Return to the king
Six writers share their reflections on LeBron James
The Cavs wrap up their road trip with two games in LA this weekend. Eastern Conference standings being what they are, the Cavs could vault themselves over Milwaukee into the two seed OR lose home court advantage all together.
But the playoff race isn’t the only thing that matters for Cavs fans over the next few days.
That’s because the Wine and Gold will have their biannual reunion with LeBron James tomorrow at 3:30 pm ET. It’s an increasingly precious occasion considering that, even if he’s not playing like it, the all-time great is 39 years old. So to honor it, I asked six basketball writers for reflections and memories from James’ 21-year career so far.
Check out their thoughts, and their Substacks, too.
Jared Dubin // Last Night, in Basketball
The first time I remember seeing LeBron play was a St. Vincent-St. Mary's game that I believe was on ESPN. I *think* it was against Carmelo Anthony's Oak Hill Academy team but it might have been some other really good team. I just have an extremely vivid memory of LeBron pulling off an absolutely incredible between-the-legs crossover stepback three and absolutely drilling it, and I was just like, oh my god, this is like nothing I have ever seen before. It wasn't until years later that I saw him play in person, and I was somehow even more blown away. And then I have since seen him countless times during my time covering the league. It's amazing that his career has spanned from the time I was in high school all the way through my covering this league for 14 years. The first time I saw him, I thought I'd never seen anything like him, and all these years later, I still feel the same way.
Quinn Everts // The Broken Press
For my entire waking life, LeBron has been assumed. Since I was five, the league has taken many shapes, but no matter how basketball has grown in that time, it has done so in the orbit of LeBron. The sport molds itself around the #KidFromAkron. When LeBron leaves, what (or who) becomes the league’s base?
That, I don’t know. But I do remember exactly when I realized something was wholly different from this player than any other—Cleveland’s first round series against Washington in 2006. I was eight, so I was forced to go to sleep before most of the games ended. But waking up the following mornings and watching the SportsCenter highlights of a 21 year-old LeBron, like clockwork, bulldozing his team to a win, game after game…I couldn’t quite fathom what I was seeing. I was all in.
Neil Paine // Neil’s Substack
Did you know that LeBron James is the all-time leader in many major metrics (BPM, Win Shares per 48, etc.) for the best performance in a single postseason?
OK, so that may not be surprising...but WHICH postseason is No. 1? It's not any of the championship runs.
It's actually 2009, when James averaged 35.3 PPG/9.1 RPG/7.3 APG for the Cavs, including marks of 39/8/8 in the Eastern Conference Finals. This largely gets forgotten because Cleveland lost that series to the Orlando Magic in 6 games, but it set the tone for a theme throughout James' career: playing incredible, valiant basketball in the face of defeat.
While he did also win 4 rings, no player in history ended up losing more NBA Finals games than James (33). Yet he also has been one of the best statistical players in Finals history—only Kevin Durant and Michael Jordan have a higher average Game Score in the Finals. And I can't help but think back to those 2009 playoffs as perhaps the ultimate early template for that pattern, with the GOAT single-postseason performance coming in an ECF upset loss.
Royce Webb // 🏀 5x5
My most distinct memory of LeBron James is the relief on his face after winning his first NBA championship.
When LeBron and the hated Heat made the 2012 NBA Finals, he was living down consecutive postseasons which had ended in humiliating fashion. In May 2010, the rival Boston Celtics ended his final season in Cleveland with a massive upset in the East semifinals. Following his noisy departure to Miami that summer, his first season with the Heat had ended similarly, with an NBA Finals upset loss to the Mavericks. Both times, fans and the media gleefully heaped blame on Bron.
So the 2012 Finals felt high stakes. And the Heat were underdogs to Oklahoma City, with oddsmakers and pundits alike leaning toward Kevin Durant, Russell Westbrook, James Harden, and the young Thunder, who had just ended San Antonio's 20-game win streak.
Game 5, with Miami up 3-1, is the one I remember best. The Heat exploded for a 27-point lead in the third quarter, and as the game played out, the party began early inside the arena, with the Heat on verge of their second NBA title and LeBron his first.
Afterward, an exhausted LeBron climbed onto a cart and headed to the makeshift interview room. I stepped into the back of the room, full of NBA journalists from around the world. LeBron sat at the podium wearing his CHAMPIONS hat and framed by two trophies — the Bill Russell NBA Finals Most Valuable Player Award and the Larry O'Brien Championship Trophy.
He seemed content, but too tired to smile.
Jacob Sutton // JSuttHoops
The easy answers to any question about LeBron’s legacy are readily apparent: “BLOCKED BY JAMES!” being one of many. Yet, I think it’s more important to look to his insane longevity as a career-defining factor. Reportedly, the man spends over $1 million each year on physical therapy, trainers, personal chefs, and more…and it shows. At 39 years young, Bron looks as though he could play for another 3 seasons at minimum. Other players will likely follow suit, following in the footsteps of a man more dedicated to his body than any other player in the league ever has been.
More importantly, his longevity has made us almost numb to the fact that he’s been consistently great (never dropping below 20 PPG). Can we attribute THAT to his bodily investments?
Well, is mayonnaise an instrument? Surprisingly, the answer is yes.
Regardless of the accolades and GOAT race, LeBron’s legacy is more about the formula that he will likely leave behind.
Mike Shearer // Basketball Poetry
LeBron James simultaneously changed and dominated the game—both on and off the court—in a way we might never see again. Sure, he used his unique mix of intelligence, size, and skill to rack up the stats, accolades, and championships. But he also fomented the player empowerment revolution, altered the way we think about positions, elevated basketball discourse, pushed the limits of self-aggrandizement, and inserted himself, for better and worse, into nearly every basketball conversation of the past two decades.
The off-court ramifications are profound and more complex than we can cover in a two-paragraph blurb. James’ hours-long highlight reel won't be done justice here, either. But when I recall LeBron decades from now, as I'm sure I will often, my lasting memory will be simple: a tired, triumphant, tearful champion screaming, "CLEVELAND! This is for you!"
When will the Cavs win their second ring? Who will be Cleveland’s star? Donovan Mitchell? Evan Mobley? Lebron James III? What will they scream?
Whoever it is, whatever they say, and whenever it may be, it’s difficult to imagine the Cavaliers defined in any way other than in relation or opposition to James and his legacy. But with each LeBron-less victory, the Cavaliers take another microscopic step out of his shadow. That’s especially true of wins against LeBron, and, one imagines (we haven’t seen it yet), of playoff series victories.
Here’s hoping the Wine & Gold take a few more strides this weekend, and that those footfalls accelerate into a big leap this postseason.
Cheers, and go Cavs.
I like Neil's line, "incredible, valiant basketball in the face of defeat." That makes me realize that I admire LeBron most when he's losing. Not that I root against him -- no one who grew up with Bruce "World B. Free" Wilhem and Ed "John Bagley" Kraus" could ever root fully against the Cavs. I mean that he's most admirable when, with almost no one around him, he managed to go toe to toe with the then-best full teams of the NBA.