by On paper, LeBron James had every right to leave Cleveland in free agency when his contract expired in the summer of 2010. On paper, it simply stated that he was drafted by the Cavaliers; he never actually chose to play here. On paper, he didn’t owe Cleveland anything more than his best effort in which he fully gave. However, as we all know, life is based on so much more than what is on paper.
On June 26, 2003 after five years of having bad luck, Cleveland finally turned around their fate when they won the NBA draft lottery. The reason why the number one pick was so crucial was that LeBron James would be entering the draft.
LeBron James was regarded by many as the greatest player in the history of high school basketball and seen as the chosen one to replace Michael Jordan as the game’s greatest player of all time. He was from Akron, Ohio and Cleveland fans had the privilege of watching him grow up as a basketball prodigy in their own back yard. The hype behind James was so large that his senior year games at St. Vincent St. Mary High School in Akron were broadcast on national television. Because of his talent, most NBA experts considered James better than 75% of the current league’s talent before he even played one game. For the Cavaliers, the chance to pick him signaled a rebirth for the franchise and for the city of Cleveland.
The 2003 NBA draft was regarded as one of the strongest in history. The top five picks produced four of the best players currently playing today. Cleveland selected LeBron James with their pick and two picks later Denver selected future All Star, Carmelo Anthony, from Syracuse. The Toronto Raptors selected Chris Bosh out of Georgia Tech with the fourth pick and he became one of the top players in the game.
The fifth pick went to the Miami Heat who struck gold with their selection, Dwayne Wade. The Heat would eventually combine Wade with Shaquille O’Neal and win the NBA championship just three years later. The draft was loaded with talent, but it was clear that Cleveland was receiving its top prize.
Mary Schmitt Boyer describes the importance of choosing LeBron James with the number one pick, “It saved basketball in Cleveland. If you look at the value of the team and how much it jumped up in the just the first two years he was on the team before Dan Gilbert bought it in 2005. It was clear LeBron was a major factor behind the cities resurgence for its love of basketball”
Paul Silas would be the first coach to take his shot at coaching LeBron James as a professional. Gordon Gund believed Silas was the right man for the job given his history as an NBA player and coach prior to coming to Cleveland. Silas played on two NBA championship teams with the Boston Celtics and Seattle Supersonics winning a combined three titles. He was also a two- time All Star and made the All NBA Defensive Team twice. He had the pedigree to bring winning ways back to Cleveland, as well as guide the young superstar, James.
LeBron James’s first year as a Cavalier began with a trend that would become all too familiar during his early years in Cleveland. He had a weak supporting cast, with Ricky Davis and Darius Miles more eager to shoot the ball then feed the growing phenomenon. Carlos Boozer was a bright spot along with Cleveland veteran center, Zydrunas Ilgauskas, as the teammates who played well with James and helped him grow. James and Boozer quickly became one of the strongest tandems in the Eastern Conference.
The Cavaliers finished with 35 wins, more than twice as many as the year before. It was clear that even with a weak supporting cast, LeBron was a difference maker. He won the NBA Rookie of the Year Award in a landslide. Later that summer, he would join the United States Olympic basketball team and gain further valuable playing and team experience. He was taught that it takes more than just hype to win, as the heavily favored USA team lost for the first time in over twelve years of Olympic play and didn’t win the gold medal.
The offseason had its share of drama as Carlos Boozer left for Utah in an extremely questionable way which ultimately led to general manager, Jim Paxson, getting fired. The Cavs filled their need for a veteran starting point guard when they traded Kevin Ollie and Kedrick Brown to Philadelphia for Eric Snow. They pulled off another key trade with the Orlando Magic that brought eventual starting power forward and fan favorite, Anderson Varejao, to town.
LeBron picked up where he had left off the year before and started his second season red hot. After losing their first three games by narrow margins, James led The Cavs on a six game winning streak with nine wins in ten games. At the halfway point of the season, James was putting up incredible numbers and the Cavaliers sat near the top of the Eastern Conference standings with a 24 – 15 record. The rest of the league was starting to take notice as James was voted in as a starter for that year’s All Star Game. Things continued to go well and their record grew to 31 – 21 on February 23, 2005. Paul Silas seemed to have everything in control when the Cavaliers suddenly went on a six game losing streak. They ended up losing nine games out of twelve and slipped to 34 – 30. It was at this time when new owner, Dan Gilbert, made the shocking move to fire Paul Silas. The team never recovered and ended up finishing the season at 42 – 40 under interim coach, Brendan Malone.
They narrowly missed the playoffs and their next move would have to be landing the right head coach. LeBron showed he could play at an elite caliber level, but they needed the right team around him, with the best head coach to guide them. Former player, Danny Ferry, returned to become general manager and his biggest move was signing new head coach, Mike Brown.
Mike Brown began his basketball career as an unpaid video intern with the Denver Nuggets. He would spend five years as their video coordinator. Then, Brown went on to spend time on the coaching staffs of the Washington Wizards and San Antonio Spurs. Brown was with San Antonio when they won their NBA championship in 2003. It was different then the life of fame and high expectations that LeBron James had for the last ten years. For the Cavs fans, it would be interesting to see if the two personalities would mesh.
