Lebron James The Cavaliers Case Study

In 2006, LeBron James was named the Most Valuable Player in the NBA All-Star Game. Under his leadership, the Cavaliers qualified for the playoffs for the first time since 1998. In his postseason debut, he recorded a triple-double in a winning effort versus the Washington Wizards. The Cavaliers finished the following season with 50 wins for the second consecutive year and entered the playoffs as the East's second seed before being dislodged by the Detroit Pistons in the second round.
The season was indeed very eventful for James. Apart from entering the NBA Finals against the San Antonio Spurs, which resulted in an unfortunate loss for the Cavaliers, James became a father for the second time. His girlfriend, Savannah Brinson, gave birth to their son, Bryce Maximus, in June of 2007. Moreover, James continued to help the Cavaliers improve their standing in the Eastern Conference during the 2007-08 season. With James’ help, the team made it to the semi-finals, but were defeated by the Boson Celtics. However, James’ individual performance remained elevated and he scored the highest average in the NBA regular
season of 30 points per game.
The following summer James went to Beijing, China to play on the U.S. Olympic basketball team and brought home a gold medal after defeating Spain in the final round. Towards the end of the 2008-09 season, James finished second in the NBA Defensive Player of the Year Awards and made his first NBA All-Defensive Team.
During the 2009-10 season James became the NBA Most Valuable Player (MVP) and received his second consecutive NBA All-Star.
On July 1, 2010, LeBron James became an unrestricted free agent (a player who is free to sign with any team that they choose to).
Although the discussions about James’ next step had been a hot topic of discussion amongst the sports community, his final decision was not announced until July 8, 2010 on a live ESPN special titled The Decision. James’ decision to join Miami Heat drew intense criticism from fans who considered his departure a betrayal to his hometown, sports analysts and even former NBA players, who thought he had followed the lead of fellow free agents Chris Bosh and Dwyane Wade who announced their signing with Miami just a day before. The decision immediately gained him the reputation as one of America’s most disliked athletes. Unfazed, James finished second in the league during his first season with the Heat, scoring an average of 26.7 points per
game.
In the 2011-12 season James successfully won against Oklahoma City Thunder in the NBA Finals, earning him the superstar MVP title for the third time with an average 28.6 points and 10.2 rebounds.
For the 2012-13 season James continued with an even better impressive record of an average 29.7 points and 7.8 assists per game. Miami Heat finished with a league best 66-16 record and James was named the MVP for the fourth time.
In 2012, James competed in his third Olympic Games at the Summer Olympics in London. Here he was able to earn his second Olympic gold with the U.S. basketball team.
By the 2012-13 season, the 28 year old James had become the youngest player to score 20,000 points and the 38th player in NBA history to achieve this distinction. Success followed them until the end of the season when they advanced to the NBA Finals, where the Miami Heat outlasted the San Antonio Spurs in seven games to win its second consecutive NBA championship.
In March of the 2013-14 season, James scored a career high record of 61 points against the Charlotte Bobcats and in the second round of the playoffs against the Brooklyn Nets he tied a career post-season high by scoring 49 points. They now had to beat the Indiana Pacers again, to reach their fourth consecutive NBA Finals, which they did, but in the final, San Antonio eliminated them in five games