There is almost nothing over the past couple of decades that shook the NBA world as much as “The Decision” did. After a lot of speculation, on July 8th, 2010, LeBron James finally revealed on a televised segment on ESPN that he was taking his talents to South Beach. James became public enemy No. 1 thanks not only to his decision to leave his hometown Cavaliers but also because he was teaming up with Dwyane Wade and Chris Bosh to form a super team.
LeBron was widely criticized for teaming up with other stars instead of trying to win a championship in Cleveland, and his departure left the Cavaliers in shambles. The organization was stunned by James’ decision to leave, and they didn’t recover from that blow for a while. It would appear that even days before that segment aired, the Cavs were confident that James was resigning with them as per Byron Scott, who had just taken over as head coach.
Byron Scott Says That Chris Paul Told Him LeBron James Was Leaving The Cavaliers
Scott was named as Cavs head coach on the 1st of July, 2010, and he was repeatedly told by GM Chris Grant that James would not be leaving the Cavaliers. Scott had previously coached Chris Paul, who has been one of LeBron’s closest friends, and the day before ‘The Decision’ was to take place, he rang up Paul to find out if he knew whether James was leaving.
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“I go to my office and I call Chris Paul and I said ‘CP this is coach.’… ‘I need to know from you is LeBron leaving or staying.'” Paul replied that he would call him back and when he did, it wasn’t good news. “I sit in the office for about three minutes, (the) phone rings, I answered ‘CP what’s happening?'” to which Paul replied “‘He’s gone, coach.'”
That must have been a body blow to Scott right there, but at least he knew beforehand that it was coming. He relayed the news to some within the organization, but they refused to believe that James was going anywhere, which explains the shock when the news did break. Scott wasn’t the only one who knew it was going to happen, with Charles Oakley claiming that LeBron himself told him he’d be going to Miami a year before it happened.
Following LeBron’s departure, the Cavaliers slumped from a team that had won 61 games in his last season to the worst record in the Eastern Conference in 2010-11. They managed to get in some talent via the draft thanks to their failures, but it wasn’t until LeBron returned in 2014 that they would become relevant again. James would, of course, leave once again in 2018, but this time there wasn’t much tension, and he had already fulfilled his promise by delivering a championship to the city in 2016. James also admitted later that the whole situation in 2010 could have been handled better, and it definitely could have been, as it will always be remembered as one of the most infamous moments in the history of the NBA.
