NBA fans in France and Europe had stayed up late at night. It’s a habit for them but, there, it was not a playoffs meeting or a Finals match. However, the expectation was the same, or almost. This July 8, 2010, after weeks of rumors, noises behind the scenes, meetings between the player and the franchises, as well as speculation above all, LeBron James would finally reveal the name of his future team.
The reigning double MVP, undisputed star of the league with Kobe Bryant at the time, could change the map of the NBA. He will do much more than that, by publicizing his “decision” like never before.
The media madness
A bit of ancient history. On May 13, 2010, the Celtics eliminated the Cavaliers in the conference semifinals. Best team of the regular season in 2009 then in 2010, Cleveland fell again in its conquest of the title.
An image particularly marks the spirits: in the corridor of the TD Garden, even before entering the locker room, the “King” takes off his shirt. Quite a symbol…
The Cavaliers winger, MVP for the last two regular seasons, is free this famous summer of 2010 and it is rumored that the Cavs’ repeated failures are playing on his patience. He’s only 25, but after seven seasons without a ring, he could look elsewhere.
We then enter the summer of all the excesses and rumors. The media madness around LeBron James was considerable. We are only at the beginning of the power of social networks: Facebook is already installed, Twitter is slowly emerging, Instagram does not exist, but all its star actions are scrutinized, dissected and analyzed. A simple photo of “King James” with a Yankees cap ignites the web that imagines him in New York…
The hunt for the king
As of July 1, 2010, teams interested and in a position to afford LeBron James courted him. The franchises move to try to convince him.
The Nets are the first to knock on the door of the IMG building in downtown Cleveland. They come with the new owner of the franchise, Mikhail Prokhorov, and a strong asset, Jay-Z. After the formal meeting, the rapper will stay an additional fifteen minutes to chat with his basketball player pal…
In the wake of this appointment with New Jersey (the move to Brooklyn will occur in 2012), it is the neighbors of New York who land. James Dolan, the owner of the franchise, and Donnie Walsh, the GM, come to sell their project. The next day, the parade continues with the arrival of the Heat, who spared no effort with Pat Riley, Erik Spoelstra, Alonzo Mourning and once again the owner, Micky Arison, accompanied by his son, Nick, vice-president.
On the third day, it was the Cavaliers’ turn to release their strongest arguments to keep the best player in their history. Finally, Chicago will have the last word, but will ultimately lose this incredible game of poker.
LeBron James has seen every possible candidate. He must now make and announce his decision. For this, he will not be satisfied with a press release or a press conference. No: he will offer a prime time television show.
A fan’s idea…
This show did not come out of the mind of LeBron James, his agent, his entourage, ESPN or any television channel. On November 26, 2009, as usual, journalist Bill Simmons publishes some emails he receives and offers answers.
Here is the message from a man named “Drew”: “What if LeBron announced his team for next season live on ABC, on a show called ‘LeBron’s Choice.’ That could make audiences crazy, right? »
Bill Simmons replies that “if LeBron is smart, he would monetize this event with his business and sell the rights to a channel”. The journalist even imagines a “pay-per-view” for what could be known as “Decision 2010: LeBron’s Verdict”.
This 38-year-old Pistons fan, Drew Wagner, was inspired by press conferences given by high school students to announce their future university.
“I remember everyone was talking about LeBron, his future destination. In my opinion, he had to do like those kids who say it live on television. Thought it was a good idea to send to Bill Simmons. »
…proposed to the James clan by a journalist
And if this idea reached the ears of LeBron James? During the 2010 Dallas All-Star Game, Bill Simmons offered her to James’ business partner Maverick Carter, his then-agent Leon Rose, now Knicks president, and William “World Wide Wes” Wesley. , also linked to New York Today. According to Bill Simmons, the last two mentioned would have “adored” the idea.
At the same time, the journalist slips the idea to ESPN executives. He views a 90-minute documentary, “The Courting of the King,” which would follow LeBron James during the free agency. Then we would switch to “LeBron’s Decision”. Bill Simmons is convinced that this can be done and become one of the “coolest sports shows in history”.
Except that the latter is convinced that LeBron James will stay in Cleveland. The team is solid, they are aiming for the title and he has no reason to leave. The defeat against Boston in the playoffs changed the situation and the journalist retracted, believing that the idea of a decision announced on television was no longer as relevant.
