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LeBron James Faces Backlash Unseen Since ‘The Decision’

Anthony Wallace/Agence France-Presse — Getty Images

It has been almost a decade since the last time LeBron James faced widespread backlash.

Fans in Cleveland burned his jersey. They threw rocks at a billboard with his face on it. James was maligned as a narcissist by Dan Gilbert, the owner of the Cleveland Cavaliers, in a letter that was widely mocked.

And all James did then was announce on national television that he was going to a different team.

That was in 2010, when James, after seven seasons in Cleveland, said during a special on ESPN titled “The Decision” that he was taking his talents to Miami, to play for the Heat.