LeBron James

Young LeBron James with the Cavs

With all the attention and pressure that was piled onto LeBron James’ 18-year-old shoulders before ever stepping foot onto an NBA court, many people thought the most hyped rookie in league history would fall flat on his face. Instead, LeBron proved all the critics wrong, averaging better than 20 points, five rebounds and five assists on his way to becoming the first Rookie of the Year in Cleveland Cavaliers history.

Lebron dominated for seven years in Cleveland but wasn’t able to win a championship. Then came “The Decision” and four years in Miami. The Heat made it to The Finals four years in a row while winning two titles. But after the humiliating loss to the Spurs, it became clear to Lebron he couldn’t keep winning with the aging Heat roster.

So he shocked practically everyone by deciding to return to Cleveland. And he won an amazing championship as the Cavs overcame a 3-1 deficit to defeat the 73-win Warriors!

So Says The King

“Of course, I want to stay (in Cleveland). This season has really put me in a good frame of mind as far as me being a part of this organization for a long time — the great teammates that I have and a coaching staff that I really enjoy being around.”

“I think I’ve reached a point where every part of my game needs tuning up now. I don’t think I need to add any more parts. I think I just need to tune everything up and just be more complete, offensively and defensively.”

On his ultimate goal: “To win a championship. It’s as simple as that. We did a great job this year of making the playoffs, but our goals are higher now. We’re going to all have to be mentally focused on trying to get better during the off-season and try to come back and win a championship.”

“You can’t back down from anybody. They try to take your manhood in this league. They can’t get mine. They tried early but after about game seven, it was about over.”

“The greats didn’t just do it one year, they did it throughout their career. That’s going to be key for me, to maintain this and get better every day.”

Resources

LeBronJames.com
LBJ’s official site.

More LeBron Photos

More young LeBron with the Cavs before he left the first time:

LeBron James with Cleveland

LeBron with the Lakers in 2022:

LeBron media day with Lakers 2022