2016 Panini Eternal NBA Finals Black LeBron James NBA LOGOMAN PATCH 1/1 BGS 9

The city of Cleveland had experienced postseason heartbreak after postseason heartbreak in the years since its last major sports championship in 1964, so when the Golden State Warriors took a 3-1 lead over the Cavaliers in the 2016 NBA Finals, most fans assumed it would become the latest disappointment for a long-suffering fan base. But then Cleveland found another gear. LeBron James scored 41 points in both Games 5 and 6 as the Cavs evened the series and put themselves on the brink of history—no team had ever overcome a 3-1 deficit to become NBA champions. Tensions ran high throughout Game 7, but a pivotal 3-pointer from Kyrie Irving and a classic block by LeBron boosted the Cavs to a 93-89 victory and Cleveland’s first major sports title in 52 years. In Cleveland and the surrounding region, fans exploded in euphoria. The Cleveland Plain Dealer quickly sold out more than 500,000 copies of its newspaper the following day—a dozen times more than the typical press run—and an estimated 1.3 million fans flocked downtown for the championship parade later in the week. Because of Cleveland’s comeback, the series became an instant classic in the annals of history, and Panini jumped on the chance to cement the moment with cards in the on-demand Panini Eternal set. Panini embedded the NBA Logoman from the laundry tag of one of LeBron’s game-worn Finals jerseys into this NBA Finals Memorabilia 1/1 Black parallel, and many collectors will likely try to find a higher gear as the extended bidding kicks off in this month’s Premier Auction.