It’s not often that we get to witness history first-hand, that we get to watch a person grow right before our eyes. But in watching LeBron James right now, we’re getting just that – a front-row seat to history.
Still now, approaching 48 hours later, it is hard to put into words just how amazing James’ 3-pointer from the top of the key over the outstretched arms of 6-foot-10 Hedo Turkoglu was. Given that there was one second left in the game after Turkoglu’s runner put the Magic up by two, 95-93, it’s impressive enough when you realize James could only catch and shoot a fallaway three over an outstretched defender and knock it home. But the physical act of making that shot goes only so far in telling its true meaning, and its true context.
Cleveland, especially over the last 45 years or so, is known for little more than losing. Phrases like “The Shot,” “The Fumble,” and “The Drive” are code words that drive a stake through the heart of Cleveland sports fans, detailing their agonizing history of finding new ways to lose. That had all changed since May 2003, when the Cavaliers lucked into the No. 1 spot in the NBA Draft, and found themselves getting the chance to land a local high school kid from Akron, Ohio, a kid whom many felt had a chance to be a star in the NBA.
Since then, LeBron has blossomed into a superstar, and brought Cleveland into the national spotlight. Finally, the forgotten town at the south end of Lake Erie had luck on its side, and things seemed to be going its way for a change. After the Cavaliers sprinted to a 66-16 regular season, best in the NBA, and then swept Detroit and Atlanta in the first two rounds of the NBA Playoffs, it looked like the championship everyone there had been dreaming about for years was finally about to happen.
But it was then, just when the sports fans of Cleveland began to think they could relax and enjoy themselves on their way to a long-awaited title, that the Orlando Magic stepped into the picture. They won Game 1 behind 3-point shooting from Rashard Lewis down the stretch – despite James going for a career-high 49 points – and Turkoglu’s shot seemed to have put them up 2-0 in the series headed to Orlando, where they had already blown out Cleveland twice this season.
The fans inside Cleveland’s Quciken Loans Arena knew what was happening, as did the thousands upon thousands watching on television. As Yogi Berra once said, it was deja vu all over again. For what seemed like the umpteenth time, Cleveland was about to get punched in the stomach again. Turkoglu’s shot was Michael Jordan’s shot over Craig Ehlo, 20 years later.
Only there was still one second left on the clock. Exactly one second. Ironically, there had been one second left on the clock in Game 1 when James won a jump ball and tipped it to Mo Williams, who nearly hit a fallaway jumper from just inside the 3-point line at the buzzer that would have given Cleveland the win.
This time, it was Williams who would be passing the ball to James, and we all know what happened next. The rainbow arc of the ball. It dropping through the net. Absolute bedlam breaking out in Cleveland, relief pouring out of every corner of Northeast Ohio.
The series isn’t over. The season isn’t over. Maybe this is meant to happen.
In the end, whether or not that is the case remains to be seen. The Cavaliers and Magic know are locked into a best-of-five, with Orlando having the home court. Starting tonight, when the two teams square off for Game 3, it will begin to be settled on the court.
But if Cleveland does go on to win this series, and then the title along with it, it will be that one second in Game 2 of the Eastern Conference Finals that will not only define that game and that series, but it will be the defining moment in the career of LeBron James. Despite all of his accomplishments, what is the one shot that everyone, no matter their age, can tell you Michael Jordan hit? It’s “The Shot”, when he rose and fired over Cleveland’s Craig Ehlo at the buzzer, giving Chicago a 3-2 series win over the Cavaliers. Jordan may not have won the title that year, but it signaled the beginning of his reign over basketball that, despite his being gone for several years from the game, still exists.
With his shot Friday night, James exorcised more than a few demons for Cleveland sports fans, and, more importantly, kept his Cavaliers in the series. But for history’s sake, Friday night could well be the defining moment, the forever moment, of the career of LeBron James. For all that he’s already done, it easily is his defining moment so far, and 20 years from now, it’s more than likely we’ll be seeing his shot over Turkoglu looped over and over again like we do Jordan’s over Ehlo.
And for everyone who watched it Friday night, Nike’s ad campaign slogan for James sums it all up nicely.
We All Are Witnesses.
