When LeBron James first left the Cleveland Cavaliers in 2010, he immediately became an enemy. In fact, he became probably the most hated man in town, even more so than Art Modell, who moved the original Cleveland Browns to Baltimore in the mid-1990s.
But James made up for his unceremonious departure in 2010 by returning in 2014 and winning the Cavaliers’ first-ever NBA championship two years later. There wasn’t really any sadness when he left again in 2018 to join the Los Angeles Lakers. .
The Lakers visit the Cavaliers on Saturday, which means James returns to his old stomping grounds for the year. During the first quarter of Los Angeles’ 121-115 victory, the Cavaliers paid tribute to their greatest player with a touching video played on the big screen at Rockets Mortgage Field.
All love to the Cleveland Kings 👑
this @cavs Tribute to LeBron’s return! pic.twitter.com/LkcyPM2ZNf
— NBA TV (@NBATV) November 26, 2023
James has a history of putting up big numbers when he returns to Cleveland. While it wasn’t that kind of night Saturday (he scored just 22 points on 8-of-23 shooting), his now-team got an important win to start their four-game road trip on a positive note.
Although the NBA’s all-time scoring leader won championships with each of the three teams he played for, he’s most likely to be associated with the Cavaliers.
He played a total of 11 seasons with the organization, and the Akron, Ohio, native is one of the few professional athletes to play for his hometown team.
After Saturday’s game, he reflected on his two experiences in Cleveland.
LeBron James talks about the importance of AD’s touch and emotion returning to Cleveland. pic.twitter.com/1hfWP4ujDR
— Spectrum SportsNet (@SpectrumSN) November 26, 2023
“I think the most important thing when you get to this floor is obviously trying to win. We want to continue to get better as a team, just like the Lakers have been through this season. But it’s always special to be back here. , I felt that feeling too when we went back to Miami and learned about the history. But I think about it a little more here because I’ve been here for 11 years. I’ve been in Miami for four years, but I’ve been here To be able to come back after 11 years in Miami and win a championship for this team, this city, I think it’s like a 52-year drought or something like that for any sports team, in the city of Cleveland, I think It’s something I’ll never forget. No matter how old I get, I’ll always remember that moment. So it’s always a really cool thing to take a step back and look up and be a part of almost every banner on this stage Feeling. Banner 1, the banner in the middle was the ’16 champ, so that’s pretty cool… that’s pretty special. As a kid from Akron, I grew up 30 miles from here. To be able to Get drafted here, spend my first seven years here, and then come back for another four years and do something special that the franchise has never seen. When I got drafted, I said I wanted to light up this place like Vegas. , so I feel like I’ve done a pretty good job in this aspect after working here for 11 years.”
James is 38 years old and about to turn 39, and he won’t be returning to Cleveland multiple times for NBA games.