Stephen A. Smith once hinted LeBron James as the reason for $800 million loss incurred by NBA
LeBron James sent shockwaves through the NBA world when he announced he was leaving the Cleveland Cavaliers to join the Miami Heat. Cleveland's homegrown superstar made the decision because his chances of winning a championship were higher in South Beach than they were in Ohio.
However, LeBron could never have expected his move's knock-on effect on the rest of the NBA. When speaking on a 2018 episode of ESPN's First Take, Stephen A. Smith noted how LeBron's move led to multiple changes in how players were incentivized to remain with the teams that drafted them.
"A year later, we have a situation where we have a collective bargaining negotiation that's taking place," Smith said. "Dan Gilbert is dogged. He's got his cadre of owners who are dogged about never allowing this to happen again."
"So what do they do? They get dogged about limiting player movement. So all of a sudden the supermax deal comes into play for the negotiations. But you got to do five years and you got to stay with the same team."
Smith then continued to explain how the NBA player's share of basketball-related income was then shrunk.
"If you leave, you don't get the supermax deal, and those five years get reduced to four years. So it involves player movement. The pie was shrunk at that particular moment in time. The players was getting 57% of basketball-related income. It dipped to 50%. Some owners wanted it to fall below the 47%."
The Collective Bargaining Agreement which Stephen A. Smith is referencing, was precluded by a lockout, as the NBA and the players association failed to initially agree terms on a new agreement. According to Forbes, that lockout cost the NBA somewhere in the region of $800 million in revenue.
LeBron James' decision to join the Miami Heat was justified
While LeBron James' move to the Miami Heat may have had an unwanted ripple effect across the NBA, it's clear that from a basketball perspective, LeBron made the right decision.
'The Heatles' were the best team in the league during LeBron James' tenure with the franchise, as he, Dwyane Wade, and Chris Bosh dominated the NBA, winning back-to-back championships in 2012 and 2013.
Eventually, LeBron would return to Cleveland and bring a championship to his hometown, creating history against the Golden State Warriors in the process. Since then, LeBron has joined the Los Angeles Lakers, where he won a championship during his first season.
Still, LeBron and the Lakers have struggled to make much noise in the playoffs since — even missing the 2022 postseason entirely as the Lakers failed to qualify.
LeBron's decision may have caused a whole wave of negotiations between players and NBA ownership, but from an individual standpoint, it was a turning point in his illustrious career.