Home Won

When Lebron James last made an employment decision, I boiled it down to loyalty vs. success vs. fame vs. friends.  Unless you've been hiding under a rock, you know that he's recently made another employment decision, to return to Cleveland.  And you can sum up his reasons in one word: "home."


I am a big fan of Lebron and of the NBA in general, but had been too busy to follow all of the rumors and possibilities.  But I never really thought he'd choose to return to Cleveland.  Putting myself in his shoes, I assumed he'd be motivated by a glitzier city (LA? New York?) or a more immediately productive set of teammates (Houston? Phoenix?). 

It never occurred to me that putting myself in his shoes would mean fully absorbing his sense of loyalty to and identity with his hometown.  In the end, it seems, that was the biggest pull of them all.

You can kibbitz about what his true motives are and what are his chances of earning another title.  At least this morning, I choose to focus on the pull of home.  Lebron James had all the cards.  He could've chosen any city, any set of teammates, any coach, any arena, any lifestyle, any tax structure.  But Cleveland had the one thing no other city had, which was a tie to where James came from.  And Cleveland won.  Home won.  How about that?