What was the reasoning behind LeBron James leaving the Miami Heat and returning to the Cleveland Cavaliers in free agency this past offseason?
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Was the decision made with his family/friends in mind? Was it in regards to his legacy? Did he simply want to go back to where he grew up? It doesn’t appear as if there is a clear answer, though according to Carmelo Anthony of the New York Knicks, he knows why LeBron James decided to return home.
All because of Carmelo himself. Or at least partly.
Yep, speaking to former NFL player and current TV host Michael Strahan, the New York Knicks forward stated the love he received upon leaving the Denver Nuggets and joining his hometown team likely played a decision in why LeBron James decided to return to the Cleveland Cavaliers.
Asked by Strahan if James’ decision influenced him, Carmelo Anthony suggested such a sentiment should be reversed.
“No. Honestly, I think it was the other way around. I think he saw when I came back home to New York and saw the response and saw the reaction and saw how at peace I was when I came back home. … I’m pretty sure he looked at that moment and saw that that was a very special moment, and he had the opportunity to go back home himself and regain that love.”
Carmelo Anthony has been beloved during his time in the Big Apple and it’s an understandable sentiment on the part of the All-Star forward to suggest LeBron James wanted to partake in such a special feeling.