On Thursday night, the defending champion Cleveland Cavaliers will square off against the Golden State Warriors in the NBA Finals for a third consecutive season.
According to most accounts, the Warriors are favored in the upcoming series. Yesterday afternoon in Malibu, California, a TMZ reporter caught up with Miami Heat president Pat Riley to get his opinion on the upcoming “three-match.” As most basketball fans know, LeBron James, who is making a seventh straight trip to the championship round, spent four seasons with Riley’s Heat. Riley says he wishes nothing but the best for James, but he also wanted to remind everyone that Magic Johnson and the “Showtime” Lakers went to the Finals nine times in twelve years.
“The Lakers, with Magic Johnson, went to the Finals during “Showtime” nine times in twelve years,” Riley said with a pointed index finger.”
As he began to walk towards his cobalt blue 71′ Camaro, TMZ asked Riley if he was rooting for James and the Cavs to win the series. Riley paused for a moment, then gave a respectful reply.
“I’d like to see a great Finals,” Riley said. “I’m about a greats Finals. I thinks it’s gonna be one of the best ever. I love LeBron, we all do. He was a part of our team for four years, but this is anybody’s show.”