Reflection on the NBA Finals

Hi Everybody!

Getting to the NBA Finals was an incredible experience. Obviously, it didn’t turn out the way we wanted it to. For my family to experience it, and for what I’ve been through in my career – as far as all the ups and downs – it was tremendous. So, to be a key part to a team that makes it to the Finals – especially in a city that’s never been there – no matter what happened in the end, it was a wonderful feeling. They talk about ‘bittersweet’ – but I never really understood it until today. Obviously, I’m bitter because we lost, 0-4. But it was sweet to be here and experience something that a lot of people play 15, 16, 17 years and never experience at all. So I think it was a good run.

I think the biggest disappointment was not being able to give the fans of Cleveland just one win. It would have been nice for them to be able to celebrate something.

I know a lot of people look at the five that we had out there at the start of the fourth in Game 4 – me, Andy, Damon, LeBron and Daniel – as probably a crazy lineup. I can’t say what we really call that unit, but that’s our “Don’t Give a Damn Team.” We just go out there and play. We don’t have exactly the best defensive players out there – but we talk, we help each other and half of the stuff we do isn’t in the playbook. We just go out and play and at that time – knowing that we had maybe 12 minutes to go in the season – we tried our best to go out there and extend our season. It just didn’t happen.

There was a reason many of us came here a couple years ago as free agents, and that’s because we thought this was a team that could win a Championship. It usually takes a couple years for a team to gel, but we gelled faster than a lot of people thought. But that’s because we’re a good group of guys and we genuinely like each other.

Last year, we were the big signings and maybe we didn’t have the seasons that people thought we should have, but we did what we were supposed to do: we got to the Championship. We didn’t win it, but we got there. And we feel that we can get back here.

We’re not satisfied, obviously. And we didn’t have a good showing in the Finals. But we’re going to try our best to get back and next time, have a better performance.

This season easily ranks No. 1 in my 13-year career. Maybe I didn’t get the playing time I wanted to or score like I wanted to. But it definitely ranks No. 1. Your goal in basketball is to win a Championship. I know they say that nobody remembers who finished in second place, but to be one of only two teams playing in the month of June – for me, it doesn’t matter what happened throughout the season. That’s what you dream about.

Peace,

Donyell