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1. May 31, 2018, Game 1 of the NBA Finals. Warriors and Cavaliers tied at 107 with 4.5 seconds remaining in regulation. Cleveland's George Hill misses a free throw. J.R. Smith grabs the rebound a few feet from the basket AND THEN RUNS THE WRONG WAY. LeBron James tries to plead with J.R. that he needs to shoot, but it's too late and the world is given one of the best sports memes in sports memes history.

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Here is the full play in all its glory.

After that, Golden State swept Cleveland in four games to win the NBA title.

2. The newest SI Media Podcast dropped today and it features an interview with Washington Post sports media reporter Ben Strauss. Topics that I covered with Ben include the sale of Sports Illustrated, the weird way ESPN and Stephen A. Smith handled Baxter Holmes's feature story on Magic Johnson, and the increasing presence of Stephen A. Smith everywhere. We also touched on the bizarre stance that ESPN keeps taking about "covering politics."

You can listen to the podcast below or download it on iTunes, Spotify and Google Play.

3. Jimmy Kimmel was back with another edition of NBA "Mean Tweets" on Thursday night.

4. With Toronto being a market that does not rate with Nielsen, the NBA Finals ratings for Game 1 took a big hit when compared to the last several years.

5. Ric Flair cut a wild promo on Shawn Michaels today and it seems to be a legit shoot.

6. RANDOM YOUTUBE VIDEO OF THE DAY: I plan on seeing Rocketman at some point this weekend. I'm hoping the Elton John biopic covers his legendary Grammy's duet with Eminem on Stan.

Be sure to catch up on past editions of Traina Thoughts and check out the Sports Illustrated Media Podcast hosted by Jimmy Traina on iTunes, Spotify or Google Play. You can also follow Jimmy on Twitter and Instagram.

IN CLOSING: How on Earth does the Spelling Bee not move its event so it doesn't go head-to-head with the NBA Finals?