In 2008, the Washington Wizards fell to LeBron James and the Cleveland Cavaliers in six games in the first round of the NBA Playoffs. Three years later, Wizards fans can take some solace in that loss knowing that three-fifths of their team's starting lineup from 2008 (DeShawn Stevenson, Caron Butler, Brendan Haywood) was a part of the Dallas Mavericks' team that beat James' Heat and ended up being the 2011 NBA champions.
↵It's fun to gloat, of course, and given this city's history against James, it's particularly satisfying, especially after James' rant against his haters after the game ended. But it's also a subtle reminder that we're all finding glee in someone else failing, not one of our favorite teams succeeding. D.C. sports hasn't had a champion in one of the four major professional sports since 1991. The last real moment of glee in town was when Maryland won the NCAA basketball tournament in 2002, with D.C. United's championships being a smaller scale of that glee. It's been a while here.
↵That's unfortunate. For now, though, let the happiness continue. As noted here, the 2008 Wizards now have three more rings than LeBron James.
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