Another Lost Weekend For the Tribe
May 4, 2009A. Gully’s New Paint Job, Witness Music Video
May 4, 2009Most of us have several watershed moments in our lives….those times when we remember exactly where we were when it happened. Sometimes it’s tragedy (I remember exactly where I was when I heard that Kurt Cobain had died, and who amongst us doesn’t remember where we were on 9/11?), but the really special moments are the positive moments we remember so dearly.
For me, one of the biggest and most uplifting, transcendent moments in my life was May 22, 2003. On that day, those magical NBA Draft Lottery balls spit out the numeric sequence that gave the Cavaliers the top pick in the 2003 Draft. More importantly, it was the day I knew that LeBron James would be a Cleveland Cavalier. It might have been in my pre-blogging days, but a friend of mine had a website that hosted different articles, and I wrote an article 2 days after the ann0uncement saying, “It’s only a matter of time now, and I am shaking with the eagerness that comes with the idea of what King James can bring to the table not just for the Cleveland Cavaliers, or even Cleveland sports in general, but for the entire city of Cleveland and the entire state of Ohio. LeBron James can, and will be, the savior of a franchise, a city, and a state.”
LeBron James has been all of that and more for the Cleveland area and Ohio in general, and in a season that has uplifted us to this point more than any other season in any other sport in decades, it’s only fitting that LeBron receive the ultimate validation of what he has meant to the Cleveland Cavaliers. Nothing will ever take the place of bringing a Championship to this starved city, but nothing makes us more happy and more proud today than to pass along the news that LeBron James has officially been named the 2008-09 NBA Most Valuable Player!
Brian Windhorst breaks the news to us, writing in the Plain Dealer,
“According to a league source, LeBron James will be named the NBA Most Valuable Player this afternoon.
James has chosen to have the announcement at St. Vincent-St. Mary High School in Akron. All his Cavs teammates are expected to be there as well as representatives from Kia, which will give him a new car as part of the honor.”
As excited as I’m sure LeBron is about that new Kia he’s getting, the ultimate excitement will be in sharing this award with his family, friends, teammates, coaches, and fans in his hometown of Akron inside the gym he dominated in high school.
This MVP award is special to Cavaliers fans for multiple reasons. You can look at the stats, and they are impressive (28.4 ppg, 7.6 rpg, 7.2 apg, 1.7 spg, 1.1 bpg, .489 FG%, .780 FT%, 39.02 PER), but they only tell half of the story.
When LeBron came to the Cavaliers, our beloved franchise was in shambles. It was a joke of franchise, whether it be the old Ted Stepien days or the more modern era of Shawn Kemp, Ricky Davis, Darius Miles, and Jim Paxson, the franchise had brought this city more disappointment, embarrassment, and humiliation than anything else. It was under those conditions that LeBron James came into the wine and gold to give us hope, energy, and excitement. He has revitalized what the Cavaliers mean to the city and to its fans. The Cavaliers will never be the most popular team in town, but to those of us who love the game of basketball and cherish the Cavaliers, this moment is a culmination (of sorts) of realized potential in terms of what LeBron James was going to give us.
The MVP award isn’t a lifetime achievement award, however, so whatever validation some of us may feel in a more big picture sense, this is still ultimately about what LeBron has done this season. If you remember, even just last season as the Cavaliers were put to rest in the playoffs by the Boston Celtics, this team was criticized for being a one man show. It was believed that not even LeBron could do any more with this roster. Even when Danny Ferry went out and acquired Mo Williams in this offseason, many pundits and analysts felt that it wasn’t enough for LeBron. The Cavaliers were thought by many to be on the 2nd tier of contenders, on the outside looking in, so to speak.
It was in that environment and under those conditions that LeBron went out and led this team to a league-best 66 wins, a franchise record, and took this franchise on a run unlike anything we’ve ever seen in the regular season before. And this isn’t to take anything away from guys like Mo Williams, Delonte West, Zydrunas Ilgauskas, Ben Wallace, Anderson Varejao, Daniel Gibson, Joe Smith, and Wally Szczerbiak. All of those guys contributed to making this team what they became this year, and LeBron couldn’t have won 66 games and become league MVP without those guys, but at the end of the day, this truly is LeBron’s team and the goes as LeBron goes.
