As LeBron James returns to Cleveland again, memories of vitriolic 2010 Heat game surface

Jeff Zillgitt | USA TODAY

Show Caption Hide Caption Why this return to Cleveland will be different for LeBron SportsPulse: USA TODAY Sports' Jeff Zillgitt explains why LeBron James's return to Cleveland as a member of the Lakers will be far different from his return in 2010 as a member of the Heat.

It was a night anyone who was there won’t forget: Dec. 2, 2010.

LeBron James returned to Cleveland for the first time as a member of the Miami Heat and the vitriol, disappointment, hate and frustration directed at James was palpable in the city and arena.

When James – born in Akron and drafted by the Cavs in 2003 – announced in July 2010 he planned to sign with the Heat, Cavs fans were hurt and angry. He wanted to deliver the championship-starved city an NBA title, then left to join friends in sun-splashed Miami. When the schedule was released, Dec. 2 was the date Cavs fans circled.

They were going to let James have it and everybody knew, including President Obama, who told reporters the day of the game, “It’s going to be brutal.”

It was actually much worse than that.

“During the intros, it was (as) vile as anything I’d ever seen,” former Cavs general manager David Griffin said.

Nearly eight years later, James is scheduled to return to Cleveland again, as he and the Los Angeles Lakers come to town on Wednesday. This summer, he left the Cavs after four consecutive NBA Finals appearances and one NBA championship. Whatever happens, it won’t be as bad as that cold December night in Cleveland.

Miami’s Dwyane Wade, coach Erik Spoelstra and former players Chris Bosh and Jawad Williams; former Cavs front office executive Griffin; fan Jason Herron; reporters Howard Beck, Brian Windhorst, Rachel Nichols and Bill Reiter; and TNT analyst Charles Barkley recall the scene.

Part 1: The backdrop

No matter how James informed the Cavs he was leaving, it would’ve been met with anger. But ESPN's hour-long show "The Decision" – which then-NBA commissioner David Stern called ill-conceived – exacerbated emotions. Cavs owner Dan Gilbert’s impulsive screed demonizing James galvanized fans. It was a city, region and fan base against one man, the homegrown talent whom fans believed would lead Cleveland – a city desperate for success – to its first NBA title.

Herron, Cavaliers season-ticket holder, James jersey burner: “About two, three weeks into the season, we knew we weren’t going to be a very good team. We knew we had to beat LeBron because the way LeBron left us. He was the national villain. Leading up to that game, that’s all everyone in Cleveland talked about.”

Griffin, who was VP of basketball operations in 2010: “The whole buildup to it was incredible. I got there in September of 2010. ’Bron had left in July of 2010, and it felt like you were jumping into a burning building. Everywhere in the city, he was getting murdered – on sports radio. When people found out I worked for the Cavs, all they wanted to do was murder LeBron."

Windhorst, ESPN, native of Akron: “I was hoping for two things. One, that the Cavs would not stoke the fire. ... I was hoping that this wouldn’t become an infamous moment like 10-cent beer night where it became something else Cleveland was known for that wasn’t positive.”

Williams, former Cavs player who grew up in Cleveland and played in that game: “To a certain extent, I understood the anger. But the people who were really close to him and knew him, we didn’t have any issues with him leaving. It was a weird situation. ... I know what it’s like to be cut, to be traded, to be released. I understood what it meant to make a decision for yourself and the team not making that decision for you.”

Part 2: The pregame

The Cleveland Plain Dealer asked the team chaplain how fans should respond. Forgiveness, it turns out, was not the answer for fans. Gilbert’s plan to launch an investigation into tampering claims against the Heat was leaked the day before the game.

James, to reporters in Miami: “It’s going to be fun but at the same time, it’s going to be very emotionally draining just to go back. It’s going to be difficult I think. … it’s going to be tough. But I’m there to win a basketball game. I understand how passionate the fans are about sports. I’m ready for whatever response I’m going to get.”

Griffin: “Cleveland is so provincial and everyone there loves it so much in part because they survive it together. He was one of theirs. This was the prodigal son returning but it was also the prodigal son leaving. This was the guy who ripped their heart out of their chest. They were going to let him have it to feel themselves again.”

