July 8th, 2010: A Day To Remember

A reflection of “The Decision” two years later and why LeBron leaving Cleveland was better than him staying

By Kyle Basedow

I remember where I was when I heard about it.

At 9:28PM on July 8^th, 2010, I was just coming off the field after playing in the first half of one of my summer lacrosse games in Montville, New Jersey. My friend’s dad was following “The Decision” on his phone. As we all attempted to catch our breath and get ready for the second half, he announced, “LeBron James has decided to play for the Miami Heat next year.”

Soon after, a teammate took his lacrosse stick and broke it over his knee. Snapped it clean in half. It was just another notable struggle from a Cleveland fan.

AP Photo/ Alan Diaz

Then, my friend’s dad said something that I’ll never forget. “Michael Jordan didn’t need to go play with other superstars. He made everyone around him better. Remember that gentlemen, LeBron will never be as good as Michael.”

My initial knee-jerk reaction was, “Man, LeBron just permanently placed himself as the second best basketball player of all time. Michael Jordan never would have done that.”

Eventually however, my reaction settled to a state of disappointment. I was right, Michael Jordan would never have done that. He never would have teamed up with his rivals in order to win a championship but that’s because Michael Jordan was one of the greatest competitors of all time. LeBron James is not.

Both are the rare combination of basketball player and god and deserve to be placed at the top of the best players to ever play the game, but James will never be the competitor that Jordan was.

Cleveland was doing nothing for LeBron, though. He had to go out everyday and do it all, with no real help. They repeatedly tried to bring in young talent, none of whom really panned out. The same was the case with some of the older veteran players who were brought in at the twilights of their careers. 

When Miami lost in the NBA Finals to the Dallas Mavericks, everyone criticized James for leaving Cleveland, arguing that James would have achieved the same thing had he stayed.

Cleveland, however, was nowhere near being able to compete for a shot at the NBA Championship. Just because LeBron left doesn’t mean that there should be a negative 40 game swing in wins. Sure, having James on your team would help but he can’t do it all by himself, as he proved in his years with the team.

When James left, he exposed every hole in the Cavaliers organization that his stellar play had covered up for so long. This allowed the Cavaliers to understand that they needed to rebuild. They now have reigning Rookie of the Year in Kyrie Irving. In addition, they have their 2012 first round pick and former Syracuse University guard, Dion Waiters, to lead the team.

It’s no question that LeBron got the better end of the deal (seeing as he has already won an NBA Championship), but Cleveland is better off now as well. It’s better to have an assortment of solid players than one exceptional player.

James’ decision to leave Cleveland and to team up with Dwayne Wade and Chris Bosh was the wise choice, even though he got ridiculed for it. He deserved everything he got, however, because if he had simply left Cleveland for Miami without going on national television, he could have saved himself a lot of criticism.

In the end, James put himself in a better position to win and improve his legacy, while also letting Cleveland out of a huge money obligation so that they could start over. LeBron may never be the competitor that Michael Jordan was but he’s already done something Michael never did. He won the NBA’s Most Valuable Player award in two different cities. Now that’s something special.