LeBron went emotional in the Cavs' video tribute that flashed his historic performance in Game 5 of the 2007 East Finals against the Detroit Pistons.
LeBron James stole the attention of the entire basketball world upon his heartwarming reaction to the video tribute that the Cavaliers dedicated in his Cleveland homecoming on Wednesday evening.
LeBron James
LeBron James
LeBron James
MIN: 33.17
PTS: 21.97 (56.56%)
REB: 5.9
AS: 6.66
ST: 1.07
BL: 0.59
TO: 2.9
GM: 29
James was seen wiping his tears as he watched the video in the jumbotron of the Rocket Mortgage FieldHouse. Cavaliers fans rejoiced and positively embraced their former franchise star back in his old stomping ground.
"I didn’t expect that, but obviously a lot of memories here, a lot of history," James explained regarding his tearful reaction on the video tribute. "I’m super grateful and thankful for the time spent here and the memories. I looked up there and remembered that moment like it was yesterday—being the underdog against that Detroit Pistons team, winning that game, and then ultimately winning Game 6 here and going to the NBA Finals.
"It was a pretty cool moment."
Facing LeBron, the entire Cavaliers group worn their Classic Edition uniforms, which is the throwback to the navy blue, wine and gold that famously donned by James during his first Cleveland stint from 2003 to 2010.
Apparently, that is the same look of the jersey that James has worn when he singlehandedly lifted the Cavs past Chauncey Billups, Richard Hamilton, Rasheed Wallance and the powerhouse Detroit Pistons squad in Game 5 of the 2007 Eastern Conference Finals.
LeBron went off for 25 consecutive points and nailed the game-winning layup to pull the 109–107 double-overtime victory, giving the Cavs a 3-2 series lead and an eventual ticket to the franchise's first-ever NBA Finals.
With how he emotionally reacted, talks have further ignited that this might be the final game of James in Cleveland.
Now 41 and playing his 23rd NBA season, many speculates as well that James might eventually rejoin the Cavaliers as he is set to become a free agent next offseason.
Regardless of what might be his final decision down the road, LeBron is simply savoring every moment that he has in whatever places he's going.
"I guess that’s every road arena I’ve been in. I’ve talked about that—just trying to take everything in. I don’t take the moments for granted because I haven’t made a decision on the future, but it very well could be," he said, "So no matter if it’s here, going to Washington, or playing the next game at the [Madison Square Garden] or [Barclay's Center] on this trip.
"Obviously it means a little bit more here for me personally because I grew up 35 minutes south of here."
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