Since when did the Larry O’Brien Trophy turn into the Stanley Cup?
Since the Cavs got a hold of it.
Which is really, really cool.
The Stanley Cup, awarded each year to the champions of the National Hockey League, has a long history of being carted all over the planet by members of the winning team.
Each player gets it for a day — and some of those guys have really pushed the envelope.
In 2014, a Los Angeles Kings player posted a photo of himself eating his morning cereal out of it.
A horse ate out of it at the 1994 Belmont Stakes.
In 2008, a Detroit Red Wings player’s infant daughter unexpectedly pooped in it.
At the other end of the spectrum, one player took it to his hometown in Sweden and used it for a baptism.
The cup has gone through dozens of other bizarre out-of-trophy-case experiences.
By contrast, the NBA’s ultimate prize has a staid history. Many teams have encased it at their arenas soon after winning.
Although the Detroit Pistons set a precedent by parading theirs around Michigan in 2004, the Cavs seem well on their way to setting a travel record.
Referred to among the team’s PR folks simply as “Larry,” the trophy has its own daily schedule, accompanied on trips by a publicist and the team’s security honcho. (No touching, please.)
Larry’s first public photo op came at the Bridgestone Invitational the week after Game 7 of the NBA Finals. He was placed on a table inside a small tent near the 18th green, where giddy fans stood in long but briskly moving lines.
Since then, he has made more than 40 public and private appearances, with plenty more on tap.
And, no, it’s not a replica. It’s the real deal.
On Tuesday morning, Larry visited my favorite newspaper, where seemingly every employee in the building, and maybe employees from other buildings, cued up to smile for their smartphones. You’d have thought LeBron himself was standing in the third-floor conference room, dishing out high-fives.
Employees posed in groups, brought in spouses and kids, and soloed. I haven’t seen that many smiles since I walked around downtown Cleveland immediately after the final game.
Larry has been so busy that he isn’t even inscribed yet.
He also has suffered a few scratches, most likely inflicted during the June 19 locker room celebration and the players’ epic postgame bash in Las Vegas. The small scars will be buffed out before he settles into his permanent home.
And where is that?
Nobody knows. Or at least nobody is saying.
Tad Carper, the Cavaliers’ vice president for communications: “That is still to be determined at this point, although it is clear that the trophy will spend some quality, extended time at The Q.”
Larry weighs 14½ pounds and is 2 feet tall. The basketball part of him is 9 inches in diameter, the same size as a real NBA ball.
He was born at Tiffany’s and consists mainly of silver, with a 24-karat gold overlay. Unlike the Stanley Cup, which is passed down from one team to the next, a new Larry comes out every year.
Cavs owner Dan Gilbert endorsed a heavy travel schedule for Larry to celebrate the incredible sports catharsis the Cavs delivered to Northeast Ohioans.
Says Carper: “We see that his presence signifies how passionate our fans are and how impactful winning the championship has been to the fabric of life for so many people.”
As you may recall, Tuesday’s visit was not Larry’s debut in Akron. Only four days after the win, he was held aloft in the loving hands of a hometown kid as a thunderous roar rained down from 30,000 people gathered in and around Lock 3 Park.
LeBron’s tears of joy are no longer visible on Larry’s face, of course. But when you look at Larry, that’s all you can see.
Bob Dyer can be reached at 330-996-3580 or bdyer@thebeaconjournal.com. He also is on Facebook at www.facebook.com/bob.dyer.31