Well, that’s it for the Cleveland Cavaliers. On Friday night, the Golden State Warriors smashed the Cavs by a punishing 108-85, winning the NBA finals in just four games — a victory that comes, by the way, the fourth time, and fourth year in a row, that the two teams have squared off in the finals.
It’s the Warriors’ second championship in a row and the team’s third in four years. The win brings the Warriors’ total number of NBA finals victories to six, tying them with the Chicago Bulls for third most in the NBA. Though they still have tons of catching up to do before they can beat the #2 Lakers and #1 Celtics. The Lakers have won the finals 11 times since moving to Los Angeles, and five times when they were still based in Minneapolis for a total of 16 wins. The Celtics, meanwhile, have taken home championship rings 17 times.
Cue many tears from fans of the Cleveland Cavaliers. Cue also speculation about where LeBron James, whose contract with the Cavs expires this summer, will play next season — because everyone is pretty sure he’s definitely not staying in Cleveland.
If you’re a Golden State fan, this is a huge night. If you’re a Cavs fan, or just a human person capable of sympathy in the face of brutal humiliation… well, we’ll let Twitter say it all.
Warriors like… #GSWvsCLE pic.twitter.com/Z8HUaX7yRv
— Ol_Dirty_Rooster (@DenverDrew44) June 9, 2018
#GSWvsCLE pic.twitter.com/eMnxifSGPQ
— 🐬🆙 (@ExtendIt) June 9, 2018
And yeah, no one thinks LeBron is staying in Cleveland:
https://twitter.com/JerikoRns/status/1005288052590305280
I’m not sure how anyone can watch the past half hour and think LeBron is a Cavalier in August.
— Robert Mays (@robertmays) June 9, 2018
LeBron checks out of what could be his last game as a Cavalier pic.twitter.com/poRzr21LsW
— Warriors on NBCS (@NBCSWarriors) June 9, 2018
https://twitter.com/AbbeyLiz13/status/1005289300152504320
Still give props to @KingJames can’t wait to see where he will be playing next year!! #GSWvsCLE
— Reginal Hernandez (@KillaReggie) June 9, 2018
Congrats #Dubs great season! Assume they pulled LeBron early because he just told them he's leaving Cleveland! #NBAFinals #GSWvsCLE
— Rick Schoonmaker (@RickSchoonmaker) June 9, 2018
.@KingJames left the floor shaking hands like he was going to the airport right now 😂🤣😂🤣 #NBAFinals #sweep #GSWvsCLE
— Bryson Creighton (@brysoncreighton) June 9, 2018
But if he leaves again, it’s likely LeBron won’t receive the same public backlash he did the last time:
https://twitter.com/tribefanCJ/status/1005285542085517315