Los Angeles Lakers star LeBron James has been in the news for some of his recent comments during an appearance on a Bob Does Sports YouTube video. James criticized Memphis and Milwaukee as cities he doesn’t like to play in. And in an effort to explain what he meant by those comments on Saturday, he went out of his way to say he doesn’t like playing in Cleveland either.
While that may be true, James will likely be remembered most as a Cavalier and the 11 seasons he spent with the team. More specifically,
he’ll be remembered for his greatest accomplishment: coming back from a 3-1 deficit to defeat the greatest regular-season team of all time, the 73-9 2016 Golden State Warriors.
James was asked during his appearance on Bob Does Sports which championship was a greater weight lifted from his shoulders. LeBron said the first championship with the Miami Heat in 2012 provided more relief, but the 2016 championship was the most special.
“Winning the first one was more weight off my shoulders, but winning in Cleveland was a goal that I wanted to do. I needed to close that chapter and that’s why I went back. I wanted to close that chapter. I always wanted to win one back home and obviously the organization never won one, and 50-plus years for the city alone, not winning a championship, not just basketball, but the city alone.
“So, me going back there, that was my main mission was like, I want to win one for this city and for this state as well. So the first one weight off my shoulder, it solidified me being what I thought I always was, but the one in Cleveland was probably the most special one.”
Support us and Let ‘Em Know with Homage!
Anything bought from the links helps support Fear the Sword. You can also shop all of Homage’s Cavs gear HERE. The link to the 2016 championship shirt HERE.
The 2016 championship was indeed special. The circumstances surrounding it — including James’s long and complicated journey back to the organization he left in 2010 — can’t be replicated. And on top of it, Game 7 of the 2016 Finals had one of the most memorable endings to a game in NBA history, which includes James’s signature moment of his career with his block on Andre Iguodala.
James is still performing at a high level a decade later at age 41. The Lakers were playing some of the best basketball of the season, but injuries to both Luka Doncic and Austin Reaves could cost them a chance to see how far this group could go in the playoffs.
LeBron is in the last year of his current deal with the Lakers. There has been plenty of speculation about whether or not James will continue his career in Los Angeles or seek an opportunity to play elsewhere. If he decides to leave, Cleveland would seem to be the logical destination to end his career.
We’ll see how the postseason and summer play out for the Lakers. At this time, it’s difficult to predict how the NBA landscape will look then.
What we do know is that the 2016 championship means something to LeBron, and it always will to all of Northeast Ohio.
