CLEVELAND — The fans still adore him, cheering his name wildly when he’s the last player introduced with the visiting team.
The organization he left for the Los Angeles Lakers still honors him, now six seasons after his last game in a Cleveland Cavaliers uniform. They’re still showing LeBron James tribute videos when he’s here.
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On Saturday night, the Cavs honored him for becoming the NBA’s all-time leading scorer last season, noting that James had scored more than 23,000 points in 11 seasons with Cleveland.
And in his latest game, against the team that plays about 40 miles from where he was born, James scored 22 points in a 121-115 win for the Lakers. The win came on the same day that a LeBron museum held its grand opening in his hometown of Akron.
“It’s always special to come back here,” James said. “Being able to come back here after my Miami stint and win a championship here for this franchise, this city … it was something that I will never forget, no matter how old I get.
“Stepping back on this floor is always a pretty cool feeling. Looking up there and being a part of pretty much all of the banners.”
James steered the Cleveland organization to its first NBA Finals in 2007, and then upon his return after four years (and four finals runs in Miami), led the Cavs to four straight finals and a 2016 NBA championship — the only one the Cavs have ever won and the first major pro sports title in Cleveland since 1964.
It’s almost hard to believe, given how strong the ties still seem to be between James and Cleveland, but he’s been wearing a Laker jersey for going on six years now. And in his latest chance to put one on, James added six rebounds, six assists and shot 8-of-23 from the floor and just 1-of-9 from 3-point range, in 36 minutes. He scored eight points in the final period, which the Lakers had entered trailing, 94-93.
With the Lakers clinging to a one-point lead inside of two minutes left, James scored two consecutive baskets, including on an alley-oop catch for a 117-112 lead, but was called for a technical for hanging on the rim.
“Bron looked at me and nodded his head (admitting fault), so we just let it go right then,” Lakers coach Darvin Ham said.
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Anthony Davis paced the Lakers with 32 points — his season high — and 13 rebounds, with 23 of those points coming in the second half. Austin Reaves contributed 15 points off the Lakers’ bench.
Donovan Mitchell returned from a four-game absence caused by a mild hamstring injury to finish with 22 points, but the Cavs were hit with another injury to their other star-caliber guard, Darius Garland.
Garland, who has already missed five games this season with various injuries, hit his head on Max Christie’s knee after falling on a drive to the hoop in the first quarter. Garland returned to the game in the first half, but not the second and was initially diagnosed with a neck strain.
Cleveland also welcomed back Isaac Okoro, who’d missed nine consecutive games with knee soreness. Okoro started the second half in Garland’s place and finished with five points. Mitchell, who shot just 4-of-18 in his return, missed a 16-footer with 24 seconds left that would have tied the game at 117. He missed another jumper from nearly the same distance with about 15 seconds remaining.
“I feel like I let the guys down a little bit, especially at the end,” Mitchell said. “Those shots I’ve literally been working on all week, and they just didn’t go in.”
LeBron’s latest brought out two of the biggest power brokers in Cleveland sports.
Seated courtside, along the baseline, was Cavs majority owner Dan Gilbert, who has gained strength and begun attending more home games this season after battling the effects of a stroke for years.
And two rows behind Gilbert was Cleveland Browns owner Jimmy Haslam. Haslam left his seat to visit with Gilbert on the court at halftime. The two men are worth more than $30 billion combined, according to estimates by Forbes magazine.
Earlier Saturday, James’ charitable foundation opened LeBron James’ Home Court, a museum stocked with James’ mementos from throughout his 21-year NBA career, his four years as a teenage sensation at Akron St. Vincent-St. Mary’s High School, and the last apartment he and his mother lived in before he turned pro.
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According to a news release, museum guests begin their tour by turning an apartment key on a string to open unit 602 — just like James did when he moved into Spring Hill Apartments.
The James museum is a part of the large complex his foundation purchased and renovated in Akron, called House 330, where he opened a Starbucks to train adults enrolled in his mentoring program. House 330 has expanded to include a sports bar, pizza shop, retail store and now the museum.
James’ mother Gloria was among those on hand for the Home Court public opening.
“I used to get on my mom a lot about saving everything, ever since I started playing sports,” James said. “She kind of threw it in my face when stuff was being prepared down at the museum, because a lot of the stuff in there is stuff that she saved. And that’s pretty cool.
“I’ve been able to do some things in my life, to be able to bring back to my community, to continue to highlight my community and continue to make my community a place where people want to visit, want to see and want to be proud of. I am. I am definitely proud of the fact that my foundation has been able to do some great things.”
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(Photo: Ken Blaze / USA Today)
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