The Redemption of the King. Vince McKee
that good things could actually happen for their beloved teams. The fans had survived a drive, a fumble, a shot, Jose Mesa, and even their beloved Cleveland Browns leaving town, and now, for the first time in many years, something had finally gone their way. Legendary Cavaliers alumni Austin Carr was so moved with emotion by the lottery results that he was seen in tears following the announcement. Never before had the bounce of a little white lottery ball carried so much weight for the hopes and dreams of so many fans. The winds of change were finally blowing on the cold shores of Northeast Ohio, and its war-torn fans were set to receive some long-awaited hope at last.
On paper, LeBron had every right to leave Cleveland as a free agent when his contract expired in the summer of 2010, which simply stated that he was drafted by the Cavaliers—not that he had chosen to play there. On paper, LeBron didn’t owe Cleveland anything more than his best effort, which he gave in full. However, life is based on so much more than what is written down on paper.
CHAPTER ONE
The Chosen One
LeBron James was born on December 30, 1984. He shares a birthday with other great athletes, such as Tiger Woods and Sandy Koufax. Perhaps this was an early sign that the young man was destined for greatness.
His mother, Gloria Marie James, was 16 years old when LeBron was born, and she raised the young prodigy on her own in Akron, Ohio. In an attempt to find stable work and a brighter future for her son, Gloria allowed LeBron to move in with the family of Frank Walker, a local youth football coach, who introduced LeBron to basketball when he was 9 years old. LeBron was instantly a star on the court, as he excelled playing with the Northeast Ohio Shooting Stars in the Amateur Athletic Union, more commonly known as AAU basketball. The team, led by LeBron and his friends, enjoyed success on first a regional and then on a national level.
LeBron chose to attend St. Vincent–St. Mary High School, which was well known for its athletics and high academic standards. He was a star athlete from the first moment his feet touched the gym floor at St. Vincent–St. Mary. In his freshman year, LeBron averaged 21 points and 6 rebounds per game for the school’s varsity team. He led St. Vincent–St. Mary to a perfect 27–0 record and a Division III State Title championship win. In his sophomore year, LeBron averaged 25.2 points and 7.2 rebounds, 5.8 assists, and 3.8 steals per game. A number of the team’s home games had to be relocated to the University of Akron as the demand was so high to see LeBron play, and the 5,492-seat Rhodes Arena would sell out in minutes of tickets going on sale. NBA players who were in town to face the Cavaliers, including Michael Jordan, would drive out to Akron just to see him play. The hype around LeBron grew by the moment, and at the young age of 16, he was slated to be the next big thing in sports. There was demand from alumni, local fans, and college and NBA scouts who all wanted to see LeBron play.
His sophomore year was every bit as successful as his freshman year, and the team went 26–1 for the season and again won the state championship. LeBron was named Ohio’s Mr. Basketball and was selected to play with the USA Today All-USA High School Basketball First Team—the first-ever high school sophomore to do either. As LeBron’s success on the court spread, so did media interest in his talent. Prior to the beginning of his junior year at St. Vincent–St. Mary, LeBron appeared in SLAM magazine, touted as potentially “the best high school basketball player in America right now,” according to Ryan Jones, former editor-in-chief of the publication. Later on in the season, LeBron would go on to be featured on the cover of Sports Illustrated magazine—the first underclassman high school basketball player to do so.
LeBron continued his dominance as a junior by averaging 29 points, 8.3 rebounds, 5.7 assists, and 3.3 steals per game. It was no surprise when he was once again named Ohio’s Mr. Basketball and selected to the USA Today All-USA High School Basketball First Team. LeBron quieted any remaining media analysts that had doubts about his talent when he also became the first junior to win the Gatorade National Player of the Year Award. St. Vincent–St. Mary would go on to end the season at 23–4 with a loss at the Division II championship game.
LeBron took his show on the road his senior year, as the St. Vincent–St. Mary Fighting Irish traveled around the country to play a number of nationally ranked teams, including a game against Oak Hill Academy that was nationally televised on ESPN2. Additionally, Time Warner Cable even offered a cable pay-per-view package for dedicated fans to order just to watch him play. LeBron would go on to give pay-per-view buyers their money’s worth, as he averaged 31.6 points, 9.6 rebounds, 4.6 assists, and 3.4 steals per game. Once again, for an unprecedented third consecutive year, LeBron was named Ohio’s Mr. Basketball and selected for the USA Today All-USA First Team, and he was named as the Gatorade National Player of the Year for the second year in a row. The remarkable year concluded with another state championship win for the Fighting Irish.
Those in the local media believed that LeBron would soon become the next big thing in the NBA. Ken Carman, night host for Cleveland’s 92.3 The Fan sports radio, shared his insights on LeBron and his immediate impact on the league:
I think because of him, he made mild basketball fans rabid basketball fans because he was just so great. I was still in high school when he debuted, and I even knew he would make a team look so much better, despite how much we all expected that first season. He was doing some remarkable things, and I felt that all the hype over him was real. I knew there would be some growing pains, such as the trouble he had with an actual jump shot and some defensive issues. It’s amazing because we sit there and preach defense all day long because we watch teams like San Antonio, and we use LeBron for a beacon of defense as in his NBA career he was usually on the all-defensive team. But his first couple of years coming into the league, he had no interest in playing defense. It made us as fans and media change how we look at talent and where we put our expectations.
Carman continued about how LeBron’s talent changed the mindset of the rest of the rookies getting ready to come to the NBA:
I really do think because of his talent it made us change and temper our expectations for what other talent is going to be. We reference to a guy as saying he is not a LeBron but look what else he can do. It has made us better to look back at it and judge the overall talent of what other players can bring. When you have good talent, you have a chance to win championships, but when you have a good system in place with the talent, you have your best chance to win championships. It has changed for some on how they look at the game and judge talent and how they judge the raw ability.
As LeBron continued to dominate high school courts across the country, the Cavaliers were going through their worst stretch of basketball in the history of the franchise. Heading into the previous 2002–03 off-season, many questions surrounded the upcoming season. The media and fans alike discussed teams potentially tanking the season simply to increase their draft position for a shot at the high school phenomena. The Cavaliers really didn’t need to tank anything at that point, as they were already a very low-ranked team. With LeBron being from the Cleveland-Akron area, it seemed like a perfect fit but one that was almost too good to be true to happen for the Cavaliers.
Kenny Roda, legendary Cleveland sports-radio host, knew early on that LeBron would be something special in the NBA one day:
I was one of the first people to jump on the LeBron bandwagon while he was still in high school, after talking with his high school head coach Dru Joyce, as he told me about LeBron’s high basketball IQ. You just looked at the guy physically and mentally, and he didn’t look like a normal high school senior—he looked like a college senior. So physically and mentally, he was ready. I thought he would come into the NBA and become the Rookie of the Year and make an immediate impact!
On July 30, 2002, the Cavaliers traded away their best players, Andre Miller and Bryant Stith, to the Los Angeles Clippers for Harold Jamison and Darius Miles. The move was stunning because it left them without a starting point guard. They would later trade Milt Palacio and sign the free agent point guard Smush Parker. However, none of these players were capable of starting on a regular basis. They had a couple of high-flying scorers with Miles and Ricky Davis, but without a point guard to get them the ball, it was looking like a very long season was ahead for the Cavaliers. This was a clear indication that although the team didn’t need to tank forcibly, they were preparing