sounded the end of Golden State’s reign… and the beginning of the Cavalier triumph.

The Hug

There would be countless embraces on the court and off to come, but perhaps the most iconic one occurred as The Buzzer was sounding. LeBron, drifting back under the hoop as he waited for the last errant shot to fall short, was met by a euphoric Kevin Love on the baseline. KLove hadn’t even been on the court for that last play (even though he was the architect of The Stop just minutes earlier), but he and Mo Williams had gotten to their feet and were jumping up and down just out of bounds when the Curry shot missed the mark. Seconds later, Love stormed the court and gave LeBron the biggest bear hug of all time. It was cathartic and somehow fitting that the guy who LBJ once cryptically told to “stop fitting out and just fit in” finally found the place where he fit perfectly… in the joyous embrace of the King.

The Pogo Sticks

J.R. Smith couldn’t contain himself (in the best way ever) as he started hopping up and down even before The Buzzer went off. He pinballed his way toward LeBron and Kev, but then changed course when he saw a big Russian bear approaching and went to share the victory with others. The man who many thought couldn’t keep his emotions under control, finally got a chance to express himself however he wanted. As we covered in Moment #16, his emotional outpouring toward his parents afterwards was particularly moving. Mo Williams also bounced around like a jumping bean before finally finding Shump and jumping on his back in celebration (his knee seemed okay at that point in time).

The Rugby Scrum

Kev and LeBron were quickly joined in their embrace by all of their big men, Tristan Thompson, Channing Frye and Timofey Mozgov. Matthew Dellavedova also joined the party as this group mobbed their way from the baseline to almost mid-court. At one point Mozzy had his large arms almost around the entire gang (Russian Bear-hugs for all!). Assistant coaches, team execs and Klutch Sports reps alike all piled in to join the festivities as well.

The Mad Dash

One of the stranger sights as The Buzzer went off was Dahntay Jones leaping off the bench and making a full sprint beeline down the length of the court and out of the picture. For a time, nobody could figure out from the footage shown what Dahntay was up to. Had he lost his mind? Did he see someone in the crowd? Did he have somewhere to be? In actuality, he was running after Coach Ty Lue (who had pulled a bit of an Irish exit down the sidelines after being overcome with emotions in the final seconds). Dahntay wanted to make sure his coach was not completely alone in his celebrations.

The Tear-stained Towel

Bless Tyronn Lue. For all of his resolve and calm demeanor that was a balancing force for this team throughout their at times impossible playoff run… he finally allowed the emotional dam to burst when it was all over. Standing by the scorers’ table, he watched as Steph’s last shot went awry, then turned and started walking down the sidelines away from the bench. As the rest of the team went berserk in the final seconds before victory, Ty must have been truly overcome. There he was… the assistant who replaced his boss halfway through the season… full on weeping into a towel on the bench after getting the job done.

“After the game, it was just — I never cry,” Lue said. “I’ve always been tough and never cried. Just after the game — my brother is here, Greg, [he] just said, ‘I’ve never seen you cry before.’ Just a lot of emotions just built up. My grandfather couldn’t be here. He passed away, and all the haters and all the doubters. It just all built up at one time. Then finally hearing that last horn go off, it was just unbelievable.”

The Handy Takedown

https://vine.co/v/5Bumg6Himur

In case you were wondering where Kyrie Irving was during all of this mayhem… he was the recipient of a full body tackle by Cavs assistant coach, Phil Handy, who just wouldn’t let him go. Not that Kyrie seemed to mind being man-Handy’d by the dude who brought the impassioned speech to the locker room after the Cavs got blown out in Game 2. Kyrie would eventually get up and not only exchange handshakes with Steph, but also give LeBron a hug to rival Kevin’s that delayed Doris Burke from starting her post-game interview with the King (Kyrie did apologize for it though).

A Grateful King

The outpouring of emotion went beyond the hugs for LeBron. The man, who had played like no mere mortal in this incredible Finals run — averaging 36.3 points, 11.7 rebounds, 9.7 assists, three steals and three blocks in Games 5-7 — to lead his team back from a seemingly insurmountable 3-1 deficit that no team in NBA Finals history had ever pulled off before, collapsed to his knees at midcourt. He prostrated himself and wept tears of joy for this promise of a championship he had just finally fulfilled.

