This book essentially started inside Oracle Arena in Oakland, California, in the hours between the end of Game 7 of the 2016 NBA Finals and dawn. Fortified by beverages and peanut butter sandwiches swiped from the Cavs locker room as workers cleaned up empty champagne bottles, documenting the most fascinating story of our careers began.
It was a whirlwind project that wouldn’t have been possible without help from the Cavs organization and especially players LeBron James, Kevin Love, Kyrie Irving, J.R. Smith, Channing Frye, Tristan Thompson, Iman Shumpert, Matthew Dellavedova, and Timofey Mozgov. A special thank you to Richard Jefferson for the introduction to this book.
In addition, Cavs coaches Tyronn Lue and David Blatt, owner Dan Gilbert, minority owners Nate Forbes and Jeff Cohen, general manager David Griffin, assistant general manager Trent Redden, vice president Tad Carper, equipment manager Mark Cashman, and media relations staff B.J. Evans, Jeff Schaefer, Cherome Owens, Sarah Jamieson, and Alyssa Dombrowski. The support of player representation agency Klutch Sports with agents Rich Paul, Mark Termini, and Andy Bountogianis was essential. Additional assistance from Adam Mendelsohn. Help from agencies Priority Sports, BDA Sports Management, Creative Artists Agency, Wasserman, Goodwin Sports Management, and 24/7 Sports Management was much appreciated.
This book wouldn’t have been possible without the backing of ESPN and Chad Millman, Henry Abbott, and Matthew Wong, plus colleagues Malinda Adams, Marc Stein, and Ramona Shelburne. Thank you to colleagues Jason Lloyd, Joe Vardon, Chris Haynes, and Ethan Skolnick as well. Finally, Sean Desmond at Hachette, Daniel Greenberg at LGR Literary, and Mark Zimmerman at Headline Media Management.
Thank you for reading.
–BW, DM