LeBron James got emotional during his trip back to Cleveland on Wednesday night as he watched highlights of his 25-point Eastern Conference Finals Game 5 performance from 2007.
The heartfelt moment occurred during a stoppage in play during the first quarter of the Lakers’ 129-99 loss to the Cavaliers at Rocket Arena.
James, 41, broke down in tears as the clip played and tried to wipe his face with his Lakers jersey before grabbing a towel from under the bench to presumably dry the tears from his eyes.
According to Associated Pressmarked the first time the Cavs had honored the four-time MVP by playing highlights from that game, mostly posting clips to the video board from his Game 7 effort in the 2016 NBA Finals, when Cleveland won it all against the Warriors.
The emotional moment came on the same night that James – who finished the night with 11 points and five assists – reached 60,000 regular season minutes, becoming the first player in NBA history to do so.
James spent 11 of his 23 years in the NBA with the Cavaliers, spanning two stints.
He ultimately left Cleveland via free agency for the second time in 2018 to join Los Angeles.
This season, questions remain about what James’ future holds for him in LA and in the NBA.
ESPN reported this on Wednesday that the Cavaliers would “love to welcome” the NBA superstar this summer if he wanted to return to Cleveland.
Cavaliers star Donovan Mitchell seemed intrigued by the idea when he spoke to the California Post ahead of Wednesday’s game, but he ultimately said that was out of his control.
“That’s not up to me,” Mitchell told The California Post. “That’s not up to me. I’m focused on these guys in the locker room. And from then on, everything else kind of goes where it goes. But that’s not me.”
“I’m focused on what we have here and I’m excited about that.”
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