NBA Legends REMEMBER The First Time LeBron Played Against Cleveland (SCARIEST GAME OF ALL TIME)

Probably the craziest atmosphere was Bron's first game back in Cleveland. Oh, shoot. Yeah. I have never in my life at any sporting event been in a place like the arena in Cleveland. The first time you guys December second came back. Do you still remember the date? I will never forget that day. Besides the finals, that's the second best performance I've ever seen LeBron James and personally that I've watched. Because to go back in that environment, in the atmosphere, forget the game of basketball. How are you processing strangers that don't know you? They're buying t-shirts and they're celebrating, saying, "F you." Can you give me a story of a going to a city and seeing the Earthlings, the fans react in a way where you went, "What am I a part of right now?" Um, I always take it back to that first game in Cleveland. [Music] Well, the heat is on. Miami's plane touched down early this morning, bringing LeBron James back to his old stomping grounds. And Cleveland fans are ready. We got on the elevator at the hotel before when we was going to get breakfast in the morning, and it was people on the elevator with LeBron shirts on. It was LeBron and us on the elevator and I'm looking at dude like how are you processing all of this? No doubt. Yeah. How forget the game of basketball. How are you processing strangers that don't know you? They're buying t-shirts and they're celebrating saying f you. LeBron James return to Cleveland next Thursday could be so problematic the game actually comes with instructions. The message from the Cavaliers to their fans is this. No profane or vulgar clothing. Obscene signs will be removed. There will be no plastic beer bottles. Vendors will instead pour beverages into cups for you. Increased quick and loans arena security will include unformed and undercover officers near the heat bench and along the way into the visitors locker room. Cavaliers officials want an energized but safe environment. That's a message they plan to send to fans. The reception will be far from a warm homecoming for fans and ex- teammates alike. You know, it's almost like your ex-girlfriend coming to your wedding. Once the game start, there are no friends. Unless you got a white jersey on in this arena tonight, you know, there are no friends. They said he will not leave. You know, they really they didn't they didn't plan this out real good. You know what I mean? Cuz if they had any inkling of him leaving or even thought about the possibility that he could leave, then they would have made a try a signing trade with Miami cuz we lost him and getting didn't get anything back. Now they feel like jilted lovers. abandoned. They want nothing to do with LeBron. I think it's going to be tough, but you know, I'm there to win a basketball game and I understand um you know, I understand how passionate fans are um about sports. So, um you know, I'm ready for whatever response that I'm going to get. I don't think we know what to expect, but I'm sure it's going to be uh something like we've never seen before. Some area restaurants and bars have a special room for fans to cleanse themselves of LeBron. the LeBron flap in the urinal. That's to represent what that's more just, you know, having a little fun with a guy that broke everybody's heart and you know, you know, we're we're all adults and we'll get over it and move on. Trying to flush away the memories. It's a good way to put it. I will never forget the Cleveland game. The first time we went back to Cleveland. I will never forget being in the locker room and that was the time where I looked at LeBron. I was like, "Okay, this guy's not he's not normal. He's really not normal." I've always said it, but I really felt it. It has the feel of a playoff game. The queue will rock tonight as the Cavs take on LeBron James and the Heat. Cavs players say they're getting flooded with text messages from across the league saying, "Beat the Heat." Everybody in the world with us. I was really hurt and immature how to handle it for one. Um, if I can go back, I'll just put my head down and keep working and getting better and obviously just tackle it a different way, which I didn't. you know, we got we got a lot of people behind us and and uh I'm grateful for that. It's definitely a big game for the city and um for for for the organization as well. It's going to be exciting. You know, it's going to be uh hectic at first cuz I know we're going to be excited. We're going to be energized. So, it's going to be fun. It's going to be a fun game tonight. I'll tell you that. Looking back on it now as we sit here talking, I mean, you got to do what's best for you, right? Right. Um, so but I didn't have I I trust me, I didn't have that mindset at the time at 26, 27. You, like everybody else was watching to hear what LeBron was going to say when he had the television special. No, I didn't watch it. And this fall, I'm going to take my