Prior to LeBron James’ arrival, the Cleveland Cavaliers were one of the worst teams in the NBA.
In fact, the Cavaliers finished with a 17-65 record, which put them in the last spot in the Eastern Conference during the 2002-03 NBA season.
It turned out to be a blessing in disguise for the Cavaliers, who landed the number one overall pick in the 2003 NBA Draft, which they used to select none other than LeBron James.
Even before James played a single game for the Cavaliers, he was viewed as the savior of the franchise.
The 38-year-old superstar recently reflected back on his impact on Cleveland via the NBA’s official Twitter handle.
"When I was drafted I said I wanted to light this place up like Vegas. I feel like I did a decent job of that."
LeBron speaks on his rookie home debut and time in Cleveland. pic.twitter.com/pHPaUapkUe
— NBA (@NBA) November 26, 2023
James revealed that he only had one target in his mind after being drafted by the Cavaliers, and it was to light the place up like Las Vegas.
Now, two decades later, James believes that he has done a great job of doing it.
To be honest, in the first season after adding James to the roster, the Cavaliers improved to a 37-45 record.
Sure, the Cavs had to wait until James’ third year to make the playoffs, he didn’t look back from that point.
So much so that James led the Cavaliers to the NBA Finals in the very next season.
Although James and the Cavaliers lost the 2007 NBA Finals, the talented forward fulfilled his promise of bringing the NBA title in the future.
Yes, we are referring to when James led the Cavs to the 2016 NBA Championships after becoming the first team in league history to come back after going down 3-1 in the NBA Finals.
NEXT: Donovan Mitchell Makes Honest Admission After Cavs Lost To Lakers
