With one spectacular announcement, lasting for 16 words and only some seconds, LeBron James shook up the sport universe and the N. B. A. on Thursday, declaring that he would play in the next season for the Miami Heat.
James, the most popular free agent in the league record, made up his mind on national television at around 9:27 p. m. Eastern, concluding a frenzied enrollment period, which lasted for eight days and entailed six teams.
James, sitting across from the journalist, Jim Gray inside the Boys & Girls Club of Greenwich, Conn., first staggered over his words before ultimately saying, “This fall, I’m going to take my talents to South Beach and join the Miami Heat”.
James, 25, snubbed the Cleveland Cavaliers, his homeland team, and the only team that he has ever played for. The Cavaliers shaped James, who matured in close by Akron, as an adolescent in 2003.
In Miami, James will team up with two other stars of this heralded free-agent group, Dwyane Wade, 28, and Chris Bosh, 26, to become the most dominant threesome in the confederation. They should develop into immediate contestants in the Eastern Conference, joining the Boston Celtics and the Orlando Magic.
The Cavaliers succeeded most often in the regular season, but had problem in the final tournaments.