Danny Ferry wanted to bring the best talent to Cleveland, but after premier players, such as Ray Allen and Michael Redd, signed elsewhere, he had to settle for the B-level free agents, Larry Hughes, Donyell Marshall and Damon Jones. Despite not getting the top tier free agents, the Cavaliers were expected to compete fiercely for a playoff spot that 2005 – 2006 season.
The Cavaliers began the 2005 – 2006 season on a tear by winning nine of their first eleven games highlighted by an eight game winning streak. The new players were meshing well with one another and LeBron James continued to get better by the game. James also had the incredible ability to improve the players around him. A month after the first winning streak, they went on to win another six games and increased their record to an impressive 17 – 9. After hitting a rough patch midseason, they recovered with a seven game winning streak and headed into the All Star break with a 31 – 21 record.
LeBron James took his place as one of the best players in the game as he won the Most Valuable Player award in the All Star Game. James scored 29 points with 6 assists and became the youngest player to ever win the MVP award. He also led the Eastern Conference to a double digit come-from-behind victory. The league, nation, and the entire sports world were starting to notice that James was beginning to ascend and his best was yet to be seen.
The Cavaliers remained hot under James’s incredible playing and went on another nine game winning streak before the season ended. They finished with fifty wins for the first time in years and LeBron James was about to enter the NBA Playoffs for the first time with one of the hottest teams in basketball by his side. It was an incredible turn around for a franchise that had only won 17 games just three years prior.
Their first round playoff opponents were the Washington Wizards led by a trio of superstars: Antawn Jamison, Gilbert Arenas and Caron Butler. LeBron James was coming off his best season as a pro and many wondered how he would handle the pressure of his first playoff series. The 21 year old James ended all doubt in game one as he scored 32 points with 11 assists and 11 rebounds in route to a triple double. The wunderkind’s terrific effort was more than enough to lead the Cavs to a 97 – 86 victory. LeBron James was quoted after the game as saying, “It’s a God given talent, I don’t know how the box score will end up at the end of the game. I just try to go out there and play my game.” The quote showed that James was a team player focused on doing whatever he could to help the team win and not focus on his own statistics.
The “big three” of Washington was too much handle for Cleveland as they dropped game two 89 – 84 to even up the series. Game three took place in Washington and LeBron James again displayed a masterful performance. The Cavaliers trailed all game but used an incredible 14 point fourth quarter effort from James to come from behind and win 97 – 96. James scored 41 total points and hit the game winning shot with 5.7 seconds remaining in the game. It was apparent not only to Cleveland, but the basketball world, that James was quickly becoming unstoppable. Head coach, Mike Brown, summed it up perfectly with his comment, “LeBron James is special.” It was short but extremely accurate.
LeBron James followed his stellar game three effort with another impressive win in game four by scoring 38 points. However, it wasn’t enough as he didn’t get much help from teammates and the Wizards won 106 – 96 once again evening up the series.
Game five returned the series to Cleveland. The dramatic back and forth series was quickly becoming a classic and this game did not disappoint. The game remained tied after four hard fought quarters. As overtime began, the fans in attendance at the Q Arena could sense another dramatic conclusion. Gilbert Arenas made two pressure packed foul shots to put the Wizards ahead with only 3.9 seconds left in overtime. Mike Brown called timeout and the Cavalier drew up the final play. LeBron James received the inbound pass and cut to the hole with enough time to lay in a game winning shot over Washington defender, Michael Ruffin. It was James second game winner of the series and capped off a 45 point performance.
Game six returned to Washington with the Cavaliers on the brink of advancing to the next round of the playoffs. This game, just like game five, went into overtime. Washington had led throughout the majority of the game and the Cavaliers used a strong second half to force overtime. Anderson Varejao had double digit rebounds, Larry Hughes chipped in with 12 assists and LeBron had 35 points, but the key points came from backup shooting guard, Damon Jones. With 4.8 seconds left in overtime and the Cavaliers down one, Jones jump shot put the Cavaliers into the Eastern Conference semi-finals against the Detroit Pistons.
Few people outside of Cleveland gave the Cavaliers any chance at defeating the top-seeded Detroit Pistons. Through the first two games, it looked like the skeptics were correct as the Pistons handled the Cavs easily. With the series returning to Cleveland for game three, the Cavaliers were desperate for a victory and that’s just what they got. LeBron James had another triple double with 21 points, 10 rebounds and 10 assists to force Cleveland back into the series. James was proving to be a clutch player when they needed him the most.
For the second straight game, the Cavaliers were without starting shooting guard, Larry Hughes, as he was morning the loss of his brother. The Cavaliers played hard for their teammate and used a gritty defensive effort to beat the Pistons 74 – 72 and even the series. They used Hughes’s family situation to become stronger as a team and grow together as men. They were a team united and suddenly a real threat to upset Detroit.
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