The National's Sport cover for the Tuesday, June 20 issue, featuring LeBron James after leading the Cleveland Cavaliers to the NBA title.
It was a stunning achievement for James, who brought his team back from 3-1 down to become the first in NBA history to crawl out of such a hole in the finals.
Jonathan Raymond writes of how James and the Cavs defied all reason with their victory:
“LeBron reached the promised land he could not quite push his team to last year. It turns out he needed just a little bit of extra help, in the form of the excellent Kyrie Irving, just a proper sidekick to aid his superhero efforts.
“ ‘I gave everything I had. I put my heart, my blood, my sweat, my tears into this game,’ he said.
“ ‘Against all odds, against all odds,’ he added.
“Yes, even the odds doubted LeBron. He defied them, he defied many of us, he defied history.
“Lebron James put a crown jewel in his legacy as one of the two or three or four best to ever play this game.
“More immediately, and more importantly, he gave Cleveland a title. The Cavaliers, LeBron’s Cavaliers, are defiant champions.”
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