First published 2017
Brian Windhorst takes readers behind the scenes of LeBron James's shocking departure from Miami and his mission to deliver Cleveland its first NBA title. The story begins when James stuns the basketball world by abandoning a championship team to return home to the struggling Cavaliers. Windhorst reveals the secret negotiations that brought Kevin Love to Cleveland and the internal politics that led to coach David Blatt's firing despite the team's success. The narrative builds to the 2016 NBA Finals, where Cleveland faces the powerhouse Golden State Warriors. Down three games to one, the Cavaliers mount the greatest comeback in Finals history. Windhorst captures the private conversations, locker room tensions, and crucial decisions that shaped each game. Players, executives, agents, and owners share previously untold stories about the controversies and rivalries that defined this journey. The book climaxes with Game Seven, where decades of Cleveland's championship drought hang in the balance. At its heart, this is a story about homecoming, redemption, and the weight of an entire city's expectations resting on one man's shoulders.
Genres: sports, biography-memoir, 21st-century, basketball
Vibes: emotional, fast-paced, intimate
Tropes: redemption, sports
Setting: Cleveland, Miami, Golden State
Period: 2016
288 pages · Hardcover · Grand Central Publishing