“Those emotions came out of me, just leading 14 guys and understanding, like I said, what our city’s been through over the last 50-plus years since Jim Brown,” James said.

The final bookend to this extended moment of exultation on the court came in that post-game interview with Doris when LeBron stopped in the middle of pulling his Championship t-shirt on to scream the words every Cavs fan will remember long after The Buzzer… and probably for all time…

“CLEVELAND!! THIS IS FOR YOU!!”

Off The Court Reaction (Nate Smith)

We spent a good week here at C:tB recapping our reaction to “The Buzzer.”   I know I will always remember it as one of the greatest moments of my life. It didn’t feel like a possibility till the moment that red light went off and the buzzer sounded. I jumped up and down in my living room, hugging my friends, yelling, “THEY DID IT! THEY DID IT!”

In the following months, I’ve had a lot of time to think about what it all meant. A cynic might say that the Cavs leveraged the second largest payroll in NBA history, and possibly the league’s all-time greatest player to win a championship that they should have won. But in the moment, and in the last 52 years, none of that seemed possible. Down 3-1, few shared my resolute optimism that the Cavs would come back to win it all. I am lucky the Cavs’ players were among that group. The odds, the sports media, and history were stacked against them.

But the 2016 championship meant so much, not just because it had been 52 years since Cleveland had won a major sports championship, but because in the mid-2000s, this region was left for dead. LeBron’s exodus in 2010 was a nail in the area’s coffin. I wrote about that pain in my very first post here, four years ago.

It seemed as if the place I lived, the things I loved, the people I knew – they just weren’t good enough, and every time I turned on the TV, the radio, the computer… I was reminded of that. We had something no one else had, something that made us special and unique, and it was gone. To top that, from Cleveland to Youngstown to Akron to Canton, and all points in between we were in the middle of a suckass recession. We’d all lived through 2 years of foreclosureville. We’d taken solace in sport, in the Cavs. During those playoff runs, a lot more people than maybe should have grinned with irrational smiles on their faces the morning after a great win. It took me a long time to realize that what made this area awesome had nothing to do with LeBron. It had something to do with this feeling that we’re all in it together.

And when that buzzer sounded, I knew everything had changed. It was the announcement to the world of the rebirth we’d all seen happening in the region for the last several years. Believeland was real. And when 1.3 million people showed up to celebrate later that week, we knew that we were still all in this together, and that anything was possible.

This wasn’t just a regional story. It is an American story: people came from all over the world, right here to northeast Ohio to be a part of something great, from the players to the coaches, to the team, to the fans. And if we can do it, here in the purplest of purple states, then we can do anything. We can rise.

Before anyone ever cared where I would play basketball, I was a kid from Northeast Ohio. It’s where I walked. It’s where I ran. It’s where I cried. It’s where I bled. It holds a special place in my heart. People there have seen me grow up. I sometimes feel like I’m their son. Their passion can be overwhelming. But it drives me. I want to give them hope when I can. I want to inspire them when I can. My relationship with Northeast Ohio is bigger than basketball. I didn’t realize that four years ago. I do now.

That isn’t to say that anyone can accomplish anything, but when the right group of people get together and work really hard and are supported by government, the community, and a great organization, greatness is possible. Our collective effort can exceed the sum of our parts. I still believe that. When that buzzer sounded it meant more than a trophy. It meant that black and white, rich and poor, man and woman: we all have something in common. We were here, and we loved each other. We love this team. And we love this region. We can rise above our differences and make this city, this region, this country great.

We need to let it inspire us: in the way that we treat each other. Help each other, make where you live, where you work, how you treat the people you love great. Embrace greatness. Be a part of something bigger than yourself. Leave your legacy. Let the world know how awesome you and this place can be. We shouldn’t have needed a buzzer to announce our championship, our rebirth to the world. But sound it did. Let’s not waste its echo.