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Thought this would be a great little historical reminder video to watch, 7 days away from tip-off. The day our franchise would change forever:
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LeBron James
- Thread starter I-77 NORTH
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Since we are a week away from the start of this new era of Cleveland sports, I want to reflect a little bit on the changes I have seen in LeBron and why I see, as he does, that he had to leave Cleveland in order to become the player he is now.
LeBron came out of high school straight to the league hailed as the next great superstar. He bore MJ's number right after MJ retired for the final time. He was hailed as the "savior" of Cleveland sports, fair or not since he was from Akron. It was the perfect match. The best high school basketball player of all-time growing up an hour away from the city he would now play for, a city that had been starving for a championship for a long time. He was hailed the "King" while he was still in high school. He had an escalade, a shoe deal, and a big rookie contract. For the first couple years, he was the unquestioned heir apparent to Kobe. The problem was the fact that in Cleveland, LeBron could do no wrong. No matter what, he was Cleveland's favorite son. No matter what happened against the Celtics, Cleveland fans had his back. That was a blessing and a curse.
The reason it was a curse is because LeBron literally had nobody in Cleveland that he had to listen to or respect. Paul Silas and Mike Brown never won anything before. None of the veterans on his team won anything(except Shaq on his way out). Management and fans blamed the losses on his lack of help. He bought in to that. He started to believe his teammates were the problem, not him. I really believe that festered in him after the loss to the Magic where he averaged 38, 8 and 8 and hit a game-winner in Game 2. Sure there was the media contingent such as Skip Bayless who blamed LeBron. But nobody on the inside blamed him. They blamed his lack of talent around him. LeBron bought it, believed in it, and believed if only he had some help he could overcome the Celtics easily. So he left.
The backlash he received in that first season in Miami was a wake-up call for him. It was the first time he was knocked down a peg, and disliked. But he still had that belief that all he needed was some help and he would get over that hump easily. He got past Boston. He took care of Chicago. But then Dallas happened. The Dallas loss was the first time a loss had been put squarely on his shoulders. His fault. He needed that. He finally realized it was his game that was the problem and something needed to change. He worked with Olajuwon in the post and unleashed his hell on the NBA. But there was still one more hurdle to climb. Boston.
The Heat fell behind 3-2 to Boston after losing 3 straight. Wade's knees were beat up, Bosh was recovering from a groin strain and clearly not anywhere close to 100%. He needed to beat Boston in the Garden. He did. That 45, 15 and 5 he put up was, in my opinion, the single greatest basketball game an individual has ever played. Not by numbers, but by the magnitude and the efficiency he played with that game. That will always be his great game in my opinion. Oh and he held Paul Pierce to 3/18 shooting in that game. All of that put together is what has made LeBron the player he is now.
Now that he's back, yes the city has given him the keys to the city once again, but there's no worry this time. He is mature enough to handle it. If he got through the Miami experiment unscathed, Cleveland won't be a problem. His mindset now is not one of "I need help," it's one of "Time for me to help." He wants to help Kyrie, Love, Tristan, Dion, Andy and the city of Cleveland get to where they've never gone before. He's already done it twice. It's not about him anymore. It's about Cleveland. It's about damn time.
LeBron came out of high school straight to the league hailed as the next great superstar. He bore MJ's number right after MJ retired for the final time. He was hailed as the "savior" of Cleveland sports, fair or not since he was from Akron. It was the perfect match. The best high school basketball player of all-time growing up an hour away from the city he would now play for, a city that had been starving for a championship for a long time. He was hailed the "King" while he was still in high school. He had an escalade, a shoe deal, and a big rookie contract. For the first couple years, he was the unquestioned heir apparent to Kobe. The problem was the fact that in Cleveland, LeBron could do no wrong. No matter what, he was Cleveland's favorite son. No matter what happened against the Celtics, Cleveland fans had his back. That was a blessing and a curse.
