LeBron James angered Cleveland Cavaliers‘ fans once again by prematurely leaving the team for the third time in his NBA career as he walked out early from the Rocket Mortgage FieldHouse as they crashed to another loss against the Boston Celtics.
James controversially announced his decision to quit his home team, after becoming an unrestricted free agent, in 2010 during a special program on ESPN in which he famously said, “In this fall… this is very tough… in this fall I’m going to take my talents to South Beach and join the Miami Heat.”
LeBron James’ wife looks through his phone while LeBron looks nervous
He then spent four years in Florida where he won two NBA championships before he returned to the Cavaliers again in 2014. He spent four more years there and become a champion in 2016 with them, before he once again exited to go to the Los Angeles Lakers. Something the Cavaliers‘ fans have never forgotten.
After crossing the 2345 miles between Los Angeles and Cleveland to watch his team compete in the Eastern Conference Semifinals of the NBA Playoffs, fans were far from impressive when he walked out early, despite the score finishing 109-102.
“LeBron James just walked out after Jaylen Brown hit a 3-pointer with 1:08 remaining,” Tim Bontemps posted to X.com, formerly Twitter. “To make it 105-97 Celtics here in Cleveland.”
Fans reacted with displeasure, with one writing, “Third time he’s walked out on Cleveland.”
Whilst a second said, “LeBron just escaped Cleveland for the 3rd time.”
A third added, “Typical Lebron! Leaving the game before it ends in a loss!”
And a fourth joked, “Taking his talents to the parking lot I see,” as he is thought to have tried to beat traffic.
How did the Cavaliers lose and when do they play next?
The Cavaliers were soundly beaten by the Celtics, who led the Eastern Conference at the end of the regular season. Across the first three quarters, they earned a 88-78 lead before they managed it to the end of the game to claim their third win of the series.
That almost certainly means they will make the Conference Finals with the Cavaliers now needing to be perfect in three games whilst the Celtics just have to win the one. The eventual winner of the series will await one of the New York Knicks or Indiana Pacers, who are currently tied in their series.
Game Five of the Cavaliers vs. Celtics will take place on Wednesday, May 15 at 19:00 ET/16:00 PT.
