NBA legend LeBron James returned to the Cleveland Cavaliers in the offseason of 2014 during free agency after playing for the Miami Heat from 2010-11 to 2013-14.
James won two MVPs, two titles and two Finals MVPs with the Heat, who went to four consecutive NBA Finals with James, Dwyane Wade and Chris Bosh leading the way.
Miami lost to the Dallas Mavericks in the 2011 NBA Finals, beat the Oklahoma City Thunder in the 2012 NBA Finals, defeated the San Antonio Spurs in the 2013 NBA Finals and lost to the Spurs in the 2014 NBA Finals.
When James returned to the Cavaliers in 2014, one of the first things he did was talk to All-Star point guard Kyrie Irving and big man Tristan Thompson, according to Jason Lloyd of The Athletic.
James told Irving and Thompson, two young players who had never played in a playoff game, to do everything he told them to do if they wanted to win.
“When James returned to the Cavs in 2014, one of the first things he did was pull aside young stars like Kyrie Irving and Tristan Thompson and essentially tell them, ‘Do everything I tell you to do and we’ll win.’ They did. And they did,” Lloyd wrote.
The Cavaliers went to four straight NBA Finals during the second James era. Cleveland won the 2016 championship against the Golden State Warriors in seven games, becoming the first team in NBA history to come back from a 3-1 series deficit in the NBA Finals.
Irving hit the game-winning shot over Warriors star point guard Steph Curry in Game 7 at Oracle Arena.
Meanwhile, James had his famous chase-down block on Golden State forward Andre Iguodala.
The Cavaliers lost the 2015, 2017 and 2018 NBA Finals to the Warriors, who added Kevin Durant in the 2016 offseason after losing the 2016 NBA Finals.
Irving injured his knee in Game 1 of the 2015 NBA Finals, while Kevin Love missed the entire 2015 NBA Finals after getting hurt against the Boston Celtics in the first round.
In the offseason of 2018, James signed with the Los Angeles Lakers. He won his fourth ring and fourth Finals MVP in 2020 and became the leading scorer of all time in 2023.