talents to South Beach and um, join the Miami League. For me, I'm biased and I was kind of disappointed. How surprised were you? The only thing I was surprised about was him going to Miami. What's the collective mood now within the organization? It's going to be a transition. It definitely feels weird. It was awkward kind of to see Chris Jent walk out of the tunnel. He's the only coach that remained for Mike Brown's staff. He was LeBron James shooting coach here. LeBron was on the floor. Chris Jent went right on the floor. Didn't even make eye contact. And I don't think LeBron looked back down this either way. On Thursday, it's finally here. You go back to Cleveland, right? What do you want to happen there? Uh, what do I want to happen if if I could uh the best thing for us to happen is for us to win. You know, I want to win cuz I'm a competitor. Um, but I also um want the fans of Cleveland to know that I still much respect, much love for them fans cuz they seen me grow and I seen them grow when I was 18y old kid to a 25-year-old man. Um, so it's going to be it's going to be emotionally draining for myself. I already know it's starting to starting to hit me already. U it's going to be emotionally draining. Um but you know all in all I hope the fans um respect me and I'm going respect them. I always will have respect for them. Um but I know how passionate they are. I understand it's going to be an unusual night but it's going to be an exciting night. A playoff atmosphere at the queue and like I was a part of the media core that was causing problems and we were all over the team. Well Brian, the weather out here in Cleveland is raw. It's bitter and there's nearly 100% chance of rage. I've never seen fans that mad at a person. Come on, man. Come on, man. We went back to Come on, man. I have never saw hate. I didn't grow up in the times like, well, our parents can tell us about the hate that they experienced by being black in America. I ain't grow up in those times, but I grew up in the times where I went back to Cleveland. And that's why the NBA and the Cleveland Cavaliers and the Cleveland Police Department have put together security the likes of which Quick and Loans Arena has not seen before. That was crazy. [Music] I'll tell you this is a situation where I've talked to a lot of people. No one can remember any more venom and vitrial directed toward a visiting player. The hatred that I heard in the locker room, I've never heard hate before. People were throwing batteries at us. I I remember I won't forget it because LeBron and I was talking on the sideline. It was like a dead ball and he was here and I was here and a 9V battery flew between us and hit the floor and we both I said, "I'm not standing next to you anymore cuz they're not throwing it at me." No, but yeah, he started laughing. I remember walking into the bowl, which I came in late. I didn't want to be in there too early. That place was rocking. And I remember you could feel on your skin. You could feel something. You could feel like a a layer of something that like the finals doesn't compare to that. No playoffs compared to that. And Ernie, I I will be honest. I've been in two NBA finals and I've not seen the electricity in a regular season game ever in my life. I've been around basketball for 25 to 30 years and have never seen an electricity in a building and the intensity in a building. This feels like the NBA finals right now. It was just like you felt all of the like intensity, all of the anger. And when we talk about racism, when we talk about the things that people said to us, I I will say this cuz we all we're all kind of built for it. Anyways, that run out. Ooh, that run out, bro. If you weren't if you weren't ready to bump after that. Yeah. Yeah. I'm saying that was more that was almost more electric than any final game I ever played in. You know what I like you can hear someone say something, but have you ever heard the sound of hate? It is the most like uncomfortable thing to experience. And like I remember walking out of the tunnel and it wasn't just booze and it wasn't just I hate you. It was the look on people faces. It was the things that was coming out of their mouths and like how raged they were like in anger that I said I will never forget this moment a day in my life uh about you know how someone can really hate you for making a basketball decision that you felt was best for yourself and your family is crazy to me. I see some ugliness and I I from fans that I didn't know that I didn't know existed and I come from the inner city of Chicago. LeBron James and the Miami Heat at Quick and Loans Arena on a night unlike any other. There is LeBron. Every time his picture was put on the the Jumbotron here at Quick and Loans Arena, the booze rang out. The booze were just this like so loud and consistent. And then anytime they showed and they would show Braun on the jumbotron and you didn't think it'd get louder, but every time they showed him it got louder and worse