In the days preceding the broadcast of the program, Leon Rose and William Wesley also began to doubt. They feel that LeBron James can quickly become the center of criticism with such a show. The idea can turn into a cannonball, even if the advertising revenue will go to charities. They inform his inner circle, but Maverick Carter ignores these warnings.
Another concern among the player’s friends: leaving Cleveland, for him the child of Akron, live on television would have a disastrous effect on his image with the general public. But LeBron James ignores …
In retrospect, we understand how this false good idea “blocked” LeBron James. If he stays in Cleveland, then this big show of more than an hour will not have been of much use. “All that for that”, in a way. If he leaves, then he “spits” live in the face of Cleveland City, the Cavaliers and Ohio in front of millions of viewers. Especially since for the show to have an interest, it must maintain the suspense and therefore say nothing of its intentions to the Cavs, who will find themselves faced with a fait accompli, with no room for negotiation…
“The Decision”
So it was on July 8, 2010, live from Connecticut and on ESPN, that LeBron James made his big announcement in front of presenter Jim Gray. Almost 10 million people hang on his lips in front of their screens. It is 9:00 p.m. local time when the show starts.
A few minutes before, the Cavaliers were finally informed that their star will not return. Dwyane Wade and Chris Bosh are waiting for deliverance on the Miami side. It is 9:28 p.m. (3:28 a.m. in France) when the winger, after almost 30 minutes of discussion, finally puts an end to the suspense: “This fall, I will bring my talents to South Beach and join the Miami Heat. »
LeBron James uses the same expression in passing, “ take my talents “, that Kobe Bryant in 1996when the young high school student, with a touch of arrogance, had announced his registration for the Draft without going through the university box.
In a few moments, the future Miami player has just redrawn the map of the league. The Lakers are the two-time defending champions, the Celtics have reached the Finals twice in three years (including a title in 2008), but the Heat with its “Three Amigos” becomes the new stronghold of the NBA, the most anticipated team, the most publicized. And the most hated, too.
In the center of hate
In the minutes that follow, the basketball planet explodes. We published the information at 3:42 in the morning. Miami fans are obviously over the moon and the rest of the observers are stunned. The sporting decision and the media presentation leave no one indifferent.
Many feel that LeBron James took it easy by teaming up with two other stars, Dwyane Wade and Chris Bosh. And the show that will follow the signing, in the company of his teammates and many fans, with the equally famous “not one, not two, not three, not four, not five, not six, not seven…” won’t help his image. Especially a year later, at the time of the loss in the Finals against the Mavericks.
Cleveland fans burn his jersey in the streets. Even Dan Gilbert, the owner of the Cavaliers, cannot resist the ambient hatred by posting on the official site of the franchise an inflammatory letter (removed in 2014, before the return of LeBron James). “Disrespectful”, “He dropped us in the playoffs”, “that people understand what kind of person he is”could we read in this missive.
Before the start of the 2010/11 season, Nike will broadcast an advertisement inspired by this episode. Entitled “What Should I Do?” “, she was supposed to justify the choice of LeBron James. She will quickly be mocked and the people of Cleveland divert her even to criticize “The Chosen One”, which did not keep its promise expressed in April 2010 to “bring a title back to Cleveland”.
A communication lesson
Thirteen years later, what remains of “The Decision”? Criticism or not, the two titles won with Miami validated the choice of LeBron James to leave to win rings. It was his will and he did not miss his bet.
But it is obviously his return to Cleveland in 2014, then even more the long-awaited title of 2016 which will, among Cavaliers fans, erase the disappointment and anger born of this July 8, 2010. He himself will admit that this staging was a mistake.
“The Decision” will also serve as a communication lesson for the main interested party of course, but also for the other superstars of the league. In 2014, LeBron James chose Sports Illustrated to announce that he ” come home “. In 2018, he is even more sober for his signature with the Lakers: a press release of a few words on his agency’s Twitter account.
Also very criticized for his choice to join the Warriors in 2016, Kevin Durant had no effect either. The 2014 MVP favored writing, via The Players’ Tribune website. More elegant, this decision spares neither criticism nor hatred, but the shape is not remembered as much.
Inscribed in the desire of LeBron James and his family to tip the balance of the NBA towards the players (and especially the superstars) against the owners, “The Decision” was from this point of view a success and a failure. A success, because the show showed that it was indeed the “King”, alone, who held the keys to the league. A failure, because there was no need for this outrageous form to show it…