The reason it was a curse is because LeBron literally had nobody in Cleveland that he had to listen to or respect. Paul Silas and Mike Brown never won anything before. None of the veterans on his team won anything(except Shaq on his way out). Management and fans blamed the losses on his lack of help. He bought in to that. He started to believe his teammates were the problem, not him. I really believe that festered in him after the loss to the Magic where he averaged 38, 8 and 8 and hit a game-winner in Game 2. Sure there was the media contingent such as Skip Bayless who blamed LeBron. But nobody on the inside blamed him. They blamed his lack of talent around him. LeBron bought it, believed in it, and believed if only he had some help he could overcome the Celtics easily. So he left.
The backlash he received in that first season in Miami was a wake-up call for him. It was the first time he was knocked down a peg, and disliked. But he still had that belief that all he needed was some help and he would get over that hump easily. He got past Boston. He took care of Chicago. But then Dallas happened. The Dallas loss was the first time a loss had been put squarely on his shoulders. His fault. He needed that. He finally realized it was his game that was the problem and something needed to change. He worked with Olajuwon in the post and unleashed his hell on the NBA. But there was still one more hurdle to climb. Boston.
The Heat fell behind 3-2 to Boston after losing 3 straight. Wade's knees were beat up, Bosh was recovering from a groin strain and clearly not anywhere close to 100%. He needed to beat Boston in the Garden. He did. That 45, 15 and 5 he put up was, in my opinion, the single greatest basketball game an individual has ever played. Not by numbers, but by the magnitude and the efficiency he played with that game. That will always be his great game in my opinion. Oh and he held Paul Pierce to 3/18 shooting in that game. All of that put together is what has made LeBron the player he is now.
Now that he's back, yes the city has given him the keys to the city once again, but there's no worry this time. He is mature enough to handle it. If he got through the Miami experiment unscathed, Cleveland won't be a problem. His mindset now is not one of "I need help," it's one of "Time for me to help." He wants to help Kyrie, Love, Tristan, Dion, Andy and the city of Cleveland get to where they've never gone before. He's already done it twice. It's not about him anymore. It's about Cleveland. It's about damn time.
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Greg Vlosich pretty salty about this.
col63onel
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I think that is why we were so mad during the Decision. This was not a sports player leaving. Albert Belle and Manny Ramirez were "players leaving". This was a homegrown cultural icon validating everything bad everyone had ever said about Cleveland. And him returning tells everyone who ever said anything bad about Cleveland to STFU.
NorthCoastBias
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Didn't know where else to put this. Bron brings the stars out...
View: https://twitter.com/vincethepolack/status/525666973451972608
View: https://twitter.com/vincethepolack/status/525666973451972608
tristan+kyrie=$
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Thursday is going to be POPPING in Cleveland...thanks to Lebron
clevelandrox23
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I actually rank Dion 6 behind Tristan as well. I believe that Tristan and Varejao contribute more on the defensive end, rebounding and with high percentage shots than Dion does with scoring and defense. Again there are only so many shots to go around in an NBA game and when Dion is shooting the ball rather than deferring to LeBron, Love, and Kyrie he is only hurting the team. I know that he wants to believe that he is near the offensive player that is Kyrie Irving but he is not even in the same stratosphere.
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col63onel
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Those who are heading downtown, either for the game or a watch party, where are you planning to park? I am thinking of just taking the Rapid.
tristan+kyrie=$
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going there around noon to start drinking and walk around the city and soak in the atmoshpere...going to be special all day
tristan+kyrie=$
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<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" lang="en"><p>LeBron said he will ask fans on social media whether or not he should resume his pregame powder toss next week.</p>— Brian Windhorst (@WindhorstESPN) <a href="View: https://twitter.com/WindhorstESPN/status/525701632143937536
">October 24, 2014</a></blockquote>
<script async src="//platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>
">October 24, 2014</a></blockquote>
<script async src="//platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>
AuxiliaryPie
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the answer is yes lebron, yes you should
shoes22
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Obviously the fans are going to say yes.
Snarly
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Fucking insane... I mean. Yeah he is here to stay or the Stars are as fickle as bandwagon fans oh yeah LeBron. This opening night is going to freaking NUTS.
elcheato
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This is where my overpriced Cleveland State parking pass comes in handy