Last night [Thursday, June 16] there were plenty of story lines on the court as the Cleveland Cavaliers forced a Game 7 with the Golden State Warriors. But one story off the court was just as special as the Cav’s performance: long time sideline reporter, and all-around NBA favorite, Craig Sager got to cover his first NBA Finals game.
Sager, who is 65, has covered the NBA for over 15 years for TNT, and because ABC/ESPN have the rights to the NBA Finals, Sager had never covered a Finals game before in his career. Sager was diagnosed with leukemia in 2014, missed a year of work while he went through treatment, and returned to the sidelines this year. Sadly, his leukemia has returned, and he is undergoing treatment once again.
It was released in the days before Game 6 that ESPN and TNT had opened negotiations in order to have Sager cover Game 6 for ESPN. He was celebrated all night long by his fellow reporters, the coaches, the players and the fans.
#SagerStrong https://t.co/D7z5xOdJ7K
— NBA on TNT (@NBAonTNT) June 17, 2016
Sager is known around the league for his outrageous suits, which range in all sorts of colors and designs. He saved one of his best for last night, sporting a black suit jacket with blue and green flowers on it. Sager was celebrated also with the hashtag #SagerStrong on Twitter, recognizing and supporting his hard work and determination to remain on the sidelines and beating leukemia.
And Sager's jacket is on. https://t.co/wLwceTgv2A
— NBA on ESPN (@ESPNNBA) June 16, 2016
#SagerStrong #NBAFinals pic.twitter.com/Bg7OlLHqMg
— NBA (@NBA) June 16, 2016
