Goin' Back To Cleveland: LeBron To Return Home To Cavaliers
CLEVELAND (AP/CBSLA.com) — LeBron James is going back to the Cleveland Cavaliers.
James announced he's decided to go home to join the Cavaliers franchise that drafted him in 2003, he announced in a story on Sports Illustrated.
It's 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.
REACTION: Cleveland Residents Sound Off On James' Return
James told SI: "My relationship with Northeast Ohio is bigger than basketball. I didn't realize that four years ago. I do now."
He spent his first seven NBA seasons in Cleveland. In four years with the Heat, he went to the NBA Finals four times, winning two championships. And now heads back to Cleveland to see if he can finally deliver on his promise of winning a crown for that title-starved city.
Cavs owner Dan Gilbert officially welcomed James with the following message on Twitter: "Welcome Home @kingjames. I am excited for the fans and people of Cleveland and Ohio. No fans and people deserve a winner more than them....."
"Before anyone ever cared where I would play basketball, I was a kid from Northeast Ohio. It's where I walked," James told SI. "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, who wrote that infamous letter blasting James for choosing Miami.
And 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."
And with that, the "Big 3" era in Miami ends much sooner than the Heat expected.
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