CLEVELAND — Fans still adore him, cheering his name wildly when he became the last player brought in by the visiting team.
The team continues to honor him after he leaves the Los Angeles Lakers, six seasons after he last played a game with the Cleveland Cavaliers. When LeBron James is here, they still play his tribute video.
The Cavaliers honored him Saturday night for becoming the NBA’s all-time scoring leader last season, noting that James scored more than 23,000 points in 11 seasons in Cleveland.
In his most recent game, against a team about 40 miles from where he was born, James scored 22 points to help the Lakers win 121-115. The win came on the same day as the grand opening of the LeBron Museum in his hometown of Akron.
“It’s always special to come back here,” James said. “To be able to come back here after playing in Miami and win a championship for this team, this city… it’s something I’ll never forget, no matter how old I get.
“It’s always a cool feeling to come back to this floor. You look up and almost all the banners are part of it.”
James led Cleveland to their first NBA Finals appearance in 2007 and returned four years later (four times in Miami) to lead the Cavaliers to four consecutive Finals appearances and an NBA championship in 2016— —For the only time in franchise history, the Cavaliers won Cleveland’s first major professional sports championship since 1964.
It’s almost unbelievable considering the connection between James and Cleveland is still strong, but he’s been wearing a Lakers jersey for six years. In his most recent opportunity to play, James added six rebounds and six assists in 36 minutes while shooting 8-for-23 from the field and 1-for-9 from 3-point range. He scored 8 points in the last quarter, and the Lakers fell behind 94-93.
With two minutes left in the game and the Lakers still holding a one-point lead, James scored twice in a row, including an alley-oop, to lead 117-112, but was whistled for a technical foul for hanging on the rim.
“LeBron looked at me and threw his head in the towel (admitted the mistake), so we just let it go,” Lakers coach Davon Hamm said.
Anthony Davis scored a team-high 32 points (a season high) and 13 rebounds, 23 of which came in the second half. Lakers substitute Austin Reeves contributed 15 points.
Donovan Mitchell missed four games with a minor hamstring injury and eventually returned to score 22 points, but the Cavaliers’ other star guard Darius Garland was injured again.
Garland, who has missed five games this season with various injuries, fell and hit his head on Max Christie’s knee while driving to the basket in the first quarter. Garland returned to the game in the first half but did not return in the second half and was initially diagnosed with a neck strain.
Cleveland also welcomed the return of Isaac Okoro, who missed nine straight games with knee soreness. Okoro took over from Garland as the starter in the second half and finished with five points. Mitchell came back 4-for-18 from the field and missed a 16-footer with 24 seconds left that would have tied the game at 117. He missed another jumper from almost the same distance with about 15 seconds left.
“I felt like I let everyone down a little bit, especially at the end,” Mitchell said. “I’ve been practicing these shots all week and they just didn’t go in.”
LeBron’s latest move brings out two of the biggest power brokers in Cleveland sports.
Sitting courtside on the baseline was Cavaliers majority owner Dan Gilbert, who has regained his strength and started playing more home games this season after years of battling the effects of a stroke.
Two rows behind Gilbert is Cleveland Browns owner Jimmy Haslam. At halftime, Haslam left his seat to visit Gilbert on the court. Forbes magazine estimates that the two men are worth a combined more than $30 billion.
Earlier Saturday, James’ charitable foundation opened the LeBron James Home Museum, a museum filled with memorabilia from James’ 21-year NBA career and his four years as a teenager in Akron St. Vincent-St. year sensation. Marie High School, and the last apartment he and his mother lived in before he turned pro.
Museum visitors begin their tour by turning their apartment key to open Unit 602 — just as James did when he moved into his Spring Hill apartment, according to the release.
The James Museum is part of a large complex of buildings his foundation purchased and renovated in Akron called House 330, where he opened a Starbucks and trained adults in his mentoring program. House 330 has expanded to include a sports bar, pizza parlor, retail store and now a museum.
James’ mother Gloria was among those present at the public opening of the Family Court.
“Ever since I started playing sports, I used to get angry at my mom for trying to save everything,” James said. “She threw it in my face when the museum was getting things ready because a lot of the stuff in there was stuff she had saved. It was pretty cool.
“I’ve done some things in my life to be able to bring back to my community, continue to highlight my community, continue to make my community a place that people want to visit, want to visit and want to visit. Something to be proud of. Yo Soybean. “I’m proud that my foundation has been able to do some great things. “
(Photo: Ken Breeze/USA Today)