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The NBA champion Cleveland Cavaliers are back home, sparking a party atmosphere after bringing the first championship to the city in over half a century. The Cavs made history Sunday night, beating the Golden State Warriors 93-89 in Game 7 after being down 3-1 in the series.
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More than 20,000 fans greeted the team at the IX Center next to the Cleveland Hopkins International Airport and when unanimous Finals MVP LeBron James emerged from the plane with the Larry O'Brien Championship Trophy in hand, the crowd went crazy.
James, wearing a T-shirt emblazoned with the words "Ultimate Warrior," hoisted up the trophy with both hands.
"Cleveland!" James yelled into the microphone as confetti flew across the parking lot.
James paraded the championship trophy around the perimeter of a fence that separated the team charter jet from the fans, who wanted a closer look at their superstar.
The fans screamed as James, Kevin Love, a shirtless J.R. Smith and Kyrie Irving made their way off the plane with Queen's "We are the Champions" blaring over the speakers.
James said after the game that he couldn't wait to get back to Cleveland after his 27-point, 11-rebound, 11-assist, three-block performance at Oracle Arena in Oakland, Calif.
"I'm coming home with what I said I was going to do," James said Sunday night at the postgame press conference, flanked by his three children on Father's Day. "I can't wait to get off that plane, hold that trophy up and see all our fans at the terminal."
The celebration will continue with the team's parade in downtown Cleveland on Wednesday.
The Cavs captured the first major sports title in Cleveland since Dec. 27, 1964, when Jim Brown led the Browns over the Baltimore Colts 27-0 in the NFL championship game.
"The drought is over," Brown told ESPN's The Undefeated Sunday night from his home in Los Angeles. "I'm so proud of LeBron. It was great to see that kind of courage, dedication and teamwork. And to be led by LeBron James to a historic championship for a great city of fans who have stayed loyal for all these years is really wonderful."
The 80-year-old Brown said he was always confident Cleveland would see another title in his lifetime.
"I knew we'd see it again because for it not to happen fans would have to stop going to games," Brown said. "And these fans are not going to give up. If these fans don't give up, how can the players give up? These fans will remind you how long it's been since we won it last, and LeBron rode that wave and went to another level. The level that he went to was unprecedented. He gave everything he had to make this happen."
