Last summer, Northeast Ohio watched as the Nike banner featuring LeBron James came tumbling down off the Sherwin Williams building in downtown Cleveland. After announcing his move to the Los Angeles Lakers, Nike decided it was time to remove the iconic banner that offered an image of James with his arms raised toward his former kingdom. This weekend, ESPN looked back at that moment on Instagram and LeBron responded.
SportsCenter’s Instagram account posted a picture of the half-removed LeBron banner with the caption, “One year ago, LeBron’s banner was taken down in Cleveland.” Shortly after, James offered the following reply.
“Billboards and banners (unless it’s a championship banner) come and go,” LeBron wrote. “But how you made them feel while it was up will live on forever!”
As a lifelong Clevelander, it’s hard to argue with LeBron’s response. The way the city felt during that 2016 NBA Finals run is something that can never be taken away. No matter how many banners or billboards come down, that moment will never escape the memory of Cleveland fans. It was LeBron James along with Kyrie Irving, Kevin Love and the rest of the Cavaliers who created that moment, and it will most certainly live on forever.
