When do you think an NBA player received the most hate? There can be multiple answers to the same, but nothing can stand out more than LeBron James‘ departure from Cleveland back in 2010. The King was heavily criticized for this move, especially by the Cavs’ fans. However, as history would reveal, James won two championships in Miami and two MVP titles. Would this question James’ personality as a competitor? Well, his accolades did show a sign of ambition and how LeBron had it all at the age of 28.

However, when James first made his move to the South Beach, Orlando Magic owner, Otis Smith had doubts over his competitive nature. “I was surprised he went. I thought he was, I guess, more of a competitor.”, said Smith. In James’ third meeting with the Magic as a Miami Heat, the King left it all on the floor. LeBron James dropped 51 points in a four-point win over the Magic, as he recently relived the moment in his latest Instagram story.

His story captioned, “Comptetitior that 50 piece!!”, reminded fans of his dominant performance. But how good was James in that game? LeBron finished the game with 51 points, 11 rebounds, and 8 assists while shooting 68% from the field. Not to mention, James had 23 points in the first quarter, going 9-9 from the field. Moreover, he scored almost half the points of the final score, 104-100. This goes on to contradict one of his statements when James underestimated himself to a certain extent.
Back in 2006, James didn’t consider himself as dominant of a player as Kobe Bryant. Still, at the age of 21, James made a lot of noise in the league. “I don’t think I have an instinct like Kobe, where I just want to kill everybody.”, said 21-year-old James. Regardless, his 51-point performance was one of many that would go on to establish his dominance in the game. Moreover, James has never failed to deliver when it mattered the most.

Just a year after he made these comments, LeBron led the Cavs to its first-ever Finals appearance in 2007. But how good was James during his first stint with the Cavs?

LeBron James barely came off the bench

In his first seven years with the Cavs, James played a total of 548 games. Out of all these games, James came off the bench only once. This was during the 2007-08 season when James played the least amount of games in his first stint with the Cavaliers (75). Moreover, LeBron was as productive as it could get. He won his first scoring title at the age of 23, averaging 30 points a game but things only got better a year later.

LeBron won his first MVP award during the 2008-09 season in which he played 81 games. He would go on to win another MVP title before moving to South Beach. Overall, James was one of the most dominant players in the league, but couldn’t find any success in the playoffs. While he did carry the Cavs to the Finals in 2007, the outcome was an easy sweep for the Spurs. Nevertheless, James’ decision to move to Miami was only to save his productive years, having given seven long seasons to Cleveland.
If anything, we’ve seen Damian Lillard play 11 seasons for the Blazers before finally hanging his Rip City jersey. It is not uncommon for players to join contenders knowing that they’re on the most productive run of their careers. Besides, James returned to Cleveland four years later which resulted in five consecutive Finals appearances and a title. It will be interesting to see whether James can bring another title under his name as a Laker, as he approaches the final years of his career.