Ahead of LeBron James’ highly anticipated rookie season, many doubted the abilities of the high school phenom. It also included some of the players from his eventual team, the Cleveland Cavaliers, who appeared in a video downplaying his potential impact in the NBA. Former Cavs forward Darius Miles was one of those at the forefront of it. Miles has now revealed that he never intended to speak badly about James and was simply protecting him.
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James’ ascension to stardom is something that no other player has done in history. In the brief period when the league allowed high school players to make an immediate jump to the NBA, the players needed some time to adjust before they found their groove.
Miles thought that would be the case with LeBron as well. “I don’t think you can really just bring a high school player in and just think your team is going to turn around,” Miles said during the 2002-03 season.
Instead, LeBron jumped onto the scene fearlessly and quickly became a superstar. As a result, Miles has been labeled a hater by some fans for the past 22 years.
Now, Miles has cleared the air about the lingering issue during an appearance on the All The Smoke Podcast. He was not only trying to defend James back then, but also informed how close they used to be.
“What really happened was I was defending LeBron,” Miles revealed. “I knew LeBron. LeBron used to come over to my house. I’m at Thanksgiving dinner that year with LeBron.”
Miles believes it’s important to understand the context behind the clip. At the time, the Cavaliers organization was purposefully trying to lose games in order to win the LeBron sweepstakes. This left a bad taste in the mouths of the players.
Another layer to the situation was that the Cavaliers’ owner at the time, Gordon Gund, was blind. As a result, his only way to fully comprehend what was happening with the team was through his sense of hearing.
Miles’ tone wasn’t the best, but he had a justifiable reason. The 6-foot-9 forward blamed his lack of training in dealing with interviews. “I’m a country boy and I didn’t have the proper teaching of how to talk in the interviews,” Miles proclaimed.
In hindsight, his actions following those comments back up his latest statement. Not only did Miles and James spend time away from basketball at Thanksgiving dinners, but they were also close during team activities.
“I’m hooping with LeBron. His locker got specifically put next to mine because we have that relationship,” Miles said.
Regardless of the narrative that was being built over the years, nothing could take away the genuine bond they shared.
