Former franchise cornerstone LeBron James still has nothing but love for the Cleveland Cavaliers – and he’s even more proud that the club is continuing to skyrocket up high to the league’s mountaintop of relevance.
Moments after he and the Los Angeles Lakers were beaten on their soil in Crypto.com Arena, James delivered appreciation on the splendid turnaround that the Cavs made last offseason and their ongoing rise as the NBA’s newest team to watch.
“They did a great job in the offseason of picking up a big-time player,” James said of the Cavs’ acquisition of Donovan Mitchell, courtesy of cleveland.com’s Chris Fedor. “I think we saw last year what kind of team they could become. Then the injuries happen and they end up slipping and having to play in the play-in. We know what happened there. But they have a really good team, a great coach, well-balanced and a bunch of kids on their team that seem like they just want to play ball.
“I’m looking at their roster and don’t see too many guys all over social media, showing off that they’ve got this and they’ve got that. Just a bunch of guys that come to work and just want to play ball. It’s probably a joy for a coach and coaching staff, just knowing you have a bunch of kids that want to come in and play ball and a grandpa (Kevin Love) that looks over everybody.”
Cleveland has remodeled itself very well following the second reign of James, who carried them to a magical four-straight Finals appearances and delivered his promise of an NBA title in 2016.
James took his talents to L.A. in 2018 in what he viewed as much of a greener pasture, and the rest was history for the Cavs team for their part. Battling whirling doubts that speak they can only rely on the all-time great to achieve prominence, general manager Koby Altman put his heart and sweat just to assemble a new age of Cavaliers basketball.
And his work turned out to be perfect. This promising generation of the Cavaliers appears capable of writing their own history of not being tied around James’ wonders.
Starring Darius Garland, Jarrett Allen, Evan Mobley, and the new main guy in town Donovan Mitchell, this current Cavs team is very much capable of lifting off and delivering Cleveland to a nationwide basketball spotlight anew.
“You’ve got to always have respect and have appreciation for LeBron and what he did here,” Mitchell said, who dropped a game-high 33 markers to lead the Cavs to a 114-100 win over the Lakers. “I grew up a Cavs fan and I’m very aware of ‘Bron. But I don’t think that’s what we went into the game thinking. I didn’t know the history, that he has continuously won. Didn’t know that until after the game. But you always have to respect greatness and when greatness is on the floor you try to find a way to go out there and compete and get a win.
“For me personally and for the group, I wouldn’t say that’s what this was for. We came out just trying to do what we’ve been doing and that was against ‘Bron. We’re just looking to build our own different culture. None of us here are LeBron James. We’re all different in different types of ways. We want to build our own culture and do it differently while always having respect for what he’s done for Cleveland and the organization.”
With their latest victory on Sunday, the Cavs remain sizzling hot, winning eight-straight games as they continue their exciting climb for much greater heights to come.
And this statement win over their ex-franchise hero only stamps the fact that they are a force to be reckoned with.
