Inspiration comes in many different forms. The Cavaliers needed a little something extra to piece together their historic NBA Championship win — it came in the form of a puzzle.
The Cavaliers used a cut up replica of the NBA trophy as a puzzle for motivation
Photo by Ronald Martinez/Getty Images
James Dator has been covering a wide range of sports for SB Nation for over a decade, with a special focus on the NFL.
A replica of the Larry O’Brien Trophy was cut into 16 different pieces, one for each of the wins the Cavaliers needed to take home the real thing. After each victory the team would add one more piece to the puzzle — chipping away at their goal. On Sunday night they added the final piece.
James Jones told ESPN about the process, which initially was his idea.
“We needed something to bring us together,” Jones said. “Every guy was a piece. We assembled this team. So we had to assemble the puzzle.”
The coolest part is how secret this all was. In an age of social media where everything is known in advance, the Cavaliers managed to hide this from everyone. The puzzle traveled with the team and was kept hidden. After each game a player who had a serious impact on the game was selected to add another piece to the puzzle.
The final piece was placed by head coach Tyronn Lue while the team was pouring champagne over each other. The puzzle was complete, the Cavaliers had won.
h/t ESPN
