The Other Game Seven

Beyond the drama on the basketball court is the story of sports owners and how they reshape the cities they do business in.


Like many Americans, I’ve been watching the 2016 NBA Finals with interest. The Golden State Warriors have pretty much obliterated every single rule we thought we knew about offense. The Cleveland Cavaliers have almost singlehandedly carried the dreams of a hard-hit postindustrial city.

With both legacy looms large — with the Cavs, it’s decades of hometown sports heartbreak, with the Warriors and their seventy-three-win regular season, it’s Michael Jordan’s 1995-6 Bulls.

And of course because the NBA is a stars league, we can’t talk about the teams without talking about Stephen Curry and LeBron James, with Klay Thompson, Draymond Green, Kyrie Irving, and Kevin Love not too far behind.

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