Déjà vu all over again
Lebron vs. Warriors: ‘Best-ever’ debate comes to NBA Finals
OAKLAND – Maybe this NBA Finals matchup gets old. But Lebron James never does.
The Cleveland Cavaliers superstar continues to defy age, as well as gravity, and arrives for his latest showdown with the Warriors as if he’s finally getting the hang of this basketball thing at age 33.
There he was again Wednesday in Oakland, the greatest player of this era getting ready to face the greatest team of this era. (In both cases, that phrase of this era could someday be wiped from the equation.)
James heads into Game 1 against the Warriors tonight having scored 30 points or more in 108 career playoff games. One more game like that, and he’ll tie the NBA record set by Michael Jordan, a man he is chasing in more ways than one.
“We’re lucky. I’m lucky. He’s going to play 10 feet from here tomorrow night,” Warriors general manager Bob Myers said of James, while standing courtside Wednesday after practice. “That by itself is something to enjoy.” Golden State Warriors guard Klay Thompson drives against the Cleveland Cavaliers’ Kyle Korver in an NBA Finals preview earlier this year.
This marks the fourth consecutive year in which Cleveland will face the Warriors for the NBA title. Never before have the same two teams faced each other for the championship four straight times. Not in the NBA, and not in any other major professional sport, either.
“I mean, it may not be as suspenseful as a lot of people want it to be, or as drama-filled,” Warriors forward Kevin Durant said, almost apologetically. “But that’s what you’ve got movies and music for.”
Even three times is rare. And in each case, it occurred at least a half-century ago. It happened in the NFL (from 1952-54), in the NHL (1954-56) and in baseball (1921-23).
And if you’re sick of seeing this annual Warriors-cavaliers rivalry on auto-replay? Well, that’s on the 28 other teams, Warriors guard Klay Thompson said.
“I think the rest of the NBA has to get better,” Thompson said. “It’s not our fault.”
Maybe the pattern will change when Lebron James retires. So check back in, oh, 20 years or so. The four-time MVP keeps extending his prime years that, for most NBA stars, wrap up around age 31.
“I don’t know. I’ve just never really bought into that,” James said before practicing at Oracle Arena on Wedneday. “I’ve never bought into a ceiling either. You (reporters) have always asked, ‘What’s your ceiling?’ And I’ve always kind of told you that I don’t really have a ceiling.”