When LeBron James decided to return to the Cleveland Cavaliers, he informed everybody that he was ‘coming home’. But that sentiment didn’t exactly sit well with legendary NBA player Kareem Abdul-Jabbar who expressed that James can’t go home again because the home he once knew is no longer there.
When LeBron James left the Cavaliers to sign with the Miami Heat, most were shocked. He was living the dream – being selected by your hometown team and leading them to glory. Of course, James wasn’t able to accomplish the final part of that mission and opted to take his talents to South Beach in effort to do so.
Despite suggesting that he would do it again, there was an underlying sense of disappointment in himself – a lack of maturity. It was almost as if he knew he ruined something that could have been special and is now attempting to right his so called wrong.
But Abdul-Jabbar isn’t buying that, suggesting that his return to the Cavaliers is like attempting to win back the trust of a betrayed spouse.
But in another way, LeBron can’t go home again. At least not to the home he once knew. They may be grateful and joyful, but they are also wiser. Like the betrayed spouse, they will have to wait and see, they will have to be wooed, they will have to be convinced that his sincerity, to quote Porgy and Bess, ain’t a sometime thing.
The piece written by Abdur-Jabbar and published by Time is an intriguing read and delves into a situation that he himself dealt with as he desired to play for the New York Knicks.
