By Antonis Stroggylakis/ info@eurohoops.net
On Sunday June 16, the Cleveland Cavaliers completed a stunning comeback from a 3-1 deficit in the NBA Finals series against the Golden State Warriors, to ultimately win the first championship in the history of the club. A success of such magnitude, that celebrations in Cleveland, and generally in the state of Ohio are still running wild.
For Nachman Shai, member of the Israeli Parliament, a piece of this glory belongs to no other than David Blatt, the team’s former coach, currently in Turkey and at the helm of Darussafaka Dogus.
As reported by the Jerusalem Post newspaper, Shai, member of the Zionist Union party, sent a letter to Cavs owner Dan Gilbert, asking him to give a champions’ ring to Blatt, since he “played a key role in building the Cavaliers and helping the team become championship-caliber”.
Here is the full letter:
“I want to wish you mazal tov on your success in bringing a long-awaited championship to the great city of Cleveland and its people. We in Israel were proud of the achievements of one of our own, David Blatt, when you appointed him as the coach of the team and we of course were sorry to see him go. Nevertheless, Israelis remain strong supporters of the Cavaliers as do many Jewish fans in Cleveland’s strong Jewish Community.
David Blatt played a key role in building the Cavaliers, guiding its players and helping the team become championship-caliber. That is why I want to encourage you to give David the respect and credit he deserves by giving him a championship ring, as is customary for players who have left mid-season. I am sure he would cherish such a ring that would symbolize his part in your team’s success”.
It seems that the general consensus in Israel is that David Blatt absolutely deserves to be given a ring. Perhaps, even more. According to a cartoonist in the Israel Hayom newspaper, a specific engraving should be marked on the golden piece of jewelry that was handled to the NBA champions this year.
“Made by David Blatt”. Even if Lebron James was named MVP of the Finals, for many people in Israel, the true architect of the team that was crowned 2016 NBA champion perhaps…. didn’t even see the game on TV. Just woke up in the morning, opened his computer and read the result along with the statistics in his favorite sports website.
(shout to @Iraqinator82)