Bosh, Heat forward, to reporters in 2010: “I’m not sure what to expect, but I’m sure it’s going to be something we’ve never seen before. A lot of people are going to come out and show their support for the Cavaliers – in their own kind of way.”

Herron: “The night before, there was a rally downtown, and it was so full of hate. I was one of the hosts. We tore his jersey apart on stage. All the urinals in the bar had LeBron’s face on it. I just remember feeling dirty about it. Yes, we didn’t like LeBron. But then, I was getting scared about what the environment at the game was going to be like. Is someone going to run on the court and take a swing at him? Is someone going to throw something and injure the guy? I remember doing a couple of interviews and saying, ‘I’m going to boo, but I’m going to do it respectfully. I’m not going to cross the line.’ ”

Wade, James’ friend and teammate that season: “We faced a lot of hate that year because of the decision that LeBron made. That night, when you got to Cleveland, you felt it. There was just something in the air.”

Part 3: The crowd

To prepare, the Cavs, Heat and NBA provided extra security. Fans booed, yelled obscenities and some threw things, including one battery and cups filled with drinks. They held their signs: "Quitness." "11-8? Looks like you left your talents in South Beach." "Witnessed No Championship." "I Hate LeBron." Some fans created a chant card, instructing what and when to chant. “Akron hates you,” “Witnessed Nothing,” “Scottie Pippen,” “No Ring King,” and “Traitor, Traitor.” Four fans were ejected and one was arrested, according to the team.

Spoelstra, Heat coach: “You could feel the crowd, and I hadn’t even stepped into the bowl yet. I was 100 yards away. ... There was a tangible vitriol that I’ve never felt. You could feel the intensity and anger and pain of the crowd.”

Beck, Bleacher Report, who worked at The New York Times in 2010: “ ... In my 21 years of covering the NBA and covering how many hundreds of games, I’ve never seen anything like that night, and I hope I never see anything like that night again.”

Griffin: “When he was introduced, it was the most loudest, hateful, vile vitriol I’ve ever heard in any building for any reason. I’ve taken a battery off the head sitting courtside at European games. I’ve been at Greek games where they’ve ripped the seats out of the concrete and thrown them at each other. I was at a Cibona-Partizan game (in Belgrade) where they shot flares across the court. But those were foreign languages I didn’t understand. This was as hateful as anything I’ve ever experienced.”

Bill Reiter, CBS radio host and writer who covered the Heat for Fox Sports in 2010: "Joe Goodman (Miami Herald Heat beat writer) and I were running to our seats for the start of the game, and we get in the elevator and a security guard holds the door for us. There was all this extra security for LeBron that was run by the authorities there. A walkie-talkie crackles and someone asks, ‘Where’s LeBron?’ You hear a security guard say, ‘The enemy has left the locker room. I repeat, code name ‘The Enemy’ has left the locker room.’ I look at Joe, and it hits me, the people protecting LeBron James have labeled him the enemy. A security guard looks at us and shrugs with one of those looks.”

Barkley, TNT analyst: “Easily the most hostile NBA game I’ve ever been to in 30 years in the NBA. It was intense. It was worse than I thought it was going to be."

Beck: "It was disturbing because there was so much hate and lack of regard for decency in a public space. There are children in attendance. That’s not right.

"There were chants that invoked LeBron’s parents. I thought the chants involving his parents were way below the belt and over the line."

Nichols, ESPN: "When he left, it felt like a rejection to so many people in Ohio and not just a rejection of the Cavs but a rejection of them and this is a part of the country that has felt rejected by other people around the country. To have that happen with the guy who was not only the most popular sports figure in town but a native son, someone who was from there, to have him be the one who left them behind and said 'I’m going for the glamorous coast instead of staying in the heartland.' It really struck a chord that has much more to do with so many more things than LeBron James."

James, postgame on Dec. 2: “It’s nothing personal between me and the fans. It’s never personal. They’re frustrated and I understand that. I’m frustrated, too. We never did accomplish here what we wanted to.”

