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LeBron James Stock Watch: Cleveland Becoming A Major Market

By Quenton S. Albertie

Oct 18, 2016; Columbus, OH, USA; A fan holds a sign in support of Cleveland Cavaliers forward LeBron James (23) in the first half at the Jerome Schottenstein Center. The Wizards won 96-91. Mandatory Credit: Aaron Doster-USA TODAY Sports
Oct 18, 2016; Columbus, OH, USA; A fan holds a sign in support of Cleveland Cavaliers forward LeBron James (23) in the first half at the Jerome Schottenstein Center. The Wizards won 96-91. Mandatory Credit: Aaron Doster-USA TODAY Sports /
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LeBron James is making Cleveland a major market.

LeBron James is Cleveland. There’s no need to doubt that.

Dan Gilbert considers James to be one of his partners for a reason. James has managed to secure a Nike deal north of a billion dollars. He has investments in many well-known businesses such as Coca-Cola and Kia Motors. He’s even building up a company himself called Blaze Pizza and doing magnificently at it. James has been in a load of commercials. He’s also a known quantity in the media world as both an actor and producer.

James’ banner stayed up during the Republican National Convention in Cleveland. James’ marketing group, LRMR, owns Klutch Sports. Klutch Sports, which is managed by James’ close friend Rich Paul, has a stranglehold on the Cleveland Cavaliers pocketbooks. James has secured deals for himself, Tristan Thompson and J.R. Smith many wouldn’t have believed possible.

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Meanwhile, the Cleveland Indians have vaulted themselves into the World Series in the same year that the Cleveland Cavaliers won their first championship. For his part, James has began endorsing the Indians although he group up a fan of the New York Yankees. The result of his increased interest in the Indians has been increased national exposure for both the Indians and the Cavaliers. /

Cleveland profits from this too. The ticket prices for hotels in Cleveland were $775 per night at the start of the World Series.

While everybody knows that James is business mogul in his own right, not everybody heard a comment that should enlighten fans on the state of Cleveland sports. When talking about why he was a fan of the Yankees, the Dallas Cowboys and the Los Angeles Lakers growing up, James said it’s because those were the teams that made him believe he could win. As James supports the Cleveland Indians, fans are left to wonder — do the Cleveland Cavaliers evoke the same emotion of the Yankees, Cowboys and Lakers in their heyday?

All of those teams have had what was considered to be the best player in the world at some time, after all. They were all teams that built a winning culture as James grew up.

The Cleveland Cavaliers have a parallel in that aspect. What’s more, with their historically impressive victory over the Golden State Warriors in the 2016 NBA Finals the Cavs are a team that could give hope to anybody. After six straight NBA Finals appearances and taking a couple of non-playoff teams to the NBA’s biggest stage, he lifted a weight off his shoulders with his last Finals victory. James showed that it’s possible to go from the most hated to the most beloved person in the league.

Once he triumphed over the Golden State Warriors with what should have been an outmatched Cleveland Cavaliers squad, James lifted Cleveland to new heights. In 2014, James was estimated to be worth $500 million to Cleveland. Two seasons, two NBA Finals appearances and one championship later, James is likely Cleveland a lot more.

Related Story: Report: LeBron's Lifetime Nike Deal Worth Above A Billion Dollars

What do you think LeBron James is worth to Cleveland? Let us know in the comments section or Twitter @KJG_NBA.