LeBron James’ second run with the Cleveland Cavaliers will always be an epic chapter in the basketball record book.
Leave the heat in Miami was a moment when LeBron James learned the art of victory. He won two NBA titles in his fourth consecutive final appearance alongside Dwyane Wade and Chris Bosh. And in 2014, LeBron James returned to Japan in 2014, fulfilling his championship promise to the Cleveland Cavaliers.
Over the next four years, the entire Eastern Conference passed through Cleveland. James conquered the league, and he and the Cavs made it to the finals every season, making it 2016 the year when they finally won it all.
In the form of peaks, James, playing the most balanced basketball of his illustrious career, was considered almost unstoppable. Only the Golden State Warriors of the dynasty of Stephen Curry, Kevin Durant, Draymond Green and Klay Thompson stood boldly as his only obstacle.
The memory of James dominating their field lives on in Jeff Teague’s mind.
Teague was one of the Atlanta Hawks’ key cogs in mid-2010, and hampered his claim as one of the strong candidates of the era. But unfortunately they showed up while James and the Cavs were there.
During the 2014-15 season, the Hawks established themselves as a major storyline. They won 60 matches, allowing four players to reach the All-Star Game, Teague, Al Horford, Paul Millsapp and Kyle Colber, leading the East.
They made Cleveland better throughout the regular season, beating them in three of their four games.
But that all changed when James suddenly dropped a big revelation to Teague.
“We were, on average, beating the Cavs like 25-26 every time we played, we were blowing the Bron.
“At the All-Stars, he was like, ‘Hey, I found y’all out,'” Teague said on the mud podcast.
“What was it like I was? I never talked (he). Bron said, “I imagined you. I know what you’re going to do. I thought of y’all out.”
And the rest was just history.
“So when we got to the playoffs we were very confident… and he understood us,” Teague said.
“All he did was put me in a pick and roll, pick and roll, I’m hedging, hedging, I’m switching, I’m switching, I’m switching, I’m switching, I’m switching. He’s going to put me back on the free throw line and send me a double.
“JR Smith hit eight threes in the first game and more, then Kevin Love, he hit seven threes.
“He understood us. It’s over.”
Teague and the Hawks are powerless as James completely neutralizes his schemes and playstyle.
As a result, they endured being blown away by the Cavaliers in the duel in the Eastern Conference Finals. Cleveland dismantled Atlanta with a 4-0 series sweep on the way to the NBA Finals.
And the following season saw a similar result as James and the Cavs wiped the Hawks completely in the East Semis playoffs.
From that point on, the Hawks’ main core slowly collapsed as they were unable to overcome the hump and challenge the reign of James and the Cavaliers.
In a parallel universe, the Hawks may have won the NBA Championship considering the talent and caliber they had. But in the end, they can only feel frustrated about the reality that they had to face James’ domination and the greatest greatest ever.