LeBron James never really wanted to leave Cleveland in 2010, but felt his hand was forced when he was unable to get stars to join him on the Cavaliers.
“I came here for one reason and one reason only, and that was to win championships,” James said ahead of the Lakers’ matchup with the Heat in Miami on Monday.
“That was my only goal. That was the only reason I teamed up with [Dwyane] Wade and [Chris] Bosh. Because I felt like I couldn’t do it in Cleveland. We couldn’t. … I tried to recruit guys to come to Cleveland. I tried to go and help the upstairs and it wasn’t happening. So I had an opportunity to be a free agent so I did what I thought was best, not only for my career but for me at that point in time.”
James also spoke about the differences between playing for the Cavs and Heat.
“It was a culture change for me,” he said. “People talk about ‘Heat Culture’ — it was a culture change, period. I was changing everything about my life for the first time in my life.
“To be able to be here and be able to learn and be alongside D-Wade, UD [Udonis Haslem] and Spo [Erik Spoelstra] — those guys who had won it already — it definitely was great to be a part of, for sure.”
James not only won back-t0-back championships with Miami, but also enjoyed the best years of his career there.
