At long, long last, congratulations Cleveland.

Forget the great hope, forget the 50 years of heartbreak, and forget the Golden State Warriors as the greatest NBA team of all time. Here are the curses the Cleveland Cavaliers ENDED with their defense-dominated win in the epic seventh-game of the NBA Finals.

No NBA championship in the history of the franchise. No professional title of any kind in Cleveland since Jim Brown led the Browns to the NFL crown in December of 1964, which was followed by the Browns being one of four NFL teams to never play in a Super Bowl and the Indians extending their American League’s longest ongoing World Series drought to 57 years. And no more has a team never come back from a 3-1 deficit in the NBA Finals.

LeBron James has had his critics since he entered the league from high school 14 years ago. But his performance in this NBA Finals transcends any and all of that criticism and cements his status as the greatest player of his generation. His statistics over the series, including another triple-double in Game 7, speaks as much for his unselfishness and versatility as his raw ability. James led his team, left for dead after a Game 4 loss on its home floor, to three straight wins and two on the toughest home court in the NBA.

It’s a wonderful story, LeBron returning to his native state to bring Cleveland its first NBA title, but it’s an equally shocking story for the Warriors, who set the regular season record for victories with 73. And it has ended the Cinderella story of Stephen Curry, whose spotty play in the Finals will be scrutinized as much as LeBron’s failures in recent years. Curry went from a little whiz kid and three-point shooting machine to a whiner who appeared lackadaisical at crunch time, sloppy with the ball and obviously weak on defense.

Game 7 came down to two three-pointers, the one Kyrie Irving launched from beyond Curry’s reach and the wide-open three-ball Curry shot that missed the rim completely and slammed against the backboard. Both teams took turns being exposed, but the Cavaliers had LeBron, who elevated his mates and simply would not be denied. Good for you, Cleveland.

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