CLEVELAND, OHIO -- This time, LeBron James chose the Cleveland Cavaliers.

That's a key part of the story that led to the Cavs winning the 2016 NBA title.

When James was a senior at Akron St. Vincent-St. Mary High School, he had no say in where he'd play. It all depended on some bouncing ping-pong balls. The year was 2003.

James was the best NBA prospect. The Cavs had the worst record in the NBA at 17-65. But the Cavs still had to win the NBA lottery, where they had a 22.5 percent chance to secure the top pick.

The ping-pong balls bounced right for the Cavaliers, and they had the chance to not only draft the best player -- but a player from nearby Akron. It was a heart transplant for a franchise on basketball life support, seemingly in a coma.

This also happened when the NBA still allowed players to go straight from high school to the pros. Since then, players have to attend college for a year -- or at least wait a full year after their high school class graduates.

We'll never know if Cleveland was the spot where James hoped to land. Clearly, there was a comfort level being at home. He often attended Cavs games. He knew some of their players. But he also was aware how the team was a disaster. Even at 18, he was wise enough to realize playing for the Cavs would be a major challenge.

He promised to "light up Cleveland like Las Vegas," but fans wanted more than glitter and excitement. They wanted a sports savior. They wanted a teenager from Akron to deliver a title to a town that had not seen one for a major sports franchise since the 1964 Cleveland Browns. The Cavs joined the NBA in 1970 and had never even reached the NBA Finals before James arrived.

For the next seven years, James grew up as a player and a man. He led the Cavs to the 2007 NBA Finals. It was a mediocre team that was swept by San Antonio.

THE FIRST DECISION

By the summer of 2010, James was a free agent. He had come to the conclusion he'd never win a title in Cleveland -- or at least, it wouldn't happen in the near future.

This was the first time he truly had the chance to pick his team. He did just that. Close friend Dwyane Wade recruited Chris Bosh and James to play with him in South Beach. In much the same way summer AAU teams are put together by the best players, so were the Heat with Wade directing the talent to Miami.

For James, it was four trips to The Finals. It was two titles. It was legacy building time.

For many Cavs fans, this is the hard part ... but the truth ... James had to go to Miami to learn how to win in Cleveland.

With the Heat, he learned leadership. He became a mentally tougher player. Always self-disciplined in terms of conditioning, James became obsessed with having his body in the best possible basketball shape in Miami.

Dru Joyce II and Keith Dambrot both coached James in high school and remain close to him. Both said James "needed" to spend four years in Miami where the pressure to win was great.

"He no longer was the Golden Child," said Dambrot.

Dambrot meant that when James played for the Cavs and there were failures, usually someone else was blamed. It was the fault of the coach, the front office, the other players on the roster.

Because James picked Miami, those excuses were gone. He had to make it work.

THE SECOND DECISION

In the summer of 2014, James was a free agent again. He was deciding between Cleveland and Miami.

This time, HE picked the Cavaliers. HE decided to come home and try to win a title. HE was willingly putting the weight of history and fan frustrations on his wide shoulders.

This was unlike 2003, when all those those things were dropped on his 18-year-old frame because of the NBA lottery system.

At the time of his decision on July 11, 2014, James was heading into his 12th NBA season. He would turn 30 in December.

He was joining a team that had the worst overall record in the NBA during the four years that he played for the Heat...

He was joining a team with a rookie general manager (David Griffin)...

A rookie NBA coach (David Blatt)...

An owner (Dan Gilbert) who had savaged him in a public email when he left...

Meanwhile, he was coming home a sports hero ... but once again, viewed as a sports savior.

Only this time, it was all his choice.





MAKING IT WORK

Just as James felt pressure to deliver a title in Miami, the same was true during his second stint in Cleveland.

He had promises from Gilbert to spend big on the roster.

He had Griffin, who turned out to be a very creative general manager.

He had to find the right coach, as Blatt was replaced by Tyronn Lue in the middle of the 2015-16 season. Blatt was fired with a 30-11 record not only because James lacked confidence in the European coach, so did Griffin, the front office and many players.

But when Lue was named coach, that also was Griffin taking away an excuse. James and the players wanted Lue ... well ... they have him.

Now, go win a title.

And they did just that.

They did it in unprecedented fashion, becoming the first team to come back from a 3-1 deficit in The Finals.

They did it against Golden State, a team with the NBA's all-time best regular season record.

They did it against Golden State, the team that defeated them in the 2015 Finals.

They did it in Golden State at Oakland's Oracle Arena, perhaps the hardest place for visiting teams to play.

They did it with tears. James hugged the trophy and screamed: "CLEVELAND! THIS IS FOR YOU!"

They did it because when James had a second chance, he came home and made history.

Let's never forget that.