Kevin Love recently joined the Ask Gary Vee podcast with entrepreneur Gary Vaynerchuk and discussed a litany of topics including the Cleveland Cavaliers NBA championship in 2016. During that conversation, Love described the inspirational message that LeBron James offered his teammates while trailing the Golden State Warriors 3-1 in the NBA Finals. It was that message, according to Love, that would help the Cavaliers come all the way back and secure the title.
“We were in Oakland and we went to their practice facility, the Golden State Warriors practice facility,” Love said. “And it was when Klay Thompson had started talking about how they were better than the Showtime Lakers. So, we’re going over the Bay Bridge and that commentary is still just picking up–it’s on Twitter, it’s on Instagram. It’s on all these social platforms, along with sports radio, everything.
“That’s when Bron said, he looked around and said, ‘You know what guys? It’s written. We’re going to win tomorrow night. We’re going to have a huge game. It’s going to be tough. It’s going to come down to the last few minutes. We’re not losing at home. Game 7, anything can happen.’ That’s how it played out. It still gives me chills thinking about it.”
Game 5 did not end up being as tough as LeBron anticipated. After being tied at halftime, the Cavaliers ran away with a 15-point victory in the second half behind 41 points from both James and Kyrie Irving. LeBron’s prediction that Cleveland would not lose at home, though, did prove correct in Game 6. James scored 41 points again to help the Cavaliers win by 14 to set up the pivotal Game 7. Then, LeBron, Love, Irving and the rest of the Cavaliers made history by winning Cleveland its first championship since 1964. James would lead his team in scoring once again in Game 7 by totaling 27 points to go along with 11 assists and 11 rebounds.
