LeBron James and the Cleveland Cavaliers had a roller-coaster of a season, going from favorite to injury-riddled afterthought to nearly upsetting the league’s best team in the Finals, in what would have been an upset on the scale of David over Goliath. Alas, it was not to be.
Still, the year was hardly a failure, as the prodigal son’s return to Cleveland reignited the city’s passion and expectations for its beloved Cavaliers. Hope springs eternal.
Nike’s new ad began running in Cleveland this weekend, celebrating all of that and more; looking back at the year’s highs, and ahead to the work that’s still to be done. Take a look below, along with the transcribed text.
Imagine if LeBron came home to Cleveland.
Imagine if the team struggled early but finished the regular season strong.
Imagine if their big man went down, but they still found a way to power through the Eastern Conference.
Imagine if they faced the top seed in the Finals.
Imagine if they pushed Game 1 to overtime but lost another star to injury.
Imagine if everyone counted them out.
Imagine if they shocked the world and took the next two games.
Imagine if fatigue caught up with them and they lost Games 4 and 5.
Imagine if they defied the odds, logic and the basketball gods to come back and win the series in 7.
Except this isn’t Hollywood. It’s Cleveland.
Nothing is given. Everything is earned.
Just do it.