LeBron James has undoubtedly cemented a legacy in the NBA and he continues to write history every season he plays in the league. However, it would be safe to say that his career took off when he joined the Miami Heat.
After many years with the Cleveland Cavaliers, LeBron packed his bags in 2010and moved to South Beach to set up a mighty ‘Big Three‘ with Dwyane Wade and Chris Bosh. Unsurprisingly, the switch paid off as he won the first two rings of his career.
The Heat, however, couldn’t make it three in a row and lost to the San Antonio Spurs in 2014. That year, LeBron hit the free agency and returned to Cleveland, a move that didn’t sit well with Pat Riley for a long time. However, the Heat president nowlooks at it differently.
Heat president Pat Riley says LeBron James did ‘the right thing’ in returning to Cavs in 2014
For years, it seemed that things between James and Riley were bad after the All-Star left Miami. But the Heat executive recently toldJoe Vardon and Jason Lloyd of The Athletic that he understands why LeBron went back to the Cavaliers.
“I thought it was the most normal thing for him to do,” Riley said. “Somewhere in your life, you have to clean up something and be able to move on. I always felt that even after he left Cleveland and came to Miami for professional reasons, he’s going to have to go back to his hometown one day, or he’s going to have a scarlet letter on him for the rest of his life.
“So that’s a pretty damn courageous thing that he did and selfless thing to go back to Cleveland, to rebuild that team. Had he never done that, there was a possibility that he’d have a hard time being accepted there. He did the right thing.”
Eight years later, it seems there are no hard feelings for his decision. And that’s the best thing to do. After all, LeBron should be remembered for the great things he did in his four years in Miami, wherehe played a key role in two memorable championships.
