On Thursday, Cavaliers forward Richard Jefferson published an article ahead of Game 6 in The Players’ Tribune entitled “Who We Are” where he described the Cavaliers journey this season and how his Snapchat account and Lil’ Kev have actually played a much bigger role in the Cavs team-building than you might think.
In addition, RJ also talked about LeBron James and the leadership he brings to the Cavs team, saying that LeBron was like “no one I’ve ever played with.”
Jefferson expanded on his thoughts on LeBron when speaking to the media after Cleveland’s big win in Game 6. When asked if he thought about saying “I told you so” to the LeBron haters after James put up 41 points, 11 rebounds and eight dimes with the season again on the line, he said he wasn’t interested in rubbing it in, but he also wanted to make sure that everyone realized just how much LeBron had taken on in trying to bring his team, and his city, a title.
No, I wouldn’t say an “I told you so.” I just want people to make sure that they recognize it. There are so many other things that get said at times and not many people in the history of sports have said, “Everyone get on my back. The city, state, organization, team, get on my back. If we win or fail I’ll take the blame, but I’m going to lead you.” How many people have ever said that? I can’t think of too many players who have put that type of pressure on themselves and then have delivered more times than not. And he embraces it. It just shouldn’t go unnoticed. It should be something that’s recognized by the fans. And he does it for players too. He knows how much this means to me. When we had that moment and he was like, “Richard, I know. I know what this means to you.” He’s doing this for his teammates. He’s doing it for everyone, and that’s a pressure that I know I couldn’t personally handle. I have a tremendous amount of respect for him taking that on.
Say what you want about LeBron, but his performance in these finals has been historic, and if he is actually able to pull his team out of a 3-1 deficit against one of the greatest NBA teams of all time, there will be absolutely no more questioning of his legacy.
(NBA)