Unlike his 2010 return to Cleveland after signing with the Miami Heat in free agency, LeBron James was treated like a king before, during and after Wednesday’s game between the Los Angeles Lakers and the Cavaliers.
James was coming off his first visit to Miami, though being back at Quicken Loans Arena represented more of a homecoming than simply playing against former teammates. James was cheered when he took the court for pregame warmups and throughout the night.
Whereas the Cavaliers played a video in 2010 that egged on a hostile crowd, the organization played a tribute video for James during the first quarter. It highlighted his leading the Cavaliers to a championship in 2016 and commitment in the local community.
To commemorate being back home, James took full advantage of the NBA allowing players more freedom when it comes to footwear. James began by honoring Ken Griffey Jr. on his 49th birthday by wearing his signature shoe prior to tipoff.
“Gotta salute “The Kid” today!” @KingJames pays homage to Ken Griffey Jr. on his birthday. #KickGameCray pic.twitter.com/0cHcAbsrD2
— NBA (@NBA) November 22, 2018
After that the three-time champion donned the Nike LeBron 8 PS and paid tribute to Hall-of-Fame running back Jim Brown with a custom Nike LeBron 16 before lacing up the Nike Air Max LeBron 7 “More Than a Game.”
LeBron brought the full rotation to Cleveland. "More Than a Game" LeBron 7s, "Jim Brown" LeBron 16s and the LeBron 8. pic.twitter.com/8Z1mQRJwIT
— SLAM Kicks (@SLAMKicks) November 22, 2018
The version of the LeBron 7 that James wore for the game was released in 2009 to commemorate the release of the “More Than A Game” documentary. The shoe was available in 10 different colorways, one for each city where the documentary was screened.
Prior to Wednesday, James had exclusively worn his LeBron 16 signature shoe this season in an array of colorways.