On July 4th, 2018, the NBA world was awaiting LeBron James’ decision. It was widely speculated within the media that LeBron’s tenure in Cleveland was most likely over.
The writing was on the wall. Everyone witnessed Cleveland’s sweep at the hands of Golden State. The series wasn’t even close. Golden State’s average margin of victory was 23.5 points. In the fourth quarter of game four, the crowd was chanting “Laaaa-kers! Laaaa-kers!” while LeBron, the reigning league MVP, was shooting free throws. It was reminiscent of Boston’s “New York Knicks!” chant when LeBron was defeated by the Celtics many years ago.