A younger LeBron James wanted to win an NBA championship for Cleveland Cavaliers teammate Zydrunas Ilgauskas.
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Before the addition of LeBron James, the Cleveland Cavaliers were one of the worst franchises in the league. Post the Mike Fratello era, the Ohio-based franchise finished 11th or worst in all the seasons from 1999-2003. During this span, the Cavs were heavily relying on the likes of Zydrunas Ilgauskas.
For those who don’t know, Ilgauskas was a talented 7-foot-3 center who was a two-time All-Star in the league. Despite suffering several injuries early on in his career, the Lithuanian star managed to carry most of the offensive burden for Cleveland.
Apart from being a skillful big man, “Big Z” also became a mentor figure for a young LBJ. And even though the Cavs never won a championship during those years, together, Zydrunas and Bron caused quite havoc in the league.
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“Zydrunas Ilgauskas meant everything to me”: LeBron James
For those who don’t know, King James and Ilgauskas shared quite a bond. Their off-court chemistry translated to success on the court. And in a matter of few campaigns, the Cavaliers went from being one of the worst-performing franchises in the league to being legit title contenders.
The 6-foot-9 James absolutely loved spending time with Ilgauskas. Revealing that the latter was a mentor figure for him, Bron once lauded the 13-year veteran.
“He meant everything to me,” James said of Ilgauskas. “When you come in as a rookie you try to find a leader, that veteran, that guy who’s been around to learn the ropes from. He taught me how to be a professional on and off the floor. That’s something you cannot ever take for granted. He was everything to me…From Day One, I knew he was going to be a guy I would always be with.”
LeBron won his first-ever championship just a year after Zydrunas Ilgauskas retired
LBJ and Ilgauskas were teammates for 8 seasons. During this stint, the duo made 2 NBA Finals appearances, and four other trips to the postseason. Unfortunately, the All-Star pairing could never go ahead to lift the Larry O’Brien together.
However, the very next season after Zydrunas’ retirement, James led the Miami Heat to defeat the OKC in the 2011 finals and won his first-ever championship.
During a trip to Cleveland for the Cavs legend’s jersey retirement, LeBron kicked himself for not helping the 238-pound beast add a title to his resume. The future Hall-Of-Famer said:
“I wanted to try my best to try to help him [Ilgauskas] see more brighter days than what he had seen,” James said. “I wanted to ultimately win a championship for him, I fell a little short of that, but I brought some brighter moments to him.”
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