CLEVELAND, Ohio – As LeBron James walked into Rocket Mortgage FieldHouse on Wednesday night, welcomed by a revolving billboard outside the visitor’s locker room with a photo of himself holding the 2016 NBA championship trophy, a specific thought occurred to him. It’s the same for every Cleveland homecoming.
The transience of basketball.
“Every time I come here I think, ‘Okay, how many more times will it be for me in this building?’ It was only possible a few more times. Maybe it’s just one more time now. I don’t know the answer,” James told cleveland.com during a one-on-one conversation before boarding the team bus late Wednesday night. “But I know I’m on the other side of the fence than the previous fence. I know I don’t get to come here often anymore and play the game I love, so I don’t take it for granted.”
LeBron is 39 years old. Two months before he turns 40. This is Season 22. Over the summer, he and the Lakers agreed to a two-year, $101 million contract that included a no-trade clause and a $52 million player option for 2025-2026. The deal will keep James with the Lakers until he is 41, if he plays out the full term of the contract.
He has not yet officially announced when he will retire. Don’t know yet. But the figurative countdown has begun, even as he continues to play at a high level, leading all scorers with 26 points in Cleveland’s 134-110 victory.
That’s part of why Wednesday night had so much meaning, why he tried to soak up the crowd’s reaction despite being angry about the Lakers’ play at the time the final tribute video aired, why he enjoyed every bite of his usual Swenson’s postgame meal. , minus the banana shake due to the illness he’s been battling for a little over a week.
“Not like I’m used to,” James said. “But I’m still happy to be there and make a small contribution while I’m on the floor. We have spent many years here. We are part of this community. We have so many great moments, not just on the floor in this arena, but on the floor in this community. To have the mutual respect and love for what we were able to accomplish in the years we were here is definitely very humbling.”
But there was an extra emotional layer to Wednesday night: watching his eldest son, Bronny, play in the same arena that James called home for 11 years, on the same floor where Bronny dribbled and shot after games as a child, one with a practice room in the attic where Bronny played friendly runs while James and the Cavaliers looked for an NBA title downstairs. An arena with unforgettable memories of the James family, located about 35 miles north of where Bronny’s basketball journey began.
Bronny was a spectator for the first three quarters. No surprise. He had only logged a total of three minutes to that point — all during the team’s season opener on Oct. 22, a more ceremonial appearance so Bronny and Dad could become the first father-son duo ever to play together in the NBA.
But around 8:30 in the fourth quarter, with the Cavs firmly in control and on their way to their fifth straight win to open the season, Rocket Mortgage FieldHouse echoed with “We want Bronny” chants.
A few minutes later, the 20-year-old, born at Cuyahoga Falls General Hospital, stepped off the Lakers’ bench and calmly walked to the scorer’s table as the arena roared as if his father had just thrown down a thunderous transition dunk. .
Then came another huge ovation with about two minutes left, when fans who stayed long enough witnessed Bronny’s first NBA basket: a silky 15-foot jumper.
“It was just a dream come true for me,” Bronny said. “I was still in game mode when I shot, so I didn’t really notice it while I was playing. But yeah, it felt good afterwards.”
“That meant everything to make it happen here,” James added. “We didn’t plan it that way. It just happened. He had a chance in the first game and he missed a 3 on the right wing that I gave him the assist for, but God works in mysterious ways.
At this point, LeBron has basically accomplished it all in his career.
Top scorer of all time. Multiple champion. Perhaps the greatest player ever. And now, in the first week of his 22nd season, he’s reached a few more milestones: He shared the floor with his son and was there in person for those first points.
What else is there for LeBron to do at this point besides assisting on a Bronny bucket?
Former teammate Tristan Thompson offered yet another possibility in a recent conversation with cleveland.com: extend his NBA career long enough to play with Bryce, a 17-year-old rising senior at Sierra Canyon who has already received offers from Ohio State and Duquesne .
Is that realistic? Has LeBron thought about that yet?
“Oh s—,” LeBron said with a laugh when cleveland.com brought up Thompson’s comments. “Bryce is a senior. Don’t know. We’ll see. We’ll see. That would be pretty cool. It’s all about my mind and then seeing how my body responds over the next few years.”
For now, LeBron’s focus is on the Lakers – enjoying these moments while playing alongside Bronny, something LeBron always said was one of the last things he wanted to accomplish before hanging up his sneakers.
“It’s the best thing in the world,” said LeBron. “Kids always have these dreams when they’re very young, and as parents you just try to put them in a position, at some point, throughout their lives, that maybe that dream can become a reality if that’s what they want. wants to do.
“He said from day one, his little brother said from day one, basketball is what they love and that’s what they want to do. Between myself and Savannah and our supporting cast of friends and family, it was just up to us to be their support, give them the guidance, give them the tools, give them everything they need to possibly achieve their goal wherever possible. become reality.
“To see him in the middle of his reality and his dream at the same time is just super cool for a parent. And seeing what he does when the camera isn’t rolling is even more satisfying. The hard work he puts in every day to get better and better at the profession he has chosen is very satisfying, very cool and very humbling. Very proud of him. Very proud of our children. Myself and Savannah, we are super proud of Bronnie, Bryce and Zhuri. They are just great.”