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Cavaliers, LeBron James form the ending his GOAT story needs originally appeared on The Sporting News. Add The Sporting News as a Preferred Source by clicking here.
LeBron James has been given a rare chance: He can write his own ending.
Not fully, mind you. He can't guarantee a championship. But he's a free agent from the Los Angeles Lakers, and he's 41, and he could sign with the Golden State Warriors, or the Cleveland Cavaliers, or the Miami Heat, or pretty much any team he wants if he isn't concerned about the money.
James, reports will say consistently, cares most about winning.
But there's also something to be said for the way James thinks about his legacy, about his place in the history of the game. It's been clear through the years that that matters to him, too.
MORE: Bronny James' best future doesn't involve a trade from Lakers
There's only one ending at this point that will truly allow him to retire, whenever that comes, feeling fully secure in his case as the GOAT -- the Greatest Of All Time.
He has to return to Cleveland.
It doesn't necessarily strengthen his GOAT case, unless he were to win a second championship with the Cavs.
But what it does is avoid tarnishing it. There's a whole slate of NBA fans that would gladly be annoyed at James deciding to team up with Steph Curry and the Warriors.
Going to Miami to play with Giannis Antetokounmpo would feel a tiny bit too much like "The Decision" all over again.
A homecoming, though? That would feel right.
MORE: Why the Warriors are a terrible fit for LeBron James
The kid from St. Vincent-St. Mary High School in Akron, who became a Cavalier because Cleveland had great lottery luck back in 2003, already came home once -- and he delivered a championship before screaming for all to hear, "Cleveland, this is for you!"
He has the chance to do that once again, to represent his home. Maybe it wouldn't be with a trophy, but it'd be in his farewell.
LeBron would say goodbye while wearing the first NBA colors of his career, representing Northeast Ohio directly, showing the world yet again what a kid from Akron can do.
Most analysts seem to think the Warriors are the favorite to land James.
But it's in Cleveland where he could truly retire as the King.
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