LeBron James sparks frenzy with visit to his former team

The visit quickly sparked bedlam on social media, especially amid the recent uncertainty over James’ future with the Lakers. James recently opted into his $52.6 million player option but has not been given a contract extension by the Lakers beyond that. Some even believe the Lakers may be inching towards a trade of the four-time MVP James.

But James saw all the chaos online and promptly responded in a post to his X page. He clarified that he goes to the Cavaliers’ facility every summer to work out as he still lives in the area during the offseason.

“And every summer since it was built,” James wrote. “I live here still and train every summer. Got damn yall bored man! Go get a plate of food somewhere and enjoy the 4th of July!”

The history with Cleveland is obviously there for James, an Akron native who was drafted by the Cavaliers and had two separate stints with the team from 2003-10 and again from 2014-18. James also led the franchise to five total NBA Finals appearances as well as their only championship in franchise history in 2016.

That said, it probably does not make sense at this point for the Cavaliers to give up assets to reunite with a now-40-year-old James. They won 64 games and a division title last season and were not even interested in James when he was seemingly available a few years ago. Now James himself is clarifying that his Independence Day visit to the Cavaliers’ facility was nothing more than an annual offseason tradition.