Without LeBron’s dedication to improving his mid range game, improving his ability to play in the post, improving his FT shooting, improving his defense, and never letting up in practice or in the middle of games, his excellence and work effort trickled down to his teammates and they followed his example and leadership, and that’s the hallmark of what a true MVP is all about.
We as Cavs fans haven’t often been blessed with much to cheer about. We’ve never won a Championship, we’ve never had an MVP, we had never had the best record in the NBA, and even when we had the exciting era of Mark Price, Brad Daugherty, and Larry Nance, there was always Michael Jordan looming in the distance making sure we never felt like we were truly a contending team. Not on a level like this year’s team has become, anyway. So today, we congratulate LeBron James on this fantastic and most deserved award. More than congratulate him, though, we also thank him for everything he has done for this fair city and franchise. Here’s to you, LeBron…..job well done, indeed!
25 Comments
Now Brent Berry can stick it where the sun don’t shine!
CONGRATS LBJ!!!!
NOW HE IS OFFICIALLY THE KING!
@brendon –> not quite yet… 12 wins away from that.
Brendon – It was Jon Barry.
True Jim.
I got all excited. We have to think big picture.
I think for one day, we can set aside our ultimate ambition and enjoy this award. Seriously, this is a great day for Cavs fans. I couldn’t dream of a better superstar to have play for the team I love, and I’m couldn’t be happier or more proud of LeBron for this award. He’s deserved it in the past and has come short for multiple reasons, but this year there was no way he was going to be denied this award. Just a great day in what has been a great season for the Cavs.
Heard it here first. Wonderful news. Move over Kobe. Maybe next time, Wade.
Let’s go Cavs!
I was looking in to buying a copy of NBA Jam for the original XBOX, and I looked at the roster for the Cavs then … it’s Ricky Davis, Z and Lebron… to think of what this roster and team has accomplished this season as compared to when Lebron entered the league it’s been an amazing ride
I Am A Witness … the MVP chants should be deafening on Tuesday night in the Q
Congrats to LBJ–well deserved, and long overdue. Still, personally, it only really matters if it comes with a championship.
[…] in time for LeBron James’ first (of hopefully many) MVP awards. The image above is of the car driven by Cleveland-based hip-hop […]
congrats lebron! all that hard work pays off… now go out and finish the job cavs!
I can’t wait to see the energy and excitement at the Q tomorrow night. Lebron –and the fans–are gonna come unhinged.
Congrats, LeBron. We are witnesses!
Very nice article..
Congrats LBJ!!! Well deserved of course.
THANK YOU LEBRON!!!
*bows to the King*
Much deserved, earned and long overdue.
Can’t wait for the chants on Tuesday! I have goosebumps already.
good for the psyche of Cleveland. Thanks Lebron
LeBron James is the MVP. Feels good to say that a fellow Akronite (Akronian?) has achieved something so great. Congrats!
Yes, this award is well-deserved, but LBJ will be the first to tell you that it’s all meaningless unless the team wins a championship. So.. to quote Pulp Fiction… let’s not start sucking each other’s ****s quite yet.
Hail to Lebron! Great regular season performance. Now lets win the finals and have Lebron get the finals MVP!
Congrats LeBron!!
You are right on about what LeBron has done not only for Cleveland but the whole state of Ohio. I find myself traveling quite a bit with my job and when I tell people I am from Ohio, usually one of their first remarks is about LeBron…the other remarks usually relate to the Buckeyes. I would be willing to bet not too many years ago very few people would think of the Cavs when they hear Ohio.
@Rock: Be honest, how long ago did you write this article just waiting for the day you could post it? And finally that day is here!!
What is Lebron going to do with a Kia? lol
I could have written this 4 years ago, probably.
Man, that’s one bad-looking trophy.
Awesome! You should be able to watch the press conference starting at 4:00 on either FSN Ohio, or cavs.com: http://www.nba.com/playoffs2009/live1/
I wonder who was the 1 voter who put him 3rd…
Brandon Roy will be an Mvp in the near future But thats not the case here. CONGRATS YOU ROYAL HINESS KING, LeBRON JAMES!