LeBron James stunned the entire NBA community when he announced his move from the Cleveland Cavaliers to the Miami Heat with The Decision in 2010. Unsurprisingly, the Cavs’ faithful did not appreciate their superstar’s decision, but nobody was as affected as the majority team owner, Dan Gilbert.
Shortly after the news, Gilbert took things personally and lambasted James in an now-infamous open letter. In it, Dan didn’t mince his words and referred to LeBron as narcissistic, cowardly, selfish, heartless and callous.
For James at the time, the best course of action was to clap back at Gilbert with an equally fiery response. In an open letter of his own, LBJ didn’t hold back from lashing out at his former boss, either.
“You handled the news like a 12-year-old girl with a broken heart and a nasty temper,” James said per Bleacher Report. “I’m a jerk. You’re a clown. Get over it. The only real curse Cleveland needs to worry about is the one that sits in your office, pompously pointing fingers and clumsily dodging blame.”
“Seven years in Cleveland taught me one thing,” he continued. “DAN GILBERT WILL NEVER BRING A CHAMPIONSHIP TO CLEVELAND! For seven long, painful years, I watched the flailing incompetence of management as they desperately tried to stumble across some semblance of legitimate success. You tried. You failed. I left.”
LeBron fired more shots
After some time James realized that he did the Cavs fans dirty with The Decision. However, he made it clear in his statement that he didn’t feel remorse or any of the sort for ripping Gilbert.
Instead, LeBron fired more shots at Gilbert, relentlessly showering the Cavs owner with insults.
“Eventually, your now-infamous ‘open letter’ to Cleveland fans navigated its way through my normally impenetrable ‘narcissism’ and into my sphere of awareness,” Bron added. “I read it. It stung. Now that I have had the chance to sleep on it, I realize I didn’t handle things as well as I should have.”
“That being said, I want to whole-heartedly thank you for ‘remarks’. I have come to the conclusion that I mistreated thousands of loyal Cleveland fans, but your letter also reassured me of something else: Dan Gilbert is a fool; a whiny, incompetent, sniveling nincompoop,” he emphasized.
The reconciliation
Judging by how James publicly humiliated Gilbert in his letter, it felt like a possible reconciliation would never take place between the two. However, time seems to have healed the pair’s wounds and eventually reconciled four years later.
Gilbert took the initiative to make the first move. He flew to Miami to meet with LeBron and they went on to mend their severely broken relationship.
That meeting even led to James’ epic return to Cleveland.
In his second stint with the Cavs, LBJ regained the fans’ trust.
On the court, LeBron also redeemed himself. He kept his promise and took the Cavs to the NBA Finals. He even made history with the team and led the Cavs to their first and only NBA championship in 2016.
After four successful seasons with the Cavs, James decided to leave the organization once again.
This time, LBJ learned his lesson.
His second exit was less dramatic and controversial.
Moreover, he and Gilbert didn’t end up fighting. Instead, Dan even expressed his gratitude and appreciation for LeBron’s contribution to the franchise and the city of Cleveland.