Part 4: The performance

Already a two-time MVP winner by the start of the 2010-11 season, James scored 38 points, including24 in the third quarter when the Heat opened a 95-65 lead. He also had eight assists and five rebounds in Miami’s 118-90 win. It was spot-on foreshadowing. The Heat was turning its season around after a slow start with James, Wade and Bosh .For the Cavs, it was the second loss in a 37-game stretch that would yield just one victory. It led to Cleveland winning the lottery and drafting Kyrie Irving.

Wade: “I just remember taking it upon myself and telling the other guys, ‘Listen, we have to get off to a good start for him. This is important for him to come back and play well and obviously get a win. But we have to get off to a good start and let him ease into the game.’ ... The one thing that was so amazing about it was the way he performed.”

Herron: “He tore us to shreds. It was a man amongst boys. He destroyed us.”

Griffin: “I remember sitting with (then-Cavs GM) Chris Grant in our box, and we were talking about, ‘Gosh, I wish the fans would just shut up. I think they’re pissing him off.’ ... As the game went along, he was so good and so not riled, people started remembering why they loved him in the first place. By the end of the third quarter, there were people cheering his made baskets."

Windhorst: “He basically broke the crowd’s will.”

James, to TNT after the game: “I know this court, and I’ve made a lot of shots on this court. I just wanted to be aggressive, just try to keep them out of the game. I knew they were going to try and make a run in the third quarter. We are able to get stops and able to get some shots.”

Williams: “If you watch at the end of the game, he gives me a hug. ... I got a call from my agent, probably a day or two later. My agent said he just a call from somebody in the Cavs front office – I won’t say who it is – but the person said to my agent, ‘Why did he have to hug LeBron at the end of the game?’ I was like, 'I’ve known him before the NBA. My relationship with him is bigger than basketball.' LeBron came over and gave me words of encouragement and told me to keep going because he knew my situation contract-wise. That was that.”

Part five: The return II

He came back to the Cavs following four years with Miami and led Cleveland to its sought-after championship in 2016, beating the Golden State Warriors in seven games. Fans may be disappointed he left again, but the same anger won’t be there. He delivered on his goal to win a title for the franchise, city and region. It is a joyous story that may never happen again.

James in 2013, still with Miami, for another game in Cleveland: “It can’t get no worse than year one, Dec. 2, 2010. Can’t get no worse than that.”

Beck: “I have to believe that this time they’re welcoming back a guy who brought them their first championship in a half century, that this time they’re welcoming back a hometown hero who redeemed himself and who gave them four years of nothing but joy.”

Barkley: “When he goes back, he’ll be a hero.”

Reiter: “There may be some booing, but I think there’s going to be a lot of recognition of the very complicated, and in the end positive, relationship he’s had with that place. It will be just as emotionally complicated this time around as it was the last time.”

Herron: “He fulfilled his promise, brought us a championship and all is forgiven. There’ll be very few boos, and zero from me.”

Nichols: Winning a title and fulfilling that promise has made a huge difference. The work he’s done in the community and with the school in Akron make a huge difference. The climate of the country and the climate of the city are different. The Cleveland Indians are better. The Browns have some hope in Baker Mayfield. Not everything is on him. Also, he did come back."

Windhorst: “I’m expecting a standing ovation. I’m expecting a wonderful tribute video where the culmination is him making the blocked shot on Andre Iguodala. It’s complicated to honor him while he’s still in the league. ... With every day that passes, the 2016 championship becomes more impressive as we see how great the Warriors are and we see how difficult it was to keep the Cavs together. It is worth something more than your run-of-the-mill title.”

Williams: “I think he’ll be embraced. ... I think there’ll be nothing but love when he returns.”

James, to reporters following Sunday's game against Miami: "I will see some familiar faces, like I did when I arrived (in Miami). I'll think about some of the good, I'll think about some of the bad, I'll think about some of the great that I had with the franchise, obviously. And then once the tip-ball gets going, it'll be time to go to work. It'll be good to see some of my family that's going to come to the game, see some of my friends as well, and get the thing going. ... Whatever happens happens, but I will be in uniform, I will be there and I will be trying to get a victory. That's what's most important."

Follow Zillgitt on Twitter @JeffZillgitt