LeBron James’ decision to join the Miami Heat wasn’t an easy one. Leading into the 2010 offseason, James had spent his entire life in Ohio. He became the hometown kid but his career was growing stagnant with the Cavaliers. He entertained other teams following a disappointing end to the 2009-10 season. Miami was not on his short list until one pivotal moment changed everything.
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LeBron’s first stint with the Cavaliers featured some amazing moments. He won two of his four MVP awards with the Cavs. Unfortunately, any substantial amount of team success was a job that required LeBron to carry the team.
He led Cleveland to their first NBA Finals appearance in 2007. The Spurs convincingly won that series. Despite the lack of talent on roster, LeBron’s love for his teammates in his final seasons with the team and the relative absence of camaraderie with Heat that had James looking to stay in Cleveland.
During one of his many free agent meetings with Heat executive Pat Riley, LeBron noticed a strong commonality. Riley’s emphasis on the Heat’s value of family strung a deep chord with James which led to a chain reaction of events. LeBron spoke about the specifics leading to ‘The Decision’ with the Guardian in 2011.
“But what made me a really big believer in the team and the franchise was the fact that they talk a lot about family,” James said. “They take care of their guys and it’s not just all about winning. That was a huge thing for me.”
The one thing the Heat do better than almost every team is establishing a family atmosphere. It began when Riley took over as team president in 1995 and continues strongly today.
This environment allowed for healthy arguments to take place. A key component to Miami winning back-to-back championships in 2012 and 2013.
Although Riley was instrumental in LeBron joining the Heat, he also was the reason he left.
Riley confiscating LeBron’s cookies led to his departure
Stories began to surface regarding Riley taking away LeBron’s cookies on the team plane. Heat star Dwyane Wade initially spoke on the situation highlighting the interaction as a key reason LeBron left in 2014. NBA analyst Stephen A. Smith had strong words toward Riley regarding the matter.
While it seems like a non-story or at most a reflection of a struggling relationship, Smith declared that Riley’s legacy will revolve around LeBron and his cookies. Furthermore, he insinuated that the legendary basketball figure and multi-time champion needs to call it quits.
“I love me some Pat Riley, I love the Miami Heat organization… You got people like Jeff Teague and others on social media saying how he need to retire, damn. Can’t argue on his behalf right now,” Smith said.
Some would say Riley’s antics not only drove LeBron away, but also led to Jimmy Butler forcing his way out of Miami. While Riley may be excellent at acquiring stars with great pitches and building championship teams around him, it seems that his inability to repair and retain relationships is his Achilles heel.
