Welcome home, King. That’s right, LeBron James returns to Cleveland tonight for the first time as a Los Angeles Laker. While the game might not be close, we’re here to remember the good times from LeBron’s days with the Wine and Gold.
There are so many moments to choose from. LeBron James is the greatest player to ever play for the Cleveland Cavaliers, which is obvious. In 11 seasons playing for Cleveland, he averaged 27.2 points on an effective field goal percentage of 52.8 percent, 7.3 assists and 7.3 rebounds per game. Let’s not dismiss the 1.6 steals and 0.8 blocks per contest, either.
The countless game-winners and clutch shots. The breathtaking passing always on display. The thrill of a patented chasedown block. Over the course of 11 years, LeBron James gave Northeast Ohio a lifetime’s worth of memories.
Any time he comes to Quicken Loans Arena as a visitor, it’s still going to be tough. It was understandable for him go to the Los Angeles Lakers, though, considering how the Cavs are currently 2-13 in the year following his departure and have been the model of dysfunction.
James took the Cleveland Cavaliers to the NBA Finals for four straight years in his “Return,” and that was the best time in the Cavs’ history to which we as Cleveland fans are forever grateful. If the Golden State Warriors didn’t land one of the best scorers in NBA history in Kevin Durant in the summer of 2016, maybe James would have won even more, but let’s not take what he did for granted.
The “Kid from Akron” has produced so many amazing moments as a Cavalier, and it’s almost impossible to narrow it down to five, but for now, we will.
On the following pages, we’ll go over the selected five moments that came to this author’s head.