LA Superstar LeBron James had some advice for NFL Legend Tom Brady and recalls First Cavalier Match-up as A Heat Member.
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LeBron James is considered one of the greatest NBA players of all time and one of the most respected athletes in the world.
Nonetheless, The King has had to earn this reputation the hard way. The 17x NBA All-Star’s televised decision to sign with the Miami Heat was met with heavy criticism from media and fans alike.
The 4-time MVP left the Cleveland Cavaliers on somewhat bad terms. The fans felt betrayed and burned his jerseys in protest. It took them a while before they could finally move on from that.
LeBron James had some advice for Tom Brady as he recalls his first Cavs game in Cleveland in 2010
The 4x NBA champion joined ESPN’s Monday Night Football Broadcast featuring Eli and Peyton Manning and was interviewed on how Tom Brady will have to handle the task of going back to Foxboro for the first time since joining the Bucs in the offseason.
LeBron James goes on to say –
“THEY’RE GONNA ROOT FOR WHO THEY ROOT FOR. SO IT GETS A LITTLE UGLY, SO YOU GOTTA GO IN THERE QUIET AND CALM. AND I WAS ABLE TO DO IT THE NIGHT BACK IN DECEMBER 2010.”
He then recalls his first Cavalier Match as a Miami Heat player by saying –
“I REMEMBER THAT DAY LIKE IT WAS YESTERDAY. IT WAS ROUGH. I GOT NO SLEEP THE NIGHT BEFORE. I ALREADY KNEW THE ADVERSITY; HOW CRAZY IT WAS GOING TO BE. IT WAS VERY CHALLENGING”
Eventually, LeBron James went on to win a couple of rings at South Beach before heading back home to Cleveland.
How Exactly LeBron James’ First Appearance at Cleveland in a Heat Jersey went down
It was an understatement to say LeBron James was met with some heavy booing and disrespectful remarks by the Cavs fans. There was the vitriol, disappointment, hate, and frustration directed at James was palpable in the city and arena.
Former Cavs GM David Griffin said –
“During the intros, it was as vile as anything I’d ever seen.”
Former Cavs forward Antawn Jamison said –
“You had a lot of young guys saying, “King coming back, we’re going to show him.”
The Cavs were clearly motivated to beat the Heat and make a statement that they could win without King James. It was a very weird night for the King, who had never experienced this kind of atmosphere before in his NBA career.
“Come at the king and you best not miss”.
The Cavs missed. The Heat defeated the Cavs dominantly, with James having a superb performance as he garnered a quick 38-points on the night on 15-of-25 shooting.
This defeat was the beginning of a 36-game losing streak, which eventually helped them get the 1st overall pick in the draft next year. They drafted charismatic point guard Kyrie Irving who teamed up with LeBron James to help the Cavs win a championship in 2016.
However, things changed when LeBron James returned to the Cavaliers in 2014 in a quest to win the city a championship.
James would eventually fulfill his promise to the city of Cleveland as they would win the 2016 NBA championship with King James being crowned Finals MVP.
