LeBron James‘ 2014 “Coming Home” essay was one of the most stunning announcements in NBA history, as he passed on the opportunity to stay in Miami with Dwyane Wade and Chris Bosh to return to his hometown Cleveland Cavaliers. You know, the team he scorned during “The Decision” four years prior.
For the essay published on Sports Illustrated, LeBron was assisted by Lee Jenkins, which meant there had to be a back-and-forth between the two, exchanging drafts and edits before publishing. That usually wouldn’t be anything noteworthy, but in the new book “Return of the King” by Brian Windhorst and Dave McMenamin, it’s revealed that James edited his essay while on a plane with Dwyane Wade — who was unaware of the entire thing.
Here is an excerpt of the story, courtesy of NBC Sports:
After watching the afternoon sessions of his camp, James went to McCarran International Airport and boarded a Nike-owned jet. Its destination was Miami, and Wade joined him on the flight, which had been previously arranged as he got a ride back home. Two days later, on Saturday, he was scheduled to go to Rio de Janeiro for the conclusion of the World Cup as part of a Nike promotion. On the plane were Nike personnel, some of James’s staff, and Wade. As the plane traveled east and night fell, James reviewed and made some changes to Jenkins’s first draft. But Wade was still not told.
“You can’t ask Dwyane to carry that [secret],” [Rich] Paul said. “He couldn’t. It would’ve put him in a terrible position.”
James and Wade spent time in Las Vegas together and many felt that was an indication of what James’ decision would be, but it’s clear that James kept his personal relationship with Wade separate from his basketball decision. It’s a pretty incredible thing to imagine, Wade, sitting near James watching a movie on his laptop and eating peanuts or something while James is typing away, making edits to the announcement that he’s leaving Miami.
Wade asks James what he’s doing. LeBron mumbles something about “emails.” It had to be a strange scene for LeBron and his representatives to know what was happening and have Wade there, but there clearly wasn’t any serious tension that was created between the two as Wade and James remain very close friends.