and it was so intense like that. Like when you talk about being in like a real hostile environment, that was that was it. And I was terrified when I went back to Philly and they gave me a standing ovation. I'm going to bet my life on it. He's not going to get a standing ovation. To the scorers table. Question is would he go through the usual three routine involving the second with the jumper James with a beautiful move. Wow. It was so deafening like loud and just like intense for the entire time. the Miami win, the Cast. [Music] And was it that atmosphere for the whole time? Like hours? The whole time like from the time we ran out to the arena to the time we left, it was just booze and yells. Point to Anthony has checked in for Miami. Here is James LeBron James and LeBron makes up 14 straight points. [Music] I understand how passionate fans are. Still got a lot of love for these fans here. Um, but you know, I'm a Miami Heat player now. We're looking to get this win. All right. Thanks a lot. Thank you, EJ. I never people who was talking about my mama. Yeah. In a way, I ain't never seen nobody talk about my mama. Like from people trying to throw batteries on the court. We had somebody try to grab an officer's gun. Like it was just crazy stories like that. And it was just like like you guys are really that mad that he left Cleveland to come to Miami. like where's I'm confused like how can you beat that match? Yeah. And the and and so man they they bought into it you know from from the jump you know Brian was very vocal you know he's always he's always been very vocal. He got 40 in the third man. Did he go out there and hit 40 in the third and sit down in the fourth? Here's James off the fake in the half court. Not a good ball movement. Turner the turnover there from LeBron to the bucket James for three and steps back and hits again. That's when they're at their best and that's what everyone includes and clamoring. [Music] So, LeBron, you go to the locker room after the game and what is that like? Like, cuz you're all realizing this could be an entire season of this. The fans had their say tonight. What would you like to say to them if you could? Uh, seven great years. Um, loved every part. Um, loved every moment. um from the growth when I was a 18-year-old kid to a 25-year-old man and um you know tried our best as a team. We tried our best to to to bring a championship to the city and just you know just try to play hard every night. So I got the utmost respect for this for this franchise, utmost respect for these fans and um you know just continue the greatness for myself here in Miami and I try to get better every day. You can't go back with your decision but uh do you regret how it ended and you like to apologize for the way it ended? I don't want to apologize. Um I think um you know my intentions was um not to hurt anyone. Um, you know, my intentions was solely on kids, um, during the whole, um, process. Um, and, you know, I always say, um, you know, decisions I make, um, I live with them. You know, there's always ways that you can correct them or ways that you can do them better. Um, but at the end of the day, um, I live with them and, um, you know, I'm satisfied. I'm happy right now. Was it impacting LeBron, though? I mean, this is his hometown. I don't know. It was hard to say cuz at one point he kind of embraced being a villain. like, "Okay, y'all y'all don't like me for making a decision that's going to help my career, help me be a better basketball player. So, is it real personal or is it y'all just don't like what I did?" So, for him, it was kind of like he embraced it. It was like, "Yeah, I'll be the villain for right now cuz at the end of the day, that's all it is." Uh, the thought by many was that LeBron James embarrassed Cleveland by the way he left the decision. Uh, thought by all was that he embarrassed the Cavaliers in his return. After the game, James said he was exhausted from all the emotion that he inevitably had to expend on his return. But think about how tired the Cavaliers were trying to stop him, particularly in that third quarter. Rachel Nichols was in Cleveland. He threw his chalk. I mean, it was a combination of of a lot. Um, I have nothing nothing bad to say about a special player and person uh to be able to respond uh to all of this scrutiny. James played it straight. I just try to just try to keep a clear head about it. Um it's nothing personal for myself to these fans. It won't be ever. This is our brother coming back into a very emotional situation. You know, we knew that this guy right here um is very mature. Um can handle himself in in any situation. Seemed like he always rise to the occasions when things look um at his darkest for him. And uh he did that again tonight. So I'm just watching this man. I've never seen a performance like that. You know, he was he was so so good. And when he was like and and and locked in and just so efficient and it was like like it it was really impressive to me. [Music]