LeBron James Homecoming: what is the record of his career with Cleveland Cavaliers? – Terry Pluto

CLEVELAND, Ohio – Fans can do what they want when it comes to deciding to cheer or cheer on an athlete.

I will start with this premise because they are paying the bills. As a sports journalist, I do not do it.

So when LeBron James returns to the Quicken Loans Arena with the Los Angeles Lakers, it will be fascinating to see the reception of the fans.

Some of you may still be trying to decide what you think of James.

The fact is that he chose to come to the Cavaliers once and that he decided to leave twice.

If your rejection antenna is sensitive, this could be your bottom line.

The "kid of Akron", as he called himself, has twice left the team of his hometown.

But this decision to leave the Cavs for the Lakers in July 2018 was in no way comparable to the ugly decision taken in 2010.

The special mention on ESPN, the comment "I take my talents to South Beach" has highlighted some of the worst egos of LeBron. I know that with time, he was embarrassed by this whole episode, even though he did not make the decision to spend four years with the Miami Heat.

Many people who know LeBron well have said that.

He came to the house

The LeBron James who left here in 2010 was not the same LeBron James who returned in the summer of 2014.

This first LeBron James was 25 years old. He had never won a title. He reached the final once (2007) and was swept. He was selected by the Cavaliers, he did not choose to play here.

I also do not think he appreciated what it meant to play in Cleveland because he had never been a professional elsewhere.

When he returned in 2014, he was 29 years old. At this stage of life, four years can make a huge difference in maturity. He had also won two titles in Miami. He learned to become a great player when it meant the most – in the playoffs.

In a way, he came home with the will to right the situation.

And he did that.

Four trips to the finals. An epic win for the title in 2016, the Cavs being the only team to come back from a 3-1 deficit to win in the final. And they did it on the road against Golden State.

I thought his performance in the 2018 playoffs, bringing the Cavs to another appearance in the final, was perhaps the biggest of his career.

I imagine that he knew that he was leaving and that he wanted to leave, knowing that he had given everything to try one last time to win another championship.

Resentment

There will always be some who feel LeBron.

No other athlete has used his influence to keep his options open too. In many ways he was "The franchise" and he knew it.

LeBron is also a bit of a control freak. Cavs owner Dan Gilbert has the same instincts. This is partly the reason why these two powerful men sometimes clashed.

The Athletic has published an interesting article by Joe Vardon on Kyrie Irving's messy departure and the role played by James / Gilbert.

But in the end, Irving was jealous of being part of the same team as LeBron. He wanted his own franchise.

And LeBron will always want to have more talent to win another title.

I think as soon as Kevin Durant joined Golden State for the 2016-17 season, the Cavs title hopes were over. The Warriors were too good and proved it by eliminating the Cavs in five games with LeBron and Irving in the 2017 final.

THE LOWER LINE

LeBron spent 11 of his first 15 seasons in the NBA with the Cavaliers.

He played more games (849) than anyone in a Cavs uniform.

Here are the others in the top five: Zydrunas Ilgauskas (771), Danny Ferry (723), Bingo Smith (720) and Hot Rod Williams (661).

James never tried to force an exchange in the middle of a contract, as did Irving and Jimmy Butler. He waited until he was a free agent to make his decisions.

In their history, the Cavs have competed in the NBA Finals five times – all with James.

I recently spent time with Duquesne coach Keith Dambrot at the LeBron James Arena in St. Vincent-St. Mary High School. We talked about LeBron's impact on the community, I Promise School being his most recent project.

Dambrot coached LeBron High School in St. V-M for his first two seasons – when he was really "a kid from Akron".

What he has accomplished is remarkable, and he has stayed away from the embarrassing public / legal problems that haunted too many athletes.

LeBron will turn 34 on December 30.

He has a lot more of his career in the rearview mirror than the windshield. He also earned the right to spend the next chapter of his life with the Lakers or elsewhere.