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New LeBron James Banner In Downtown Cleveland October 30

By Ed Carroll

Oct 15, 2014; Cincinnati, OH, USA; Cleveland Cavaliers forward LeBron James (23) reacts during the second half against the Indiana Pacers at the Cintas Center. The Cavaliers defeated the Pacers 98-93. Mandatory Credit: Frank Victores-USA TODAY Sports
Oct 15, 2014; Cincinnati, OH, USA; Cleveland Cavaliers forward LeBron James (23) reacts during the second half against the Indiana Pacers at the Cintas Center. The Cavaliers defeated the Pacers 98-93. Mandatory Credit: Frank Victores-USA TODAY Sports /
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A new Nike banner honoring returning Cleveland Cavaliers superstar LeBron James will go up before the Cavs’ first home game on October 30 in the same spot where James’s old “We Are All Witnesses” banner once hung.

Cleveland Cavaliers fans haven’t considered themselves “Witnesses” since LeBron James bolted town for the Miami Heat in the summer of 2010. Shortly after he left, the city and Nike removed the gigantic banner hanging across from Quicken Loans Arena, the Cavs’ home court, with a picture of James proclaiming “We Are All Witnesses.” James made a surprising return to his hometown of Northeast Ohio this summer, and shortly before Cleveland’s first home game against the New York Knicks on October 30, a new banner will hang across from The Q, honoring the return and reconciliation with their NBA superstar.

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The old banner showed James from the front in the middle of his former pregame ritual of throwing rosin into the air, and though James only occasionally did his ritual while with the Heat, it’s expected to return with James to Cleveland, and the new banner shows James in the middle of his rosin pose, from behind facing Cavs fans, with his number 23 on the jersey and “Cleveland” written on the back instead of LeBron’s last name. The Sherwin-Williams Co. owns the building, and they and Nike received approval for the banner from the Cleveland Planning Commission.

Courtesy of the Cleveland City Planning Commission
Courtesy of the Cleveland City Planning Commission /

The banner is 110 feet by 200 feet, and is another sign of James and the City of Cleveland willing to let the past go, and embrace the future together. James meant not only a lot to the Cavs’ championship hopes, but his return could and should provide a boost to the precarious downtown Cleveland economy.

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