The Los Angeles Lakers dropped their second consecutive game on Wednesday night, being absolutely blitzed by the Cleveland Cavaliers 134-110. The poor performance overshadowed the latest homecoming for LeBron James and the first time playing in Cleveland for his son Bronny James.
LeBron, of course, was born in nearby Akron, Ohio and brought the Cavaliers their lone NBA Championship back in 2016. But his imprint extends well beyond the basketball court with all of his work in the community as well and the city continues to show him love any time he returns.
That was certainly the case on Wednesday, and LeBron admitted to being humbled by the mutual love and respect that continues to exist between himself and the city of Cleveland, via Dave McMenamin of ESPN:
“We spent a lot of years here,” LeBron said afterward. “We’re part of this community, obviously. … We were born not too far from here, 35 miles south of here, [our] hometown of Akron. And I spent 11 years of my NBA career — half of my career — here.
“We have so many great moments. We have so many great moments not only on the floor at this arena, no matter what the name is, if it was the Gund Arena or the Q, and now it’s Rocket Mortgage. … A lot of great memories on the court, but a lot of great memories off the floor as well in this community. To have the mutual respect and love for what we was able to accomplish in the years that we were here, it’s definitely very humbling.”
In this day and age, fans often shower former players with boos after they leave the franchise, almost feeling betrayed by the players who choose to go. That is certainly what happened to LeBron the first time he left the Cavaliers, but after returning and winning that ring, there is nothing but love for the greatest player in their franchise’s history.
When combined with all of the off-court work James does in that area, it is simply impossible to boo him as he has given so much to the Cleveland area and the Cavaliers franchise. Kudos to the fans for recognizing that and showering him with the love and respect he deserves.
Lakers’ LeBron James and Bronny James receive tribute video from Cavaliers
The Cavaliers made sure to pay respects not just to LeBron James, but also to Bronny James as they played a tribute video during the game with the Lakers. Of course the video was full of LeBron highlights, but it also had beautiful videos of James playing with a young Bronny on the court as well.
It was a wonderful gesture by the Cavaliers on a special night that saw Bronny score his first-ever NBA points.
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