LeBron Has Shown No Quit In Cleveland

Uncertainty. An issue that no team ever wants to have, but every single one of them goes through at one point or another. Uncertainty comes in many different forms. Whether it’s from a player suffering an injury, taking a raw prospect in the draft or waiting for someone to decide if he’s staying or going, uncertainty is the one feeling that practically all teams in any sport dread but constantly have to endure.

If there’s one team that has been engulfed in uncertainty over this entire season, it’s been the Cleveland Cavaliers. Although the Cavs have made the NBA Finals for the fourth straight season, with this last one arguably being their most impressive of them all, they’ve had to endure this roller coaster of a year with one large elephant in the room: LeBron James’ upcoming free agency.

The Cavs have done all they can to keep their superstar happy since the King’s return in 2014, but despite the team’s success, it appears that LeBron’s upcoming free agency this summer is as up in the air as it has ever been, which has understandably petrified the Cavaliers.

If LeBron leaves again, the Cavaliers will be stuck with a roster full of questions with no easy answers. The team will owe Tristan Thompson, JR Smith, and Jordan Clarkson a combined $44 million next season, they have to make decisions about Rodney Hood this summer (and Larry Nance Jr. next summer), and the team will have to decide whether to keep Head Coach Tyronn Lue around.

The saddest part about this gargantuan uncertainty that has surrounded Cleveland since last summer is that this feeling is all too familiar for them. So much so that you could practically say this season has been déjà vu for the Cavs, because they went through this exact same excruciating process in 2010.

Everyone remembers what happened in the summer of 2010 from “The Decision” to the “Not one, not two, not three, etc…” quote that LeBron not so humbly promised. What most forget are the circumstances that surrounded both James and the Cavs leading up to the infamous summer of 2010.

Let’s re-visit the post-season that year. The Cavaliers were the number one team in the East for the second straight season, LeBron had won his second consecutive MVP award, and the Cavaliers were heavily favored to come out of the east. While the Cavs made mincemeat out of the Chicago Bulls in the first round, they were surprisingly stopped in their tracks by the upstart Boston Celtics in the conference semifinals, as they lost in six games.

Plenty were shocked to see such an upset and tried to figure out what exactly went wrong for the Cavs. Many pointed to Mike Brown’s inadequate coaching, or Cleveland not having the strongest supporting cast around LeBron, or Boston perhaps having a better team than most had originally perceived.

But there was one theory that was popularized among all the others: LeBron quit on his team.

Many had speculated that LeBron looked disinterested in the series, particularly in Game 5, in which the King posted a stat line of 15 points, seven assists, and six rebounds while shooting 3/14 from the field in 42 minutes of action in a 32-point blowout loss at home. LeBron played much better in the following game, but as the Cavaliers were eliminated in six, many still wondered if he truly gave it his all.

This theory gained more traction shortly after LeBron had announced he was leaving Cleveland for the Miami Heat, when Cavaliers owner Dan Gilbert publicly stated that he too believed that the King had quit on the team. Not just in Game 5, but in multiple games throughout the series. The belief that James had quit along with him deserting Cleveland to be with his friends in Miami left a very bitter taste in Cleveland’s mouth.

It’s been eight years since then, and LeBron has returned to Cleveland, leading them to the most fruitful playoff runs the franchise has ever seen. The difference between LeBron’s departure in 2010 and his very possible departure this summer is that this time, no one is going to question LeBron’s effort in his second go-round as a Cavalier.

When all will be said and done, LeBron has given it all for Cleveland Cavaliers the past four seasons, no matter how much the odds have been stacked against him, which has pretty much been the case every year since he returned to his home state.

In 2015, LeBron had every conceivable reason to give up. While he guided the Cavaliers to the team’s first Finals appearance since 2007, the team lost Kevin Love at the end of the first round then lost Kyrie Irving in game one of the Finals, forcing James to rely on the likes of JR Smith and Timofey Mozgov against the seemingly superior Golden State Warriors. Instead, LeBron fought like crazy, averaging 35.8 points, 13.3 rebounds, and 8.8 assists a game as the Cavaliers lost in six.

In 2016, he again could have given up without anyone blaming him. The Cavaliers were able to make it to the Finals without any injury concerns, but the team found themselves down 3-1 as they faced the record-chasing Warriors for the second straight year. Instead, the King clawed his way back into the series, averaging 36.3 points, 11.6 rebounds, and 9.6 assists in the final three games as the Cavs forced one of the most improbable comebacks ever against a 73-win team. LeBron did not do this all himself, but when the chips were down, he still gave it his all.

In 2017, the odds were as against him as they had ever been as a pro, as he faced the Warriors again only this time with Kevin Durant. The Cavaliers were eliminated in five games, but LeBron did what he could, as he averaged 33.6 points, 12 rebounds, and ten assists a game. That was quite impressive given that he played arguably the most stacked team of all time.

This season among all the rest has been LeBron’s all-around performance as a Cavalier. This is not only because, statistically, this has been LeBron’s best outing both in the regular season and in the playoffs since his return, but because of the hardships that he and the Cavs have both gone through since last summer.

From Kyrie’s abrupt trade request to locker room turmoil to all the trade deadline pandemonium, the Cavaliers season has had all kinds of twists and turns. LeBron played a full 82 games this season, but the team’s inconsistency led to its worst record since his return, and things did not ease up in the playoffs.

Unlike previous seasons, the Cavs struggled mightily to get past the Eastern Conference. While Toronto folded in a quick sweep, both Indiana and Boston pushed the Cavs to the brink of elimination. LeBron could have caved and let either team beat him given the struggles of his supporting cast, but instead, he kept pushing his team forward.

Miraculously, through all the struggles that Cleveland has had, they have found their way to the Finals with LeBron obviously being center stage to their success. Since Game 2 of the Finals, LeBron has put up arguably the best statistics he’s ever put up in his playoff career, as he’s averaged 34.6 points, 9.2 rebounds, and nine assists in 20 games at the age of 33.

The Cavaliers’ odds of winning it all still are, well, slim to none, but that hasn’t stopped the King from making his presence felt on the court. From a talent standpoint, LeBron continues to exceed all expectations, but what makes his second go-round in Cleveland even more impressive is that, contrary to what many believed about him after his first, LeBron doesn’t seem to have the word “quit” in his vocabulary.

At least, not anymore.