CLEVELAND — It was one year ago today that Cleveland sports changed again. LeBron James, for the second time, was going to be playing for the Cleveland Cavaliers.
Many sports fans remember exactly where they were on July 11, 2014.
“I was actually painting a room in my house. I was refreshing twitter non-stop. When he actually came back and the article came out. I was freaking out,” said Nick Iacobelli.
The King announced his return in a Sports Illustrated article. An article that shocked many was the right decision if you ask any Clevelander. So people doubted he would ever come back home.
Robert Purgert said, “No not a chance. My dad had been telling for 2 years that he was coming back. I was like, there’s no chance at all.”
But he did – Lebron James did come back home. And less than a month after announcing it, he hosted a welcome home even in his Akron hometown. That was the same day he said, winning a championship would be the greatest on-the-court accomplishment of his life.
Then the season began. The Cavs started slow with a 19-20 record. But then things started to come together as the front office added key players like Timofey Mozgov, Iman Schumpert and J.R. Smith.
The Cavs would make the playoffs and bring excitement back to Cleveland sports.
“The whole season was way more fun to watch. It gives us something to rally around,” said Purgert.
Cassy Pasko, on her way to the Indians game, added, “I was really proud that we made it that far in the first year he was back.”
The Cavs playoff run also meant thousands of extra people to downtown spending lots of money at local businesses
“It was just electric,” said Purgert “And it’s so great for the city to see so many people downtown helping out our local businesses and stuff like that. It’s pretty awesome.”
It was an awesome season to say the least. A huge improvement over the 33-49 record the year prior. But still, the Cavs fell short of the goal in the NBA finals.
But don’t worry, the first year was great, and the next will be even better. James says he really wants a championship here in Cleveland.
During his homecoming event, James said, “my number one goal is to win a championship here. And I think it would be the greatest achievement in my life.”