Cleveland Cavaliers" LeBron James will appreciate this year"s Finals run

Toronto Raptors vs Cleveland Cavaliers - Game 1 - Full Highlights | May 17, 2016 | 2016 NBA Playoffs

Matthew Florjancic, WKYC 8:45 PM. EST May 28, 2016

Cleveland Cavaliers small forwardLeBronJames will appreciate this year"s run to NBA Finals. (Photo: Nick Turchiaro, Custom)

CLEVELAND -- Watching two of his most important teammates go down to injury before and during the NBA Finals and having to carry the weight of not only the Cleveland Cavaliers, but the citys hopes of putting to an end a championship drought, LeBron James did not relish last years postseason run.

However, after guiding the Cavaliers back to the NBA Finals for the second straight season and third time in franchise history, James has a different perspective on the journey that has once again led straight to the final round of the playoffs.

I didn"t appreciate last year, what we were able to accomplish in our first year, James said following a 113-87 close-out win over the Toronto Raptors at Air Canada Centre Friday night. I"m just truly blessed. I mean, the Man Above has given me an unbelievable ability, and I just try to take full advantage of it. I get to do what I love to do every, single night, and that"s to play the game of basketball. That"s my life. It"s everything, and I give everything to the game.

To be in a position where I can go out and help a group of guys get to places where either they haven"t been before or been but want to accomplish even more in their careers, it just means a lot. So a lot of emotions were just going through my head.

It means a lot. The game of basketball has given me everything, and I would never cheat the game. No matter how many games I win, no matter how many games I lose, that really doesn"t matter to me because I really just give it all. That"s why I can sleep well at night.

By appreciating the journey more in 2016, James knows full well what it took for the Cavaliers to repeat as Eastern Conference Champions, and what needs to be done in order to get two more victories than they had last season in order to win the NBA title.

We"re not entitled to anything, James said. We earned the right to be here and represent the Eastern Conference in The Finals. We work our tails off every, single day. We commit to one another and we sacrifice to one another. We"re not supposed to be here; we earned our right. We earned our right to be here today.

We"ve got 15 guys, we"ve got a coaching staff, we"ve got a fan base, we"ve got an organization and management and everybody on a day-to-day basis that we represent, and that"s all that matters. We all preach the same words.

We all go about our business the same way every, single day, so what goes on in the outside world doesn"t really matter to us. It just feels great to go out there and sacrifice and play for guys that truly just have the same goal in mind, truly care for one another both on and off the floor, and that"s the results of it.

Although James had been to the NBA Finals five straight times before this postseason, he knows what a difference a year makes.

Last year, the Cavaliers limped into the NBA Finals without power forward Kevin Love (dislocated shoulder), who missed all but one of the postseason series, and with point guard Kyrie Irving severely humbled because of knee tendonitis.

Late in Game 1 of the NBA Finals against the Golden State Warriors, Irving suffered a fractured kneecap and did not get back on the court until December, and to James, that is what makes this trip to the championship round a special one.

There"s definitely a different feeling, James said. I didn"t appreciate last year myself personally on getting to The Finals. Just so much was going on in my mind, knowing that Kev was out for the rest of the season and knowing that Ky was dealing with injuries all the way from the first round.

I just didn"t appreciate it. It"s definitely a different feeling. Having these guys right here at full strength, having our team at full strength, and the way I feel personally, I appreciate this moment, to be able to be a part of it and to be there once again.

Source: http://www.wkyc.com/sports/nba/cavaliers/cleveland-cavaliers-lebron-james-will-appreciate-this-years-finals-run/219796178