LeBron James is going back to the Cleveland Cavaliers.
James has told the magazine Sports Illustrated that he has decided to go home. It is a move that would have seemed unfathomable four years ago after the venomous fallout that followed his decision to leave Cleveland for the Miami Heat.
“My relationship with north-east Ohio is bigger than basketball,” James told SI. “I didn’t realise that four years ago.
“I do now.”
He spent his first seven NBA seasons in Cleveland but left after deciding in a television special that he would be able to win an NBA title with the Miami Heat after team president Pat Riley added Chris Bosh to Dwyane Wade.
With James, Miami became favourites to win a title every season and, in four years with the Heat, he went to the NBA Finals four times, winning two championships.
But after losing this year’s final to the San Antonio Spurs, rumours started swirling that James was looking to leave.
James, Wade and Bosh all had opt-out clauses in their contracts and after James chose to execute his, Wade and Bosh followed suit.
Though Wade and Bosh talked to Riley and the Heat about taking less to allow Miami to sign James at the maximum, other teams, such as the Los Angeles Lakers and Cleveland, entered the sweepstakes.
All along, many closest to James had said he was leaning to returning home – he is from Akron, Ohio, not far from Cleveland – and now he heads back to Cleveland to see if he can finally deliver on his promise of winning a crown for that title-starved city.
“Before anyone ever cared where I would play basketball, I was a kid from north-east Ohio,” James told SI. “It’s where I walked. It’s where I ran. It’s where I cried. It’s where I bled. It holds a special place in my heart.
“People there have seen me grow up. I sometimes feel like I’m their son. Their passion can be overwhelming. But it drives me.
“I want to give them hope when I can. I want to inspire them when I can.”
He left Cleveland being called disloyal, a narcissist, a coward and a quitter – and that was all by Cavaliers owner Dan Gilbert.
Now James will play for Gilbert again.
“I’m not having a press conference or a party,” James told SI. “After this, it’s time to get to work.” Bosh may leave as well, as media reports state he has a standing maximum-contract offer on the table from the Houston Rockets but has made no decisions yet on what he will do.
So the Heat face a decidedly uncertain future, a stunning twist for a franchise that has won the past four Eastern Conference titles.
“I am shocked & disappointed in today’s news,” Miami Heat owner Micky Arison wrote on Twitter.
“However, I will never forget what Lebron brought us for four years. Thanks for memories @KingJames.”
James said he will always call Miami his second home.
“I also want to thank Micky Arison and Pat Riley for giving me an amazing four years,” James said.
But the lure of his first one was simply too strong to ignore.
“I’m ready to accept the challenge,” James wrote. “I’m coming home.”
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