LeBron James put the Cleveland Cavaliers back on the map following his arrival in 2003. The team had failed to get out of the first round since 1993 and had failed to even win 35 games in any of the 5 seasons prior to his arrival. All that changed when he donned that jersey, and by 2007, he had led the team to their first NBA Finals.
LeBron was asked about the importance of culture to having success in the NBA on the latest episode of The Shop, and he spoke about how establishing the culture first and then blending it together with talent leads to long-term success. He also mentioned how the Cavaliers had no culture when he showed up in 2003.
(starts at the 6:30 mark):
“Definitely culture first, and then if you can blend that with the talent and the right pieces, it literally it’s the gateway to being successful for a long period of time. I can go back to when I was drafted at 18 and made my debut with Cleveland. You know, there wasn’t any culture. You know, and that’s no knock on anybody that was there or whatever the case may be, but there was no culture. And I felt like it was my job as an 18-year-old to try to build the culture, which is kind of unfair, but it is what it is. You know, to try to build the culture, to make it seem like or make it feel like it could be something special.”
When you lose for as long as they had been losing in Cleveland, it is hard to build a culture, so it is understandable that LeBron felt that way when he arrived. Despite his young age, he did end up successfully turning things around and completely changed their fortunes. While a championship eluded him in his first stint there, and his departure in 2010 was very controversial, he did end up returning in 2014 and delivered that long-awaited title in 2016.
LeBron is now with the Lakers, of course, and that desire to win burns as strongly as ever. During this episode, he also seemingly took a shot at some of his current teammates who don’t have that “Win or Bust” mindset that he possesses. The King needs the rest of his supporting cast to adopt that same mindset if the team is to turn things around this upcoming season after a disappointing 2021-22 campaign.
