Silver and Black: The New Colours of Champions

The NHL and NBA seasons came to an end this past weekend, crowning two new champions after they had beaten last year’s defending champions on their way to their respective titles. There were a few similarities between the two teams, the most visible being that both champions wore the same colour uniforms of silver and black. They also were two teams to win their respective championships in their own buildings, as well as in game 5 of their series.

The Los Angeles Kings defeated the defending Stanley Cup champion Chicago Blackhawks in the Western Conference Finals, before advancing to the Cup finals to defeat the New York Rangers. The Kings went up 3 games to 1 in their series winning two previous games at home and one in New York; before going back to the staples center. In their final game they would win on a goal scored by Alec Martinez in double overtime. Who also happened to be the hero of the Blackhawks series scoring the overtime winner in game 7 to advance to the Stanley Cup Final. The L.A. Kings came into the series as favourites by a large margin. Though for the first two games the Rangers took hold of the game early and the Kings did not lead at all despite winning both games in overtime. Game 3 saw the Kings go into New York and dominate a Rangers team unlike the first two games. The Kings shut out the Rangers who had never been shut out at Madison Square Garden in the Stanley Cup Final before. In game 4 however, the Rangers came to life and Henrik Lundqvist the New York goalie would will his team to a victory only surrendering one goal in a 2-1 victory. Game 5 looked evenly matched and despite Lundqvist stopping 48 shots he surrendered the one that mattered in double overtime to give the Kings the Cup.

On the NBA side, the San Antonio Spurs defeated the Miami Heat in the NBA finals to capture the Larry O’Brien trophy. After splitting the first two games in San Antonio, the Spurs travelled to Miami and won two straight, then a third after winning the championship at home at the AT&T center. The Spurs also relied on a young budding superstar, Kawhi Leonard, who led the older Spurs and won Finals MVP for himself. The Spurs looked to be in control of the Heat from the beginning of the series, also coming into the finals as favourites to win. They were able to dominate the opening game in San Antonio on the back of Tim Duncan who had 21 points and 10 rebounds. During the game Miami heat superstar LeBron James was overcome by the heat of the arena and cramped up, not allowing him to finish the game. In Game 2 LeBron overcame his injury and tied the series for the Heat going back to Miami. Game 3 and 4 both foreshadowed the end for Miami as the Spurs won both games by double digits. In game 5 the Heat came out early with a large lead; but the Spurs cut into it and came back in convincing fashion after being down 16 early to win by 17 points.

Both teams have a mix of young players and veterans who have already been crowned champions in their respective leagues in the past decade. The L.A. Kings previously won in 2012 dominating a New Jersey Devils team the same way they beat the New York Rangers this year. The San Antonio Spurs on the other hand won in 2007 beating a Cleveland team led by LeBron James again. Although it took the Spurs longer this is their 5^th championship in 15 years. Gold is no longer the colour of a champion, black and silver describe these champions.

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