(PHOTO CREDIT: Jason Miller/Getty Images.)
According to Merriam-Webster, the simple definition of legacy is something that happened in the past or that comes from someone in the past.
To a lot, it seems that simple. What we remember most are the winners and losers. It’s black and white with no in-between. It’s been that way for a long, long time. And quite frankly, it’s unfair.
If the Warriors win, they’re topping off one of the greatest NBA seasons in history. As you know, they have the 73-9 regular season record. And they’ll continue to have one of the more unexpected championship reigns in sports. Who would’ve thought that Stephen Curry and the Warriors would pretty much come out of nowhere and win two straight NBA championships? And while LeBron James has proven to be the best player in this series thus far, nobody expected Curry to get two straight Most Valuable Player awards. Maybe we thought someone like Kevin Durant and even Anthony Davis would be the next successor to James but Curry snatched the crown from all of them. Being up 3-1 would merely be a footnote in their championship run; people will only remember that the Warriors won.
The Cavs losing means that more vitriol would be thrown towards LeBron James. We’ll see more uncreative names like LeChoke be mentioned merely because his team, 16 wins fewer than the Warriors in the regular season, came up short against a record-setting squad. And, of course, fans would bring up LeBron’s FINALS record (2-5 if the Cavs lose), which is ridiculous because it’s a feat that he and his team reached an NBA finals seven times (oh, by the way, six straight times, too). The one Finals that we should only give LeBron grief over, if anything, is when they were favored against the Mavericks in 2011 and lost. Do we penalize Magic Johnson for losing four times in the FInals? What about the logo, Jerry West, who was 1-8 in the championship round? Do we give John Stockton and Karl Malone that much grief because they didn’t win in the FInals? What about Steve Nash who didn’t even REACH the Finals?
LeBron would (begrudgingly from some fans) get some credit if he and the Cavs win Game 7 later tonight. They would have dethroned the reigning, defending champions, who looked unbeatable for most of the season. The Cavs would give Cleveland their first major sports title since the 60s. He would prove to everyone that he never “lost his crown” to Curry and this win would only add to his legend. Let’s not forget that the Cavs were down, 3-1, in this series.
The Warriors losing would have quite the effect. Even though Curry has really been shooting the lights out since the 2012-13 season, he may be perceived as a one-hit wonder. Never mind that despite he’s had a couple of good games in the Finals, he “didn’t come through on the big stage.” Plus there’s that little thing where “jumpshooting teams don’t win championships” even though people forget that the Mavs, Heat, and Spurs took a ton of jumpers on their way to a championship. And it would also make teams think twice when they’re on the verge of setting the best record ever for a regular season. 73-9 don’t mean a thing without the ring. Golden State would be perceived as failures and chokers because they couldn’t win one final game.
All of this sounds a little narrow-minded and unfair, doesn’t it?
This is the thing that I really don’t like the most when it comes to teams losing; people WILL say stuff like “they’re trash” or “they suck” or “they don’t deserve to be there.” These two teams went to a Game 7 and people will spew out these things. And even if they’re joking, it only reinforces others to say it.
It really shouldn’t be black and white. We were taught as we got older that there is often context to why things happen the way they do. Yes, the Warriors and the Cavs get to write their own legacies. But whatever happens will put out unfair criticisms from a lot of people. And unfortunately for one of these teams, there are no mulligans, do-overs, and takebacks.
I just choose to see two great teams giving it their all at the end. And I’d rather give them their respect for making it this far. Cheesy? Sure. But it’s the damn truth because teams don’t get to the NBA Finals because they’re “garbage.” Teams get to the championship round because they’re great. And they should get credit that way. THAT should be their legacy.
Bring on Game 7. May the best team win.
Follow Rey-Rey on Twitter at @TheNoLookPass for all tweets about the NBA and terrible pop music. Also, check out his podcast, Rey-Rey Is Fundamental.
us on FaceBook! Thank you!
This GSW loss goes to show me that many, myself included were correct about them last year. Easy path and open jumpers for Steph was the recipe. Anytime he was touched and/or had to play defense, he appeared to shrink. It’ll be interesting next year for sure. Good article!
I think what happened on the way to the Finals was that they became too reliant on the outside shot. Part of it was the Cavs defense but it was just weird to see Steph not even go inside the three-point line anymore. It’s not like they were blown out of the water; they were five points away from a title.
Every team has their strengths and weaknesses. I just don’t like it when people are all, “They’re trash!” just because they didn’t win a championship (and the Dubs won last season). Thanks for the comment!