The Cleveland Cavaliers are going to need LeBron James to be the best teammate he can be on the court if they want to overcome the loss of star point guard Kyrie Irving. But before Irving went down, LeBron already had that covered off the court.
According to Chris Haynes of Northeast Ohio Media Group, James gathered the Cavs together at a hotel in San Francisco sometime before Game 1 of the NBA Finals last Thursday. LeBron rented out a lounge at the Four Seasons and chatted with his teammates about sticking together and overcoming adversity.
“His was like, we’re here for business and to be prepared,” center Tristan Thompson told Haynes. “All the media attention, all the hoopla stuff is cool and what not, but we’re here to take care of business.”
LeBron also came bearing gifts.
After having a serious chat with his teammates, LeBron reportedly loosened things up by blasting music, providing food and hiring a barber to give everyone haircuts. He also gave everyone a brand new Apple Watch before the night concluded.
James Jones described LeBron as the “best teammate you can ask for.” J.R. Smith joked that he can’t wait to return to Cleveland next season to see what other gifts James has in store for his teammates.
“I don’t know how he does it, but every day it’s something different,” Smith said. “Watches, sneakers, Beats [headphones], hoodies, book-bags. Man, I can’t wait to come back next year. I want to see what we’re getting next year.”
Thompson echoed Smith’s thoughts.
“He’s one hell of a teammate,” he said of LeBron. “He takes care of his team. He takes care of us with Beats, Samsungs. Everything that he’s part of that he can give for the team, he’s done that all the time and it shows how much he cares for us.”
LeBron can come off as arrogant at times because of comments like this, but you could argue that he is one of the most unselfish superstars in NBA history. He willed the Cavs to victory in Game 2 without Kyrie Irving by scoring 39 points and adding 16 rebounds and 11 assists. LeBron’s generosity is obviously helping Cleveland in more ways than one.
