LeBron James’ impact on Cleveland Cavaliers hailed by Donovan Mitchell: ““He’s one of the greatest players of all time”
Donovan Mitchell scored a season-high 43 points as the Cleveland Cavaliers ruined LeBron James' homecoming on Tuesday in a 116-102 win over the LA Lakers.
The Lakers' Anthony Davis, who had scored 99 points in the two previous games, left after eight minutes with flu-like symptoms and never took a shot. Still, after trailing 57-49 at halftime, the Lakers tied the game at 65-65 four minutes into the second half. But then the Cavaliers outscored them 31-19 in the fourth quarter.
Along with Donovan Mitchell, who was 4-for-8 on 3-pointers, Jarrett Allen had a 24-point, 11-rebound double-double with 11-for-14 shooting.
Despite Mitchell's standout performance, it was the tribute that the Cavs paid to LeBron James during a timeout that made for perhaps the night's best moment.
The Cavs welcomed LeBron James back to Cleveland with a video tribute and standing ovation during a timeout 👏
(via @AmNotEvan)
https://t.co/wq6KDH9BZ0
LeBron brought home the Cavaliers' only NBA title in 2016, coming back from a 3-1 deficit against the Golden State Warriors, who went 73-9 in the regular season. This was the first time a team salvaged a 3-1 deficit in the NBA Finals.
In an interview with The Athletic's Kelsey Russo, Mitchell spoke about the standing ovation and tribute that LeBron recieved from the Rocket Mortgage FieldHouse crowd:
“It really hit, for me, like a full-circle moment. I kind of sat there and just kind of watched the reception he got, and that’s incredible. It’s well deserved.
"He’s one of the greatest players of all time, brought a championship — the only championship — to this franchise, and you always gotta have respect and admiration for that. And hopefully, we can do something similar.
“It’s really cool, to be honest with you. To be able to be here and be in a situation where as a kid, you’re literally watching games in front of a TV, and now you’re a part of this.
"And we just want to honestly go out there and try to win the championship. And like when you have a guy and have a group and have a team that wants to continue to build, it’s great when you have that on our team.
LeBron James' legacy as a Cavaliers great
Despite being heavily vilified after leaving Cleveland for Miami, LeBron James' return to the Cavaliers and the 2016 NBA championship cemented his legacy as a Cavaliers great.
Had LeBron not come back and given the Cavs something to cheer for, James might have just become the most infamous athlete in Cleveland history.
Instead, he's now known as the basketball prodigy from nearby Akron whom the Cavs drafted in 2003 bringing home their first NBA title. Doing so in a historically unprecedented seven-game series against the greatest regular season team of all time makes LeBron's story even greater.
Despite winning titles in Miami and LA, the cornerstone of LeBron James' legacy in the NBA will likely be his historic performances from 2015-2018 in a Cleveland Cavaliers jersey.