CLEVELAND, Ohio \u2014 Wednesday night isn\u2019t just another game. Never is when LeBron James comes back. <\/p>\n
It\u2019s an extravaganza. A date that has been circled for months. The Los Angeles Lakers\u2019 only regular season visit. James\u2019 latest homecoming. <\/p>\n
Perhaps his final one? <\/p>\n
\u201cEver since I\u2019ve been alive, he\u2019s been running the league basically,\u201d said Evan Mobley, who won\u2019t play Wednesday because of a strained left calf that could sideline him for at least a week. \u201cHim being out here and coming back to The Land, it\u2019s definitely big. But we\u2019re going to focus on what we\u2019ve got to focus on. We\u2019ve got to take care of business, get another win.\u201d<\/p>\n
Star guard Donovan Mitchell had a similar perspective.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe\u2019re trying to replicate what they did here, what he did here \u2014 win a championship, bring a championship back to the city,\u201d Mitchell said following Monday\u2019s 114-98 win over the Orlando Magic. \u201cTo be a part of possibly his last game here, it\u2019s going to be a spectacle. It\u2019s going to be everything that it deserves to be. <\/p>\n
\u201cEnjoy the moment. Allow yourself to be a child but also understand that the only way to honor him is to go out there and compete your hardest. And if it\u2019s not his last game, it\u2019s not, but if it is, you know, great. For me and us, we\u2019re still trying to stack days and win games.\u201d<\/p>\n
To further the excitement, the Cavs will wear their classic jerseys \u2014 the wine, gold and blue throwback that James popularized during his first Cleveland run.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt\u2019s crazy that they\u2019re called classics \u2014 and he\u2019s still playing,\u201d Mitchell said with a chuckle. \u201cYou appreciate his greatness, you appreciate what he\u2019s done for the city, but let\u2019s go out there and compete and have fun.\u201d<\/p>\n
When the Cavaliers acquired Mitchell in the summer of 2022, four years after James bolted for Los Angeles, leaving a proverbial pile of rubble behind in Cleveland, Mitchell spoke about his early Cavs fandom. He still refers to playing in Cleveland as a \u201cfull circle\u201d moment and often reflects on a widely circulated photo of him wearing a James jersey from about two decades ago. <\/p>\n
\u201cTo be who I am here, watching that, it\u2019s pretty wild to me,\u201d Mitchell said. \u201cIt\u2019s always surreal. It\u2019s always a blessing.\u201d<\/p>\n
James, drafted\u00a0No. 1 overall in 2003 by Cleveland, took the Cavaliers to the Finals five times in his\u00a011 seasons, including four straight years from 2015-2018 \u2014 each season of his second act, which was highlighted by the franchise\u2019s only championship in 2016. <\/p>\n
The 41-year-old James, set to become an unrestricted free agent this summer, hasn\u2019t given any hint about his future. <\/p>\n
And he continues to play at a high level, averaging 22.4 points on 50.7% from the field and 32.8% from 3-point range to go with 6.7 assists and 6.0 rebounds while helping the Lakers to the Western Conference\u2019s fifth-best record at 28-17. <\/p>\n
His game doesn\u2019t point to a guy who is done. <\/p>\n
But only James knows when that time will come \u2014 and if it will be this year. <\/p>\n
\u201cEvery game he plays, every game we get a chance to compete against him, compete in the same arena, it\u2019s a celebration,\u201d Cavs coach Kenny Atkinson said. \u201cI always felt like LeBron, as great he is, always played with class. He\u2019s respectful. Respectful of the other team, respectful of his opponent. I can\u2019t wait. You say, well, it could be his last game here. He could also have like four more years left. As great as he is, as great as he\u2019s playing, I mean, I don\u2019t know, who has done this? Kareem [Abdul-Jabbar], I guess? Who else? I can\u2019t wait until he\u2019s in the arena.\u201d<\/p>\n
There will be a tribute. A moment of recognition. LeBron deserves it. He has earned it. <\/p>\n
Given his uncertain status with the Lakers, and the apparent friction with ownership, it wouldn\u2019t be a surprise if James flirts with Cleveland, maybe even teases a potential third stint \u2014 one that could be viewed as the fairytale ending. <\/p>\n
James loves a good story. He understands legacy. And he wants to win. <\/p>\n
Cleveland checks all those boxes. His old franchise would benefit greatly from his maturity and championship knowhow \u2014 two traits that continue to fuel doubters. <\/p>\n
Speculation is already swirling. It always does given James\u2019 eternal ties to the franchise and his deep roots to Northeast Ohio, including that mansion in Bath Township.<\/p>\n
It\u2019s not far-fetched. It\u2019s not straightforward either. <\/p>\n
The Cavs have the league\u2019s highest payroll. They are the only team in the punitive second apron. They can\u2019t afford him \u2014 unless he\u2019s willing to take a massive pay cut from the $52.6 million he\u2019s making now or the Cavs break up the core of a team headed for its fourth consecutive playoff appearance. <\/p>\n
The Homecoming King is here. And the Cavs know they can\u2019t get caught up in the hoopla, allowing that to distract them at a time they are playing their best. <\/p>\n
They have won four straight and six of the last seven, finally looking like the team so many expected, one that could bring back memories of the golden days of the LeBron Era \u2014 and quite possibly appeal to James when it comes to his next decision. <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"CLEVELAND, Ohio \u2014 Wednesday night isn\u2019t just another game. Never is when LeBron James comes back. It\u2019s an…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":434669,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[64],"tags":[355,99],"class_list":["post-434668","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-nba","tag-nba","tag-sports"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/434668","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=434668"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/434668\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/434669"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=434668"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=434668"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=434668"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}