CLEVELAND — Lakers teammates and coaches clapped. LeBron James stared stoically at the video board. Instead of acknowledging the Cleveland crowd showering the Lakers star with applause after a video tribute on Monday, James lifted his jersey over his face.
He wiped his eyes.
Recognizing that the end of his illustrious basketball career is closing in soon, returning to where it all started stirred up emotions in James that surprised even him. He scanned the arena before the game to look for his mother in a suite. He glanced up at the championship banner he helped win in 2016. Then he had one of his worst games as an opponent against the Cavaliers, finishing with just 11 points, five assists and six turnovers in the Lakers’ 129-99 blowout loss.
It was the team’s worst loss of the year.
The Cavaliers (29-26) played a video tribute for James in the first quarter, focusing on the highlights of him scoring 25 consecutive points in Game 5 of the 2007 Eastern Conference Finals. James said he remembered it “like it was yesterday.” The video finished with the message “Welcome Home.” James clutched the Larry O’Brien Trophy in the final image.
“I don’t know what the future holds for me, obviously,” said James, who will be an unrestricted free agent this summer. “So I’m just trying to, like, live in the moment. … I don’t know if it’s my last game here or not at this moment.”
The video tribute played during a tense moment for the Lakers’ bench as Luka Doncic had just hobbled off the court with what looked like a serious leg injury. The star guard had slipped off the side of the court and into the Lakers’ bench after shooting a fadeaway three-pointer with 7:58 remaining in the first quarter. The Lakers needed to call a timeout for trainers to help Doncic to his feet and he put almost no weight on his left leg as he left the court.
Cleveland’s home court is raised above the arena floor to accommodate an ice hockey rink underneath. It’s the only arena in the NBA with the unique set up. Miami Heat guard Dru Smith suffered a severe anterior cruciate ligament sprain from slipping off the court in 2023.
Smith’s injury was the first thing Doncic thought of when he cradled his ankle in pain, he said after the game. But Doncic, the NBA’s leading scorer, said he was more scared than injured as he returned with 1:32 remaining in the first quarter without any additional braces or wraps on his leg. He finished with 29 points, six assists and five rebounds.
LeBron James goes to the basket in the second half.
(Sue Ogrocki / Associated Press)
“Obviously wasn’t 100%,” Doncic said, “but I tried.”
The Cavaliers shot a sizzling 53.8% from the field in the second quarter to turn a four-point first-quarter deficit into a two-point halftime lead, 57-55. They made seven of 11 three-pointers in the third quarter and outscored the Lakers by 20 in the frame. James was subbed off midway through the fourth as the rout continued.
James missed a point-blank layup on his first shot. The sigh of disappointment from the packed crowd was almost louder than the polite applause he received when he was introduced in the starting lineup.
The face of the NBA for more than two decades now, James has attracted fans to every road arena, but the reception this year, in his record 23rd NBA season, has been especially warm across the league. James knows the next time in front of an away city’s fans could be his last, but potentially saying goodbye to Cleveland was especially difficult.
“Being home is another feeling,” Lakers guard Bronny James said. “It’s a crazy feeling to come back and having so much love. It got him. It almost got me.”
The TV outside the visitor’s locker room cycled through photos of Lakers players and staff members who have history in Cleveland. Bronny James, who was born in Cleveland while his father played for the Cavaliers, was welcomed with a photo of him sitting on stage during the Cavaliers’ championship celebration in 2016.
His homecoming came with eight points, including two three-pointers and a one-handed dunk in the final minutes of the game after an arena-wide “We want Bronny” chant broke out in the fourth quarter. His family lined up to take photos with the 21-year-old on his way out of the arena where he used to spend every afternoon after school.